Devils Team Discussion (current team/player news and notes) ‎2014-2015 Part VII

[liquid1988]

I've said it before and Ill say it again, keep Jagr and Cammallari on the top line and add Henrique or dare I say, Ryder or Brunner to the line.Zajac hasn't dont jack squat so far this season and is way out of touch with Jagr. We all know Zubrus is just dead weight on the top line, too clumsy. I like Clowe but If I remember correctly we attempted to put him on the top line last year and that didn't work well at all. Yes, Jagr is slow but he is incredible when it comes to puck possession and passing skills. Cammallari and the other three are pure goal scorers and with Camm crashing the net and Henrique/Brunner circling the zone, we may have a better scoring top line. I would throw Severson and Greene out there to have a good balance of speed/shooting and defensive skills to keep the puck alive in the zone. Obviously this is just one fans opinion but I don't see why this pairing Idea couldn't be given a shot.

 

[Big PP]

Personally, I would blow this team up at this point. Obviously we are not a good enough team to be considered cup contenders and how long are we going to accept being borderline playoff contenders?

This is the perfect season to go into a rebuild with the stacked draft coming up. I say trade away Salvador, Zidlicky, Clowe, Zubrus and Ryder. Lets get some guys that can actually skate. I would be perfectly fine getting only mid round draft picks for the guys mentioned above. Sign Gomez, bring up Matteau, Helegson, Harrold and Janssen and demote Tootoo.

Role with:

Elias-Henrique-Havlat
Cammalleri-Zajac-Jagr
Matteau-Gomez-Brunner
Ruutu-Josefson-Gionta

Greene-Severson
Helegson-Merrill
Gelinas-Larsson

Janssen, Harrold, xxx

We would have a much more agile team, not to mention more youth on the team which is desperately needed. This team honestly could not do worse then the team currently being iced. The only issue i would have with this team is the line up looks a little soft, but we can find grit.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Personally, I would blow this team up at this point. Obviously we are not a good enough team to be considered cup contenders and how long are we going to accept being borderline playoff contenders?

This is the perfect season to go into a rebuild with the stacked draft coming up. I say trade away Salvador, Zidlicky, Clowe, Zubrus and Ryder. Lets get some guys that can actually skate. I would be perfectly fine getting only mid round draft picks for the guys mentioned above. Sign Gomez, bring up Matteau, Helegson, Harrold and Janssen and demote Tootoo.

Role with:

Elias-Henrique-Havlat
Cammalleri-Zajac-Jagr
Matteau-Gomez-Brunner
Ruutu-Josefson-Gionta

Greene-Severson
Helegson-Merrill
Gelinas-Larsson

Janssen, Harrold, xxx

We would have a much more agile team, not to mention more youth on the team which is desperately needed. This team honestly could not do worse then the team currently being iced. The only issue i would have with this team is the line up looks a little soft, but we can find grit.

I actually wouldn't mind seeing something like this but what team in this league is going to trade for Sal or Clowe? You couldn't pawn them off for bag of pucks. That's one if the biggest dilemmas we have. We can't get rid of the guys that need to go, even if Lou wanted to.

 

[Big PP]

Salvador i am positive we can get rid of to a team like the Avs who were willing to pay Orpik a **** ton of money. Salvador would easily return a 3rd on deadline day.

Out of the guys mentioned, only Clowe would be a pain to move. We would prob have to package a 2nd with him plus take on a bad contract on a shorter term just to get rid of him. I would do it though, Clowe is just so ******* slow that it makes me not want to look at the screen when he is on the ice.

Zidlicky would return a 2nd on deadline day and we could get mid round picks for ryder and zubrus if we wanted to.

 

[Capt Nico Poo]

Average age in big pp's D is like 22. Gl with that in NHL.

 

[JimEIV]

I think Zidlicky would be very valuable at the deadline...very, very valuable.

 

[HischierSeDgewOrk]

There is no conceivable way Salvador brings back a 3rd. Possibly a 5th or 6th for a team desperate for a veteran dman.
and I hate to say it but Elias might have finally hit the wall. He's 38 and will be 39 by the end of the season. His speed, skill and vision are finally eroding.....quickly.
Hate to see it because he's one of my favorites.

 

[Capt Nico Poo]

There is no conceivable way Salvador brings back a 3rd. Possibly a 5th or 6th for a team desperate for a veteran dman.
and I hate to say it but Elias might have finally hit the wall. He's 38 and will be 39 by the end of the season. His speed, skill and vision are finally eroding.....quickly.
Hate to see it because he's one of my favorites.

Exactlt my thoughts. Its so clear right now. How many years does he have left on his paper?

 

[NJDevs26]

If Ray Whitney can go strong into his early 40's I don't see why Elias can't have another couple of good years left. But yeah he doesn't look too good right now.

 

[Big PP]

There is no conceivable way Salvador brings back a 3rd. Possibly a 5th or 6th for a team desperate for a veteran dman.
and I hate to say it but Elias might have finally hit the wall. He's 38 and will be 39 by the end of the season. His speed, skill and vision are finally eroding.....quickly.
Hate to see it because he's one of my favorites.

If you asked a Pens fan if Orpik would get a contract of 5m+ per year on a long term deal, they would have laughed at you. Im positive Salvador would return a 3rd on deadline day. Anyways, even if we got a 5th or 6th, id be happy with it.

 

[Big PP]

Average age in big pp's D is like 22. Gl with that in NHL.

If we went the route of rebuilding, then I dont see why it would be a problem. Greene is a veteran. Merrill and Larsson are no longer rookies. Gelinas can hold his own for the most part. Severson and Helegson are the only rookies. Severson is already one of our better players and Helegson has been ready for a while now. Of course there would be issues but we have to let these guys learn.

