You're the GM, it time to make changes Part II

[Sascha Goc]

Regardless, it'll cost more than that to sign him on the open market.

The guy is pretty much a clone of Zajac 30-50 point center, plays tremendous defense , great at the faceoff dot. Nice player but not what this team needs right this minute. He's a great addition to a contender.

 

[Zippy316]

Let's see if I can end this suggestion. Had we another player identical to Andy Greene, it would be a worth while trade. But, having a high risk defenceman like Zid, being the only veteran D-man, wouldn't put us in a better situation for the development of the youth movement we have happening for our defence.

Andy Greene is part of the core of the Devils system currently in place.

I agree.

He is perfect for us right now as the anchor to our first pairing. Hopefully, by the time he starts to regress, Merrill will be ready or has already taken over his spot on that pairing.

Greene, Merrill, Severson, and Larsson should be our top four for the future. It's a great core to have and then if someone like Santini comes to push one of those guys out, that's going to be a great problem to have.

Trading Greene will only hurt the development of our young guys and won't give us anything that will make that worthwhile.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Greene just recently passed 500 games played in the NHL. yes, he is 32, but its not like he has a million miles of NHL games on his body.

 

[MichaelJ]

So let me get this straight.

You want the Devils to trade their only good veteran D and replace him with someone from free agency to provide the veteran defense and stability he does.

Please inform me how well the rest of our UFA acquisitions have gone for us except for Cammalleri.

That's a non sequitur. By that logic we should abandon the idea of drafting and developing forwards we shouldn't bother now.

As I said, if all you're concerned about is a veteran presence there are a number of defensemen who can do that, via trade or free agency. They wouldn't be as talented but if their only role is to provide experience who cares?

Stop cherrypicking the Oilers as the go to example. They are mismanaged top to bottom. There are many young players who have developed just fine by playing on crappy teams. The nuggets keys are health, playing time, talent, coaching, and willingness to work.

 

[Zippy316]

The guy is pretty much a clone of Zajac 30-50 point center, plays tremendous defense , great at the faceoff dot. Nice player but not what this team needs right this minute. He's a great addition to a contender.

Yeah but he doesn't really help us. In two or three years, he would be a nice addition but not now.

I like the idea of Frolik and Matthias, but yet again, they are lefties. We need to find a way to add some right handed shots on this team. They would both be nice additions, especially due to their age.

 

[yehyeh]

Greene just recently passed 500 games played in the NHL. yes, he is 32, but its not like he has a million miles of NHL games on his body.

Yeah, didn't he just have his 200th consecutive game? The guy may very well be in his prime at a later age.

 

[JimEIV]

I agree.

He is perfect for us right now as the anchor to our first pairing. Hopefully, by the time he starts to regress, Merrill will be ready or has already taken over his spot on that pairing.

Greene, Merrill, Severson, and Larsson should be our top four for the future. It's a great core to have and then if someone like Santini comes to push one of those guys out, that's going to be a great problem to have.

Trading Greene will only hurt the development of our young guys and won't give us anything that will make that worthwhile.

Very important point. You absolutely need a stable veteran on your team, even moreso with a young group and in 2 years everything that you might call a vet will be gone. Greene is too important to this team to trade.

 

[Zippy316]

That's a non sequitur. By that logic we should abandon the idea of drafting and developing forwards we shouldn't bother now.

As I said, if all you're concerned about is a veteran presence there are a number of defensemen who can do that, via trade or free agency. They wouldn't be as talented but if their only role is to provide experience who cares?

Stop cherrypicking the Oilers as the go to example. They are mismanaged top to bottom. There are many young players who have developed just fine by playing on crappy teams. The nuggets keys are health, playing time, talent, coaching, and willingness to work.

They are mismanaged because they lack the stability around their young guys.

It's not just about the veteran presence. Salvador provides the "veteran presence". It's the veteran presence he brings as well as the level of play. Like I said, look at what he's done already to Fayne, Larsson, and Severson. Look at what each of them had to say about Greene and what Greene does to help them.

Furthermore, Greene has been anchoring our first pairing for the last couple years. What that does, and it's more prevalent now, is keeps some of the younger guys from playing too many minutes before they are ready. You don't want to stunt a players confidence or growth by putting him in a tough position. That's where Greene is very, very important to this team.

 

[Oneiro]

Does NJ do things like other teams? It's a yes or no question and every Devils fan knows the answer.

Most players who come from the outside in have to adjust to the model. We are trying to teach at least 4-5 young D the skills they need to have a long career in the league. And some fans want to trade the most reliable player on the team, a guy who exemplifies and knows the model?

