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Lou's way of handling free agents


SterioDesign

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Lou gets passes way to often.

I do agree with you to a certain extent. There was that period of 2005 to 2008 where I thought he was one of the worst GM's in the league and outside of Elias couldn't keep anyone. But overall his moves or non-moves make the team better in the end.

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I do agree with you to a certain extent. There was that period of 2005 to 2008 where I thought he was one of the worst GM's in the league and outside of Elias couldn't keep anyone. But overall his moves or non-moves make the team better in the end.

He did keep Langenbrunner and White. At the time everyone seemed pretty happy to get those guys back. Also signed Rafalski to a 2-year deal when he was an UFA for the first time.

Not singling you out, but there is too much of a tendency to take note of the guys who left, and not the ones who stayed. Which of the "big" guys who left did you want back for the prices they signed for?

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976
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There was absolutely nothing wrong with the way Lou handled this.

Agreed. Zach said himself he would have signed here if the Wild didn't offer him a such a (foolish-imo) contract.

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Bottom line #2: Nobody is ever gonna convince me that Lou did "everything he possibly could" to re-sign Zach.

Then what is the point if you not going to let reality enter your opinion? This was Zach's choice, he said would have come back if Minny didn't offer such a (foolish- IMO) contract.

Lou did his job. Zach said he loved playing for NJ that is all you can ask aside from throwing money away on a player. Which we wisely did not do this this ridiculous extent.

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He did keep Langenbrunner and White. At the time everyone seemed pretty happy to get those guys back. Also signed Rafalski to a 2-year deal when he was an UFA for the first time.

Not singling you out, but there is too much of a tendency to take note of the guys who left, and not the ones who stayed. Which of the "big" guys who left did you want back for the prices they signed for?

Oh of course. I mean I was pleasantly surprised that he managed to keep Elias and I felt it was best that he let Gionta walk in 09.

I guess it is just the feeling that Lou had trouble adapting to the cap and the new NHL and seeing Rafalski and Niedermayer leaving while signing Malakhov, McGillis, Mogilny and others. What I am trying to say is that it just seems the players leave at the worst possible times and the replacements tend to be less than stellar.

Again Lou did everything he could do with Parise and did everything he could do with Rafalski and Niedermayer. Just hard being a fan of a team that while we have been very successful the last 20 years, cannot entice players to stay because we don't have as long of a team history compared to others, have no real "sex appeal", do not have a large group of players who were born and raised her to come home to, and represent a state where a large group of people are fans of the other area teams.

Edited by DevsMan84
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Then what is the point if you not going to let reality enter your opinion? This was Zach's choice, he said would have come back if Minny didn't offer such a (foolish- IMO) contract.

Lou did his job. Zach said he loved playing for NJ that is all you can ask aside from throwing money away on a player. Which we wisely did not do this this ridiculous extent.

Sterio looks at these things in a very black-and-white manner. Truth is there's a LOT of shades of gray here, some of which we're privy to, many of which we're not. There will always be fans who think they know what could've/should've been done when to prevent something from happening, and they won't be convinced otherwise.

Like others have noted, I think Lou did absolutely everything he could. I think Zach made a very difficult decision that didn't go our way. Some fans will insist there was some shadiness on Zach's part, that he was never truly interested in signing here, that he's a douche and a traitor and a money-chaser, whatever.

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Sterio looks at these things in a very black-and-white manner. Truth is there's a LOT of shades of gray here, some of which we're privy to, many of which we're not. There will always be fans who think they know what could've/should've been done when to prevent something from happening, and they won't be convinced otherwise.

Like others have noted, I think Lou did absolutely everything he could. I think Zach made a very difficult decision that didn't go our way. Some fans will insist there was some shadiness on Zach's part, that he was never truly interested in signing here, that he's a douche and a traitor and a money-chaser, whatever.

I guess his opinion and certainly a little in mine is that while we do understand Lou did everything he could to sign Parise, we just feel that he could have done more. This is not based on any real evidence or anything at all, it is all based on just feeling.