We can always play Harrold if your goal is to increase the overall age of the line up

 

[Fear the Wushu]

Are we transforming into the NJ Islanders? Years of misery await us if we cannot put quality forwards on the ice.

 

[Capt Nico Poo]

If we went the route of rebuilding, then I dont see why it would be a problem. Greene is a veteran. Merrill and Larsson are no longer rookies. Gelinas can hold his own for the most part. Severson and Helegson are the only rookies. Severson is already one of our better players and Helegson has been ready for a while now. Of course there would be issues but we have to let these guys learn.

We can always play Harrold if your goal is to increase the overall age of the line up

Its not about the age per say, its more about the experience.

 

[JimEIV]

Are we transforming into the NJ Islanders? Years of misery await us if we cannot put quality forwards on the ice.

I still don't think it is that bad. 2 quality forwards would go a long way...and I'm not even talking star type players. 2 legitimate young, big, fast top 6 forwards and a disappearing act of Clowe, Zubrus and Jagr transforms the forward corp.

Can Larsson return an almost ready top 6 forward? Maybe Zidlicky can at the deadline? We desperately need a trade for top 6 forward. Then integrate Boucher and Matteau and you can literally transform the group over night.

 

[liquid1988]

I still don't think it is that bad. 2 quality forwards would go a long way...and I'm not even talking star type players. 2 legitimate young, big, fast top 6 forwards and a disappearing act of Clowe, Zubrus and Jagr transforms the forward corp.

Can Larsson return an almost ready top 6 forward? Maybe Zidlicky can at the deadline? We desperately need a trade for top 6 forward. Then integrate Boucher and Matteau and you can literally transform the group over night.

I think we need to still give Jagr more time. It may be that the coaches told him to be more of a secondary play maker as opposed to a goal scorer that he was last season. Afterall, he did have 67 points last season with 25 goals but if by Xmas he isn't producing we may have to call it quits with him. We all know Zubrus is past his time and has been awfully slow for a few seasons now and Clowe is in the same boat. Even Elias and Zajac have been very lackadaisical this season with very little to show for all the Ice time they get.
Once coach dumbarse disappears (if he ever does) we will start to see the younger guys come up from the other team and allow them to develop their NHL game. Boucher has shown alot of promise in the very few games we saw him in and even MAtteau had some nice moves. As long as we don't bring Jansson up we may have a fighting chance once again. Paul Thompson already has 7 goals in 5 games with Albany so he might be a good replacement for Tootoo on the right wing. I'm not sure why we haven't heard alot about him so far this season and what he may bring to the team

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I would trade Zids at the deadline regardless of our position

we have enough offense coming from the defense at this point

 

[Traitor Zach]

I think Zidlicky would be very valuable at the deadline...very, very valuable.

Not with the way he keeps playing defense.

 

[devilsblood]

I think Zidlicky would be very valuable at the deadline...very, very valuable.

I thought that last year.

Maybe this is the year?

 

[devilsblood]

I would trade Zids at the deadline regardless of our position

we have enough offense coming from the defense at this point

I think I'm in on this.

And I link it to the Larsson debate. People say if Larsson is in, then only logical guy to pull is Gelly. But Gelly is very similar to Zid's. So why can't Lars come in for Zids?

And I like Zid's as a player, and despite his poor defensive showing thus far this year, last year he was pretty solid.

But again, trading Zid's would be a measure of asset mgmt, no matter if guys hate the term or not, it's the smart move.

 

[StnTwnDevil]

Personally, I would blow this team up at this point. Obviously we are not a good enough team to be considered cup contenders and how long are we going to accept being borderline playoff contenders?

This is the perfect season to go into a rebuild with the stacked draft coming up. I say trade away Salvador, Zidlicky, Clowe, Zubrus and Ryder. Lets get some guys that can actually skate. I would be perfectly fine getting only mid round draft picks for the guys mentioned above. Sign Gomez, bring up Matteau, Helegson, Harrold and Janssen and demote Tootoo.

Role with:

Elias-Henrique-Havlat
Cammalleri-Zajac-Jagr
Matteau-Gomez-Brunner
Ruutu-Josefson-Gionta

Greene-Severson
Helegson-Merrill
Gelinas-Larsson

Janssen, Harrold, xxx

We would have a much more agile team, not to mention more youth on the team which is desperately needed. This team honestly could not do worse then the team currently being iced. The only issue i would have with this team is the line up looks a little soft, but we can find grit.

This team could still do something if they get to the playoffs. But I do think selling off the veterans for picks and offensive prospects wouldn't be a bad idea at all, especially if they're in the same position prior to the trade deadline they were last year.

 

[njdevils1982]

amazed zids has not taken a penalty so far this season

 

[Rob Nieds work ethic]

amazed zids has not taken a penalty so far this season

Thankfully the rest of the team has made up for that loss.

 

[jkrdevil]

Not with the way he keeps playing defense.

He is actually having a very good season so far. He is at about 50.6% possession (as measured by Corsi for), and that is while being anchored with Salvador. Without Salvador so far is is at 65.9% possession.

 

[The 29th Pick]

lets be optimistic ..all our players (except the young D) are playing "meh" hockey right now
one by one, little by little they'll all start coming around and this team will be winning at a .700 clip

 

[Emperoreddy]

This team could still do something if they get to the playoffs. But I do think selling off the veterans for picks and offensive prospects wouldn't be a bad idea at all, especially if they're in the same position prior to the trade deadline they were last year.

It is WAY to early to be blowing things up. Canes and Sabres aren't even blowing up yet ( why did Moulson go there?!!).

If things need to be blown up and we sell it can be done at the deadline