Devils 2018-19 team discussion (player news and notes) - offseason part V

[JimEIV]

i hate "this" posts, but this.

I am going to start "That" maybe these?

 

[Billdo]

Jersey is exactly what this franchise needed. They really need to go back to the geeens full time both white and red. Just tired of black everywhere in the jerseys of the nhl.

So many of the fans posting online whining about black. I for one am glad they didn't go black. This is perfect.

 

[Zippy316]

Pretty funny mainboard thread right now.

Playing on Wyshynski's Mount Puckmore featuring the most important four players of a franchise, they posed the question who is your teams Mount Suckmore? To quote the OP, "I guess it'd be like infamous blunders, or careers filled with them, notorious traitors, players who burned their own team the most, etc."

I would think Kovalchuk and Parise are easily up there from a fanbase perspective. Possibly Bernier as well, but I'm drawing a blank on who else should be there for the Devils.

 

[JimEIV]

I looking forward to see what Bratt will look like this season and how he will bounce back.

He was so worn out and mentally drained he didn't know how and what to do during drills in practice. Drills he had done thousands times before. His own words.

I'm looking forward to seeing what a stronger and refreshed Jesper Bratt can do.

Bounce back? What more could have anyone possibly asked for from a 19 year old rookie season? Sure he tailed off and sure there are a lot of things in his game that need to be cleamed up and refined...but that was a magnificent rookie showing in my opinion.

 

[New Jersey]

what's old is new again

 

[Billdo]

Pretty funny mainboard thread right now.

Playing on Wyshynski's Mount Puckmore featuring the most important four players of a franchise, they posed the question who is your teams Mount Suckmore? To quote the OP, "I guess it'd be like infamous blunders, or careers filled with them, notorious traitors, players who burned their own team the most, etc."

I would think Kovalchuk and Parise are easily up there from a fanbase perspective. Possibly Bernier as well, but I'm drawing a blank on who else should be there for the Devils.

I don't think Bernier would be up there at all. The other two probably.

 

[Billdo]

Bounce back? What more could have anyone possibly asked for from a 19 year old rookie season? Sure he tailed off and sure there are a lot of things in his game that need to be cleamed up and refined...but that was a magnificent rookie showing in my opinion.

While I agree with you, I'm assuming Swede means how he'd handle a full year this year. Bratt fell off Mt Everest last year. Again, I agree with you but I don't think "bounce back" was meant in like a Jonathan Cheechoo way.

 

[Ripshot 43]

Just remembered that our 2000 Stanley cup clinching game was just on nhl network.

Love this team.

 

[Bleedred]

Pretty funny mainboard thread right now.

Playing on Wyshynski's Mount Puckmore featuring the most important four players of a franchise, they posed the question who is your teams Mount Suckmore? To quote the OP, "I guess it'd be like infamous blunders, or careers filled with them, notorious traitors, players who burned their own team the most, etc."

I would think Kovalchuk and Parise are easily up there from a fanbase perspective. Possibly Bernier as well, but I'm drawing a blank on who else should be there for the Devils.

Sean O'Donnell should definitely be up there before Bernier. f*** that guy.

I keep thinking a guy like Gomez or Holik, but both came back to play for the Devils again at the end of their careers.

 

[Ripshot 43]

Sean O'Donnell should definitely be up there before Bernier. **** that guy.

I keep thinking a guy like Gomez or Holik, but both came back to play for the Devils again at the end of their careers.

I can’t really think of any dead set guys after Parise and Kovalchuck but Lang’s would go up before Bernier for me.

 

[OmNomNom]

I can’t really think of any dead set guys after Parise and Kovalchuck but Lang’s would go up before Bernier for me.

it wasn't even bernier's fault. i mean i'm still upset that it happened, but it was absolutely the wrong call. the guy was obviously devastated it happened

 

[Classic Devil]

Pretty funny mainboard thread right now.

Playing on Wyshynski's Mount Puckmore featuring the most important four players of a franchise, they posed the question who is your teams Mount Suckmore? To quote the OP, "I guess it'd be like infamous blunders, or careers filled with them, notorious traitors, players who burned their own team the most, etc."

I would think Kovalchuk and Parise are easily up there from a fanbase perspective. Possibly Bernier as well, but I'm drawing a blank on who else should be there for the Devils.

Hmmmm.

Hmmmmmmmm.

Okay. Well, Bernier is nowhere near the top of this list. I doubt he's even in my top-50. I'm quite fond of his time with the Devils and that boarding call was not his fault, nor the reason we lost that series.

I think I'd go with:

Esa Tikkanen
Ilya Kovalchuk
Sean O'Donnell
Neil Brady
Mike Van Ryn

 

[Ripshot 43]

Hmmmm.

Hmmmmmmmm.

Okay. Well, Bernier is nowhere near the top of this list. I doubt he's even in my top-50. I'm quite fond of his time with the Devils and that boarding call was not his fault, nor the reason we lost that series.

I think I'd do with:

Esa Tikkanen
Ilya Kovalchuk
Sean O'Donnell
Neil Brady
Mike Van Ryn

Quick reminder on why each?

 

[Classic Devil]

Quick reminder on why each?

Kovalchuk is straightforward.

Devils traded for Tikkanen in 1995-96, he promptly aggravated everyone on the team and we dealt him again three weeks later, making him one of the most significant "new acquisition" disappointments in franchise history. We did make a small profit flipping him, but he'd later play for the Rangers and check Brodeur, so.

Sean O'Donnell was brought in in 2000-01 to anchor a pairing and fill Malakhov's spot and was a total failure. That's especially annoying given we traded Willie Mitchell for him, and he basically was a solid performer everywhere he played except New Jersey.

Neil Brady was drafted 3rd overall in 1986 and is the biggest bust in franchise history, eventually being traded to Ottawa for future considerations.