I think the source of this is watching other teams, especially the Rags and Philly next to us, who seem to get every free agent they desire. We watched this go on for many years and felt like the last kid picked when making teams in gym class. There is little to no reality to base on how we feel, I guess a lot of it has to do with envy of of the other teams.

But like I said again in my mind I know Lou did everything he could. Hell we got Kovy a couple of summers ago and I never ever thought the Devils would be able to sign a player like that in his prime ever.

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Oh of course. I mean I was pleasantly surprised that he managed to keep Elias and I felt it was best that he let Gionta walk in 09.

I guess it is just the feeling that Lou had trouble adapting to the cap and the new NHL and seeing Rafalski and Niedermayer leaving while signing Malakhov, McGillis, Mogilny and others. What I am trying to say is that it just seems the players leave at the worst possible times and the replacements tend to be less than stellar.

Again Lou did everything he could do with Parise and did everything he could do with Rafalski and Niedermayer. Just hard being a fan of a team that while we have been very successful the last 20 years, cannot entice players to stay because we don't have as long of a team history compared to others, have no real "sex appeal", do not have a large group of players who were born and raised her to come home to, and represent a state where a large group of people are fans of the other area teams.

I'm guessing you didn't want Gomer back either. Or Martin. Did he even make Rafalski an offer that second time? I'm thinking no, but I was glad he didn't try to match Detroit's offer.

Some players do stay here, contrary to popular belief, and some leave. Most of the ones who did leave left for contracts they had no chance of living up to, like Gomez, Gio and Martin, and the Devils were better off for it, even if it stung a little at the time. There were a couple of others that left because the Devils simply couldn't provide the one or two things that those other teams could, but if IIRC, in Niedermayer's case, Lou did try to trade for Rob, and as we just saw in Zach's case, Lou did at least reach out to Suter's camp. So it ain't for lack of effort.

You are right, in that the Devils will probably never have the sex appeal of some other teams. Pittsburgh and Detroit will always be seen as fun-to-watch offensive dynamos, just like the Devils will always be labeled a boring trap team, even when they're not. The Original 6s will always have that prestige...even when Toronto and Montreal suck, there will be always be players who will dream of playing for those teams, and will jump at the chance to do it. I honestly don't think too many kids growing up dream of wearing the Devils' black-and-red someday, which means that even if they're drafted by the Devils and everything goes well, they may eventually leave when the get that chance for someplace more "dreamy". All it means is that the Devils have do their very best to keep the pipeline of young talent flowing up to the NHL best they can...obviously EVERY team wants that, duh, goes without saying really, but it's nice that when someone leaves for whatever the reasons, to have guys who can do a good part of the previous player's job at a fraction of the cost. Especially when the Devils are never going to be a "throw $196 million and 26 years at two players and hope it works out" kind of franchise.

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I guess his opinion and certainly a little in mine is that while we do understand Lou did everything he could to sign Parise, we just feel that he could have done more. This is not based on any real evidence or anything at all, it is all based on just feeling.

I think the source of this is watching other teams, especially the Rags and Philly next to us, who seem to get every free agent they desire. We watched this go on for many years and felt like the last kid picked when making teams in gym class. There is little to no reality to base on how we feel, I guess a lot of it has to do with envy of of the other teams.

But like I said again in my mind I know Lou did everything he could. Hell we got Kovy a couple of summers ago and I never ever thought the Devils would be able to sign a player like that in his prime ever.

Philly just let their best defenseman walk away for a very fair price. This JUST happened hardly more than 12 hours ago. So let's keep that in mind.

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I guess his opinion and certainly a little in mine is that while we do understand Lou did everything he could to sign Parise, we just feel that he could have done more. This is not based on any real evidence or anything at all, it is all based on just feeling.

I think the source of this is watching other teams, especially the Rags and Philly next to us, who seem to get every free agent they desire. We watched this go on for many years and felt like the last kid picked when making teams in gym class. There is little to no reality to base on how we feel, I guess a lot of it has to do with envy of of the other teams.

