Devils Defense

Bleedred

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I think the Devils defense is very solid, DeBoer doesn't need to rely too much on just one or two pairings because all three can play. Sure, its missing that superstar number 1, but Larsson is getting there and Greene is honestly playing like a number 1. This is the best D the Devils have had in years. Compared to the Mike Mottau era, I'll take our current group every day of the week

A lot less shots are deflected into our own net without Mottau too!:laugh:

This is the best it's looked in quite sometime. Even a few years ago it would usually get exposed badly. Remember when we were rolling Fraser like nightly in 09/10, and 10/11? Don't even tell me about his league leading plus minus. That's as flukey as Sal's playoff scoring!:laugh:
 

TaiMaiShu

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Aug 12, 2005
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Maybe next Summer. I think he uses one at least. Maybe not two of them. Volchenkov is the likely candidate. If Tallinder stinks as bad as the Isles game too many more times, and he has no value I can see us using one on him. It won't hurt too much with just a year left.

Though I expect he'll try to trade Tallinder for whatever he can before that. Even if it's just a later round pick.

Just thought it over and it looks like he very possibly could next summer rather than this summer. Assuming one defenseman gets traded this year and Zids is not resigned, one of the kids will be eased into a 6 role with Harrold.

After that I'd hope for another defenseman gets bought out regardless of how the rookies do. And by 2015, only Larsson, Fayne, and Greene are all that's left.


With that being said, I think we can still be competitive come playoff time with this group of defenseman. Especially with Larsson really making strides right now.
 

Bleedred

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Just thought it over and it looks like he very possibly could next summer rather than this summer. Assuming one defenseman gets traded this year and Zids is not resigned, one of the kids will be eased into a 6 role with Harrold.

After that I'd hope for another defenseman gets bought out regardless of how the rookies do. And by 2015, only Larsson, Fayne, and Greene are all that's left.


With that being said, I think we can still be competitive come playoff time with this group of defenseman. Especially with Larsson really making strides right now.
I still see Salvador retiring here. So that means in 2015 if he's 38/39 and doesn't feel like retiring, he will end his career with us. Barring **** going downhill fast. Or him becoming as unserviceable as Jay Pandolfo was.
 

Hockey Sports Fan

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i can't stand watching tallinder or zidlicky anymore. salvador has done okay, but not as good as he was in the playoffs. larsson and greene have impressed me. harrold should not be playing, he's just a worse version of zidlicky. fayne hasn't amazed me but i'd rather have him in than tallinder.

Is that a surprise? To anyone?
 

Volodya Krutov

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Jan 18, 2012
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A lot of us are really hard on our guys. Watch some games around the league and check out some of the mistakes other players make on a nightly basis. They would be torched here. There is always going to be mistakes made.


The great things seen against Pittsburgh have been quickly forgotten. No preseason and a compressed schedule are leading to big consistency issues too. I still believe we've got a solid team here.
 

VaxjoDevil

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Salvador started to cool of already in the finals. Sal-Volch could not handle the L.A. speed at all, we were lucky with some bounces and a post in game 4 that their slow **** didn't get us swept.
 

Zippy316

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Aug 17, 2012
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I don't mind Volchenkov or Salvador.

Volchenkov however needs limited even strength minutes. I like Harrold because of the mobility he brings, but on the right side, he isn't needed. What I'd like to see:

Greene-Larsson
Salvador-Zidlicky
Volchenkov-Fayne
 

Hockey Sports Fan

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Why not sit him? They sat Tallinder. Tallinder in his place and Fayne in is a more mobile and dynamic defense without giving up much of anything.

I think it would go a long way to pair Zidlicky with someone like Tallinder who can actually skate and defend, but can also complement the offense a bit with his skating. Zid's offense is often lost at even strength 'cause it's still a 4v5 offense with Salvador.

I like Volchenkov, a lot, but I think a lot of posters are correct that he simply can not keep up in a system that plays at such a high tempo. And having both Fayne and Tallinder in at the same times makes sure every pairing has a good D guy and a good mobile guy.

Greene - Larsson
Salvador - Fayne
Tallinder - Zidlicky

Please please please sit the slow guy for once and see what happens, Pete.
 

Bleedred

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Salvador started to cool of already in the finals. Sal-Volch could not handle the L.A. speed at all, we were lucky with some bounces and a post in game 4 that their slow **** didn't get us swept.

Kings were also lucky in game 2 that Kovy hit a post with 18 seconds left in the 3rd. If not it's a tie going back to LA!:nod:
 

Emperoreddy

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Kings were also lucky in game 2 that Kovy hit a post with 18 seconds left in the 3rd. If not it's a tie going back to LA!:nod:

Which game did Fayne whiff on the open net? Lucky that happened too.

If we use our amnesty buyout, Volch would be the best candidate. I think Lou can get some value out of Tallinder.

Volch isn't as bad as some people rag on him, but that contract is. He just isn't worth that kind of money.
 

Bleedred

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Which game did Fayne whiff on the open net? Lucky that happened too.

If we use our amnesty buyout, Volch would be the best candidate. I think Lou can get some value out of Tallinder.

Volch isn't as bad as some people rag on him, but that contract is. He just isn't worth that kind of money.

It was game 1. Clarkson missed an open net that game too.:cry:
 

Saugus

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Been very impressed with greene-larsson. Aside from that not a lot to like about this group at the moment. Sal has been mediocre and the less said about volch the better. Fayne definitely needs to be playing....

I agree with all of this. We have an excellent top pairing, and a decent middle pairing. The bottom pairing is going through a heavy slump right now because Tallinder, Sal, and Volch are all bad at the same time.