In order, to what? Generate more scoring in hopes of being a contender faster? Meanwhile, we wish and hope that Severson, Larsson and Merrill pick up the slack from a guy who eats 25 min a night vs. the hardest competition in the league and comes out on top, on a bad team.

As fans, we need to take our medicine and stay patient. I imagine things will progress a lot faster than we think.

I really believe that Lou has stuck with Zajac and Greene for so long because he knows what they are and how much they will have contributed when this team gets back to what it should be.

 

[Bleedred]

I'd personally love to trade Greene actually. It might actually result in Mark Fraser getting a one way deal and that would just be great!

 

[GhostofKenKlee]

Lou is never going to be fired.

quit passing that off as a fact. thats ridiculous.

I don't want to hear the "WELL WE ARENT GOING TO BE GOOD SO LETS TRADE EVERYONE!!!" argument. thats silliness. you need veteran stability even DURING a rebuild.

Trade EVERYONE!!! Don West/Be Dialin' people.

Exactly on all counts, Lou won't be fired and even craptacular Buffalo went out and signed Veterans that can play and are tanking.

 

[GhostofKenKlee]

That's the thing, if Lou is gone they'll bring in someone to start cleaning house of contracts. I still think Lou is given this trade deadline, draft, and offseason to get things going in the right direction.

How do you know that the next GM will just "clean house". They have a nice base in Goal and on D. The Forwards is another story. Even when Hextall came in, what did he do? He traded Umberger for Hartnell, he was just on the record stating how hard it is to get deals done.

People have this strange illusion of roster changes, it's not a shift change at McDonalds and wholesale.

Nor is the NBA the NHL.

 

[Richer's Ghost]

the ship is sinking and the life boats are filling up... this gonna get ugly.

 

[New Jack City]

it just hit me that Mark Fraser is consistently playing over Gelinas. What in the...

 

[GhostofKenKlee]

It's all about building up Fraser's for a 3-4th rounder.

 

[GhostofKenKlee]

the ship is sinking and the life boats are filling up... this gonna get ugly.

I'm thinking more like 1929 post crash.

 

[StnTwnDevil]

A coach that can handle losing while being a good teacher for the young guys is what this team will need next year. If your expectations are to be a playoff team next year, you're gonna probably end up blaming the coach for all the Devil's problems again. Lou will have to try to be as active as possible trying to move a few veterans for picks or prospects prior to the deadline. Hopefully things just fall into place. They'll need a bit of luck. Falling apart down the home stretch wouldn't hurt too much either.

 

[Officer Rod Farva]

A coach that can handle losing while being a good teacher for the young guys is what this team will need next year. If your expectations are to be a playoff team next year, you're gonna probably end up blaming the coach for all the Devil's problems again. Lou will have to try to be as active as possible trying to move a few veterans for picks or prospects prior to the deadline. Hopefully things just fall into place. They'll need a bit of luck. Falling apart down the home stretch wouldn't hurt too much either.

It would be nice to compete for a playoff spot as half the league makes it in the playoffs.

 

[NJDevs26]

I'm thinking more like 1929 post crash.

That actually is fairly accurate considering how everyone wants to sell everything for fifty cents on the dollar

Honestly though they do have to get something of value for at least a couple of these guys. Can't trade everyone but you need to stock the cupboard and get something out of this season.

 

[Chessarmy]

If Merrill and Larsson turn into Andy Greene clones I'd call their development a massive success. That's how much I value what Andy brings to this team. If I'm a GM, I'd want six players just like him (well, maybe five with one physical player) to make up my D core.

 

[StnTwnDevil]

It would be nice to compete for a playoff spot as half the league makes it in the playoffs.

Well, it'd be nice if the roster the Devils are icing was better than half the league, but it just isn't. Its the situation they're in.

 

[StnTwnDevil]

It's all about building up Fraser's for a 3-4th rounder.

That game against Montreal dropped him from 7th rounder potential the other day.

 

[MadDevil]

the ship is sinking and the life boats are filling up... this gonna get ugly.

Never let go Jack. Never let go.

 

[Devils Dominion]

On the bright side for Fraser, he is tied with Andy Greene for goals scored this season.

 

[Bleedred]

A coach that can handle losing while being a good teacher for the young guys is what this team will need next year. If your expectations are to be a playoff team next year, you're gonna probably end up blaming the coach for all the Devil's problems again. Lou will have to try to be as active as possible trying to move a few veterans for picks or prospects prior to the deadline. Hopefully things just fall into place. They'll need a bit of luck. Falling apart down the home stretch wouldn't hurt too much either.

It depends who the coach is. If it's Oates, we're guaranteed to miss the playoffs again.