But like I said again in my mind I know Lou did everything he could. Hell we got Kovy a couple of summers ago and I never ever thought the Devils would be able to sign a player like that in his prime ever.

The Rangers and Flyers seemingly never hesitate to throw big contracts out there, or so it seems. That's given them lots of backpage news through the years. And if you think about it, how's that worked out for them? One team hasn't made the SC Finals since '94, the second made it twice and went 2-8 in their two SC Finals combined. Once you look at it that way, it's that much easier not get aggravated by their spending.

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976
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Every team has hits and misses - unless you're the Nashville Predators, who just can't convince top talent to stay, and is really, really depressing to watch unfold. I hope for the sake of the franchise and the fans that they lock in Shea Weber, regardless of how much money it costs. $8mil per season? Do it. 13 years? Do it. Can't lose Suter and Weber in back-to-back years, just can't.

re: Tri's point, the Flyers wanted Suter to anchor their blueline and didn't get him. They were also said to be in the running for Parise and didn't get him. Free agency can still be such a crapshoot.

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You gotta take it easy, Man.

Lou approached Zach and Zach was advised not to sign and wait.

Actually u gotta take it easy. We get it, you figured out what u think happened and now you want everyone to hear it. Truth is, that's complete speculation and probably not true.

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The Rangers and Flyers seemingly never hesitate to throw big contracts out there, or so it seems. That's given them lots of backpage news through the years. And if you think about it, how's that worked out for them? One team hasn't made the SC Finals since '94, the second made it twice and went 2-8 in their two SC Finals combined. Once you look at it that way, it's that much easier not get aggravated by their spending.

Defininitely but what I am mostly talking about are players they have and intend to re-sign. It seems very few of their UFA go to another team but it seems ours seem to bolt out more often at least.

But you are right. In the end our signings and non-signings have faired better for us than any of the Rags or Philly.

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I have an issue with LL's free agency handlings. It is stubborn and stupid. You do not wait for marquee players to hit free agency. Plain and simple. If you want to retain your best players, you put your best foot/offer forward WELL BEFORE free agency and try to get them to stay. If you cannot come to a deal, you TRADE them before the deadline for whatever assets you can get for them. THE END.

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I have an issue with LL's free agency handlings. It is stubborn and stupid. You do not wait for marquee players to hit free agency. Plain and simple. If you want to retain your best players, you put your best foot/offer forward WELL BEFORE free agency and try to get them to stay. If you cannot come to a deal, you TRADE them before the deadline for whatever assets you can get for them. THE END.

You're right, what does that idiot Lou know about anything? Only more than you could ever hope to forget. Maybe you should give him a call, since apparently you've got it all figured out.

Sure, trade one of their best players when the team is firmly in playoff contention...that would've gone over really well with both the team and the fanbase. You think they get to the SC Finals without Parise? If anything, the run they went on made the Devils as attractive for Zach to come back to as they were ever likely to be. It was a gamble Lou was right to take for a number of reasons, and he obviously thought he had an excellent chance to bring Zach back, but it didn't work out. sh!t like that happens, but you hindsight-know-it-all-second guessers will never grasp that.

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976
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You're right, what does that idiot Lou know about anything? Only more than you could ever hope to forget. Maybe you should give him a call, since apparently you've got it all figured out.

Sure, trade one of their best players when the team is firmly in playoff contention...that would've gone over really well with both the team and the fanbase. You think they get to the SC Finals without Parise? If anything, the run they went on made the Devils as attractive for Zach to come back to as they were ever likely to be. It was a gamble Lou was right to take for a number of reasons, and he obviously thought he had an excellent chance to bring Zach back, but it didn't work out. sh!t like that happens, but you hindsight-know-it-all-second guessers will never grasp that.