And Van Ryn was our draft pick who took the 4 year college then UFA loophole route and went on to be a good player, which makes him superbly annoying.

Grabner would be pretty close to making this list.

 

[MadDevil]

 

[Zippy316]

Sean O'Donnell should definitely be up there before Bernier. **** that guy.

I keep thinking a guy like Gomez or Holik, but both came back to play for the Devils again at the end of their careers.

My personal list from when I watched the team would certainly have Kurtis Foster on it.

But I had a feeling there were some older guys that had a much more notorious Devils career that I skipped over. I think @Classic Devil nailed it.

 

[Bleedred]

My personal list from when I watched the team would certainly have Kurtis Foster on it.

But I had a feeling there were some older guys that had a much more notorious Devils career that I skipped over. I think @Classic Devil nailed it.

I actually don't hate Kurtis Foster, for a couple of reasons.

His acquisition meant the end for Pelley and Fraser (at least for a little while) as Devils. Two very bad players who were some of the worst to ever dress for us. Then he got us Zidlicky.

He was terrifyingly bad when we had him though.

 

[None Shall Pass]

I couldn't add Kovalchuk to the Mount Suckmore of Devils history.

He was a total beast getting to the 2012 Final (I'd argue that he was the best player on the team that year, and easily the best in the playoffs), we gave up a grand total of jack and shit for him, and if the rumors are true, him "retiring" made the team sellable, and now we have great ownership. I don't think you can hold the "circumvention" penalties against him, because that was total horseshit anyway.

When he left, it absolutely stung, for me especially. (I wrote him in for president in the 2012 Election - you may recall, he was defeated by Barack Obama). Overall, though, I'd put the Kovalchuk era as a net positive for the franchise, for the reasons mentioned.

 

[Ripshot 43]

Kovalchuk is straightforward.

Devils traded for Tikkanen in 1995-96, he promptly aggravated everyone on the team and we dealt him again three weeks later, making him one of the most significant "new acquisition" disappointments in franchise history. We did make a small profit flipping him, but he'd later play for the Rangers and check Brodeur, so.

Sean O'Donnell was brought in in 2000-01 to anchor a pairing and fill Malakhov's spot and was a total failure. That's especially annoying given we traded Willie Mitchell for him, and he basically was a solid performer everywhere he played except New Jersey.

Neil Brady was drafted 3rd overall in 1986 and is the biggest bust in franchise history, eventually being traded to Ottawa for future considerations.

And Van Ryn was our draft pick who took the 4 year college then UFA loophole route and went on to be a good player, which makes him superbly annoying.

Grabner would be pretty close to making this list.

Wow, I don’t even remember us getting Tikkanen.

About Van Ryn... who should we have drafted that year instead

Edit: Hmm Vincent Damphousse or that Leetch guy might’ve been a nice pickup.

 

[glenwo2]

I actually don't hate Kurtis Foster, for a couple of reasons.

His acquisition meant the end for Pelley and Fraser (at least for a little while) as Devils. Two very bad players who were some of the worst to ever dress for us. Then he got us Zidlicky.

He was terrifyingly bad when we had him though.

Here's two questions :

Was Kurtis Foster better than John Moore?

Is Ben LoveJoy better than Kurtis Foster?

 

[JrFischer54]

Hmmmm.

Hmmmmmmmm.

Okay. Well, Bernier is nowhere near the top of this list. I doubt he's even in my top-50. I'm quite fond of his time with the Devils and that boarding call was not his fault, nor the reason we lost that series.

I think I'd go with:

Esa Tikkanen
Ilya Kovalchuk
Sean O'Donnell
Neil Brady
Mike Van Ryn

Lol that boarding call was directly his fault we lost the series. You give up 3ppg halfway into the first of an elimination game? You want to say losing games 1-2 in overtime blah blah. The devils didn’t get eliminated in those games.

The call was iffy but it drew blood and that will be called

 

[Billdo]

And Van Ryn was our draft pick who took the 4 year college then UFA loophole route and went on to be a good player, which makes him superbly annoying.

Was that loophole different back then bc I'm 99% he didn't stay in college for your years

 

[Triumph]

Lol that boarding call was directly his fault we lost the series. You give up 3ppg halfway into the first of an elimination game? You want to say losing games 1-2 in overtime blah blah. The devils didn’t get eliminated in those games.

The call was iffy but it drew blood and that will be called

The Devils were getting pummeled in that game before the penalty and had gotten pummeled in the 2 previous games - ones which they'd happened to win but were by no means the better team. A team taking a major penalty should give up around 1 goal on average, not 3 goals, either. They were done without Brodeur heroics no matter what.

 

[R8Devs]

I couldn't add Kovalchuk to the Mount Suckmore of Devils history.

He was a total beast getting to the 2012 Final (I'd argue that he was the best player on the team that year, and easily the best in the playoffs), we gave up a grand total of jack and **** for him, and if the rumors are true, him "retiring" made the team sellable, and now we have great ownership. I don't think you can hold the "circumvention" penalties against him, because that was total horse**** anyway.

When he left, it absolutely stung, for me especially. (I wrote him in for president in the 2012 Election - you may recall, he was defeated by Barack Obama). Overall, though, I'd put the Kovalchuk era as a net positive for the franchise, for the reasons mentioned.

Same. 2012 run was so fun and also him retiring was a good thing for this franchise. If he was still here he would have 8 years left on his contract. imagine having a 35 year old locked up for 8 more years at 6.67 AAV with a high recapture if he retires.

so I just look at it like the Devils had Kovy for 3 years at 6.67 AAV ( I know there's a recapture penalty of like 200k per season but whatever)

 

[Ol Dirty Bstrd]

Stefan Matteau for reasons that shouldn’t have to be expanded on