That 3 year contract for Salvador looks worse and worse every game. I'm sure being paired with Zidlicky isn't helping, but woof.

I didn't like it from the beginning. I thought it would turn into a Rolston contract sooner or later, and I was hoping for later, but it's sooner.
 

Bleedred

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I'd like to compare the Salvador contract to Pandolfo rather than Rolston. Though the 35+ is like Rolston.

We absolutely cannot afford to give big Dainius a raise, or what he's been getting on his next contract like we did to Salvador.
 

Oroku Saki*

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I also think Sal is playing too much. He's always around 21 minutes. I'd cut him down to 17-18.
 

rtr1105

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Greene-Larsson has been unbelievable. They have great chemistry together and are great at creating turnovers, especially behind the net. Larsson is a good passer and Greene has been too. Larsson has also been good staying in front of a man on a rush and preventing him from getting off a good shot. Fayne has been pretty good too. Definitely our 3rd best D-man this year. Volchenkov isn't as bad as everyone makes himout to be, IMO. He is very good along the boards and could force a decent number of turnovers with hos physicality. But a big downside to his game is his ability with the puck. He also often seems out of place on D, leading to many scoring chances for the opposition. Now on to Salvador. The man with the C hasn't impressed me this year. Like Volch, he too seems out of place on D at times, leading to scoring chances. One bright spot in his game has been the PK. He's aggressive and it works. As a matter of fact, I thought the Ottawa game was his best in a while. The only exception was the Alfredsson goal, although I'd probably blame Zids more for that one. Okay, now I'll talk about Zids. He's been poor defensively, but his true value is on the PP. He moves the puck well and will score a few goals, though sometimes I think he takes too many shots, when other guys like Kovy and Zajac should be taking them. Tallinder is okay I think. I'd rather see Sal in the press box than him TBH.
 

SteveCangialosi123

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We have 3 defensemen who don't have major holes in their game in Fayne, Greene, and Larsson. The rest have huge weaknesses. They either handle the puck like grenades, are slow as molasses, or cannot play defense. We're gonna need our two-way d prospects to pan out in order to fill out our d core. Fayne, Greene, Larsson is a really solid base though, especially if Larsson becomes elite.
 

Missionhockey

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Due to 1 part system, 1 part forward responsibility and 1 part effective forecheck keeping pressure off the defense.

Has very little to do with the quality of any individual defenseman on this team.

The Devils also happen to have a pretty good coach that puts that all together, and so far as I know, he's not going anywhere.

The defense is just ok, I think we all knew that. Plus I can handle the odd Zid moment so long as he keeps producing points from the back end. The Salvador contract did surprise me though.
 

JimEIV

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Feb 19, 2003
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The Devils have been making due with adequate defensemen for a long time...they've been in the upper echelon of the league in shots and total team defense for a decade without top quality defenders. They did it with likes of Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya as their 1 and 2... Since Niedermayer left the Devils haven't had a top quality defender(I don't consider Rafalski top quality). For nearly a decade now the Devils haven't had a defenseman that could be on the top pairing of another good playoff team.

Their forwards have largely been the keys to success.

Edit: and just a preemptive comment before anyone takes me to task on Rafalski; There were only 2 years of his entire career that he wasn't paired with a Hall of Fame partner. During those two years he was greatly exposed. He was a good offensive defenseman that made for a nice complimentary player to a Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Nic Lidstrom. He stepped in poop. No player has ever been that lucky with situations. He basically had the benefit of the 3 best partners possible, maybe the 3 best defensemen of the time.
 
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Feed Me A Stray Cat

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Mar 27, 2005
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The Devils have been making due with adequate defensemen for a long time...they've been in the upper echelon of the league in shots and total team defense for a decade without top quality defenders. They did it with likes of Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya as their 1 and 2... Since Niedermayer left the Devils haven't had a top quality defender(I don't consider Rafalski top quality). For nearly a decade now the Devils haven't had a defenseman that could be on the top pairing of another good playoff team.

Their forwards have largely been the keys to success.

Edit: and just a preemptive comment before anyone takes me to task on Rafalski; There were only 2 years of his entire career that he wasn't paired with a Hall of Fame partner. During those two years he was greatly exposed. He was a good offensive defenseman that made for a nice complimentary player to a Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Nic Lidstrom. He stepped in poop. No player has ever been that lucky with situations. He basically had the benefit of the 3 best partners possible, maybe the 3 best defensemen of the time.

Definitely disagree about Rafalski. He had flaws, but was very good in 05-06 and 06-07. Top echelon offensive defenseman who could move the puck and wasn't horrendous in his own end.
 

JimEIV

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Definitely disagree about Rafalski. He had flaws, but was very good in 05-06 and 06-07. Top echelon offensive defenseman who could move the puck and wasn't horrendous in his own end.

I guess we disagree...From my perspective he was terrible in his own end especially along the boards. He was checked off the puck frequently, couldn't win board battles and was pretty much useless around the net. He wasn't capable of top pairing by himself. He was very much a complimentary player.

There was a stretch a few years when Lidstrom was hurt for an extended period of and all the Detroit fans were asking "what happened to Rafalski" nothing happened to him, you just got to see him without his HoF backup.
 

onefatsurfer

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Feb 10, 2009
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I'm about as big of a volchenkov fan as they come, and I am getting to the point where I'm agreeing that his skillset is not worth his flaws. His legs seem like they're gone. At this point, I would prefer Tallinder to him. The 6 dmen I would use at this point in time are:Greene, Larsson, Salvador, Zidlicky, Tallinder, Fayne.

I understand sitting Fayne after his poor play following the loss of his grandmother, but we need him back, badly.
 

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