I did not mean to trade Zach in this instance. Even if he came out and said "I'm leaving!" I would have kept for him a Cup run. In general, I think if a player is known to be leaving (depending on the circumstances) it would be wise to move them for whatever you can get back. But to answer your question, I am not going to see it would have been *IMPOSSIBLE* to make it without him. It's not like he was some playoff beast or anything this year.

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I did not mean to trade Zach in this instance. Even if he came out and said "I'm leaving!" I would have kept for him a Cup run. In general, I think if a player is known to be leaving (depending on the circumstances) it would be wise to move them for whatever you can get back. But to answer your question, I am not going to see it would have been *IMPOSSIBLE* to make it without him. It's not like he was some playoff beast or anything this year.

Your previous post made your statement sound like an absolute, and here you are backing off it already. Your backpedalling makes it pretty clear that you know you can't think that way, in terms of that post. Clearly Lou thought his team had a serious shot to win a Cup (he wouldn't have traded for Zidlicky otherwise), and it turned out he was actually a lot closer to being right than anyone thought.

Okay, take Zach out of the playoff lineup. Who on the Devils' roster or in the Devils' system is going to come close to doing what he can do, in all facets of the game? No way the Devils get as far as they did without him, even if the point totals weren't monstrous.

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I have an issue with LL's free agency handlings. It is stubborn and stupid. You do not wait for marquee players to hit free agency. Plain and simple. If you want to retain your best players, you put your best foot/offer forward WELL BEFORE free agency and try to get them to stay. If you cannot come to a deal, you TRADE them before the deadline for whatever assets you can get for them. THE END.

And if you attempt to sign them and the player says he would like to see what kind of offers he can get on the open market? I see your point, but it's not tat cut and dry. A point I think may have gotten missed in the Parise thread was that Zach said if Suter signed with Detroit, he would have come back to Jersey. It really was, as CR1976 said, a perfect storm. You needed his home state team throwing tons of money, a young family that he would like to settle into one place for a long time with, and a close friend who that home team was ALSO going to throw money at. If just one of those things didn't work out, he was staying.

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This may not be the thread, but I still wonder about the draft in Minnesota last year. Parise was there, asked by Lou to come. The Devils were in talks for Brent Burns according to TG who almost never reports rumors. That fell through. Part of me can't help but think there was a possible trade with the Wild there involving Parise. Or maybe not, who knows.

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This may not be the thread, but I still wonder about the draft in Minnesota last year. Parise was there, asked by Lou to come. The Devils were in talks for Brent Burns according to TG who almost never reports rumors. That fell through. Part of me can't help but think there was a possible trade with the Wild there involving Parise. Or maybe not, who knows.

With Parise at the draft table? So like, he would've switched tables?

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And if you attempt to sign them and the player says he would like to see what kind of offers he can get on the open market? I see your point, but it's not tat cut and dry. A point I think may have gotten missed in the Parise thread was that Zach said if Suter signed with Detroit, he would have come back to Jersey. It really was, as CR1976 said, a perfect storm. You needed his home state team throwing tons of money, a young family that he would like to settle into one place for a long time with, and a close friend who that home team was ALSO going to throw money at. If just one of those things didn't work out, he was staying.

It's funny...on one hand, it's a little maddening that everything had to work out so damned perfectly for the Wild, but on the other, I think I would've seen what Zach signed for had he stayed and thought "OMG WTF?!" I don't think I would've felt like it would've been a huge win for the Devils if Zach was still here, just like I don't think it's a huge loss because he left, especially for that kind of contract.

The only way Zach would be here right now, is if for his first RFA contract he was given a long-term Richards/Carter like deal.

Would you have approved of that at the time? Be honest now.

He had one solid NHL season and two seasons overall under his belt when he signed his RFA deal. I thought it was very fair at the time.

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TG has 'reported' - well, mentioned it in Fire and Ice comments, and referenced it again on Twitter yesterday, that Parise came to Lou in July 2010 wanting to sign a very long term deal without an agent. I don't know that the Devils could have signed such a deal and Kovalchuk because of tagging room rules, though.

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