2013 New Jersey Devils (Team News, Player Discussion - Part III)

[manilaNJ]

Lou was confusing this summer. I know he tried hard to get Parise... but he had no interest in Semin and let Poni go.... Poni got one year at 1.8 mil. I don't think Lou was going to have a problem matching that..

Poni just wasn't going to wait around. He's been sent from team to team over the past few years, he was going to jump at whoever showed the most interest. He never heard from Lou.
Other than some near-minimum contracts to the fourth liners, it wasn't til Lou officially threw down the ~$80 million offer that he started signing anyone else.

It was going to be a big contract, I think he wanted to be sure how much money he had to work with before doing anything else.

 

[Classic Devil]

Really? A one year deal is a "big contract"?

I'd rather Lou give out more one year contracts to character questionable players than sign gritty "good guys" like Volchenkov to six year deals.

I'm not passing any judgment here, I'm pointing out a historical fact. Lou will acquire character-questionable players midseason when their impact in the locker-room is mitigated by the weight of past games and camaraderie, but he's obviously loathe to introduce them onto the white canvas of a new season.

And yes, $6M/year even for one year is a big contract.

 

[Devils731]

He never heard from Lou.

Not true, Lou did talk to Poni's agent per TG.

It seems, to me, pretty obvious Poni wanted to go to WPG. He signed for less money than he seems to be worth and he did it very quickly, that was where he wanted to be.

 

[manilaNJ]

Not true, Lou did talk to Poni's agent per TG.

It seems, to me, pretty obvious Poni wanted to go to WPG. He signed for less money than he seems to be worth and he did it very quickly, that was where he wanted to be.

A quote I read from Poni's side right after he signed was that he never heard anything from Lou except a brief statement of mutual interest.

 

[njdevil26]

Poni may have been on Lou's "to-do" after Parise signed somewhere... which I understand.... but once Henrique comes back if we had Poni I would be much happier with this lineup.

The problem I'm going to have is that I don't think we can beat the Flyers with the lineup from Saturday. Lou and DeBoer learned in the playoffs that you can't win big games with Janssen/Barch (Boulton) in the lineup.

 

[tycobb]

I'm not passing any judgment here, I'm pointing out a historical fact. Lou will acquire character-questionable players midseason when their impact in the locker-room is mitigated by the weight of past games and camaraderie, but he's obviously loathe to introduce them onto the white canvas of a new season.

And yes, $6M/year even for one year is a big contract.

He actually signed for 7m. Still hoping the hurricanes and him have a slow start so we can make a trade for him.

 

[Devils731]

A quote I read from Poni's side right after he signed was that he never heard anything from Lou except a brief statement of mutual interest.

Isn't that Poni hearing from Lou?

I don't know anyone who think Poni didn't sign at a contract that is a discount to his true value. The only reason a player does that is because he has a specific destination in mind and there is no competition to sign him.

 

[CerebralGenesis]

Brier won't be playing

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

I seriously wonder how much Poni would cost from the Jets.

 

[Classic Devil]

I seriously wonder how much Poni would cost from the Jets.

We'll see at the trade deadline.

 

[aboriginal]

Leafs Suck. A legendary hockey player.

his speech at the hof upon entry made me weep. truly a great individual. godspeed.

 

[Nordiques1979]

Any news about Darche?

 

[Robert Theodorson]

We'll see at the trade deadline.

He probably went to Winnipeg for a year to increase his value, he has a much better chance of scoring bigger numbers there than most places.

 

[manilaNJ]

Any news about Darche?

He's skating with the team, willing to wait it out for a little while before the Devils decide if they'll offer him a contract.


...with this team, we won't know til he signs or starts skating somewhere else. No idea.

 

[tycobb]

Any news about Darche?

He agreed to stick around a bit without a contract. My guess is Lou signs him once Matteau gets sent back to Juniors.

 

[Classic Devil]

He's skating with the team, willing to wait it out for a little while before the Devils decide if they'll offer him a contract.


...with this team, we won't know til he signs or starts skating somewhere else. No idea.

If he's still skating with us, to me that means he'll be getting a contract, it's just a matter of when.

 

[Baggy Spandex]

He probably went to Winnipeg for a year to increase his value, he has a much better chance of scoring bigger numbers there than most places.

He demonstrated a great value for us during the playoffs. He was part of key goals at big times (OT winner against PHI, OT winner agains NYR, etc).

He and Zach D.E.N.N.I.S.'d us. Separated entirely.

 

[Nordiques1979]

So far Matteau isn't sticking with the team? Thanks for the answers guys.

 

[Classic Devil]

So far Matteau isn't sticking with the team? Thanks for the answers guys.

No, he's sticking. We just doubt it'll be for good.

 

[battlingBard56]

So far Matteau isn't sticking with the team? Thanks for the answers guys.

He's played well in the first game, which is impressive given his age and where he's at right now. Showed some good hockey sense and knows how to use his size. And he's probably still growing too. We just think after five games he'll be sent back to juniors to continue working on his game and so we won't burn off a year on his contract. We really like him though. So far it looks like he belongs.

 

[GM17*]

Brier won't be playing

Never know if this is a good thing or bad thing since he's so dreadful in his own end but also scores on marty a fair bit

 

[manilaNJ]

Rinaldo was taken out of Sunday's game with a "lower body injury" - I'm more concerned over his availability. With the Flyers down 0-2 and the way he was running around game 5, I don't even want to know what kind of cutesy "energizing" tricks he intends to pull.

 

[njdevil26]

Rinaldo was taken out of Sunday's game with a "lower body injury" - I'm more concerned over his availability. With the Flyers down 0-2 and the way he was running around game 5, I don't even want to know what kind of cutesy "energizing" tricks he intends to pull.

I don't know how he's still in the league. He just goes around looking to injure people. He should have been suspended for his knee on knee to Zubrus in the playoffs.

 

[AfroThunder396]

So far Matteau isn't sticking with the team? Thanks for the answers guys.

Most of us expect him to get sent back down after the 5 games.

 

[AfroThunder396]

I'm not passing any judgment here, I'm pointing out a historical fact. Lou will acquire character-questionable players midseason when their impact in the locker-room is mitigated by the weight of past games and camaraderie, but he's obviously loathe to introduce them onto the white canvas of a new season.

And yes, $6M/year even for one year is a big contract.

I'm trying to think of the last time Lou made a major offseason trade (not including Rolston/Hunter or the Malakhov dump, of course).

Arnott for Halischuk + 2nd is the only one I can think of since the lockout. Even then, Arnott was a known commodity.