Or the more logical answer....
Instead of over-paying for 30-something free agents, guys like Lappin, Quenneville, Santini, Speers, etc. will have larger roles with the big club, and they need AHL depth.
Bunch of babies crying about slight uniform changes, IMO. Between this and the damn goal song, does anyone care about the actual team anymore?
http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/2017/06/devils_unveil_new_jerseys_for_2017-18_season_photo.html
http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2016/07/21/nbc-sports-group-scheduled-to-air-record-number-of-nhl-regular-season-games-in-2016-17/
The Devils get one national game - December 29th vs. the Caps. Chicago leads with 21 national appearances.
Nothing really to get upset about, it's the norm every year.
#9. TG retweeted the Devils equipment manager's tweet stitching the jersey. Can't link to Twitter at work though.
Wish he had distanced himself from Parise's number. Bad mojo.
EDIT: Here's the link.
https://twitter.com/NJDSk8Guy/status/753223750255054848
Reading some blogs/articles....DSP is as good as gone if the Devils don't sign him today. A young big, tough forward who showed a little scoring touch in a limited role last year - teams will not hesitate to spend a little for a player like this.
Bennett/Merrill - probably not as attractive as DSP, but someone looking for a 5-6 D with experience might bite on Merrill.
With all the joy of the Hall trade yesterday, these non-tenders could bite Shero in the butt. Teams aren't built on one star player.
http://www.si.com/nhl/2015/07/24/nhl-fan-misery-rankings-30-teams
#1 New Jersey Devils
Cup drought: 11 seasons
three-time cup champs
Maybe Lou Lamoriello knew what he was doing when he bailed on this organization. These Devils have a dim past (just one playoff appearance in the past five years), a painful present (the NHL’s 29th rated offense in 2014-15) and a grey, dystopian future (arguably the least promising prospect pool in the game). This is a team so bereft of hope that it can only aspire to being dull and dreary.
Um, ok. Granted, it's not all roses right now, but I'm guessing teams with ridiculous cup droughts are much more miserable than us.
Another thought...if I'm Lou, I'm calling Columbus to inquire about Hartnell. He's a much needed RW, still only 33, reasonable contract, still put up almost 60 points this year. They have a lot of young forwards that may be ready to make the leap to the NHL, but not many defensemen.
http://stats.nhlnumbers.com/teams?year=2016
Essentially you can narrow down the trade targets by looking at next year's cap commitments (ignore the "Players signed" column, it counts players in the minors).
LA makes the most sense, as they'll still have 5 forwards with a cap hit over $6 million.
To defend Daniel, "replacement level" is the standard average player at the position (at least in baseball when calculating WAR). I've never heard of "replacement level player" terminology in hockey.
Daniel is 1000% right when using that term for the Devils. They are chock full of players near the average (or below). Most of the team is filled with players who are not worth additional "wins" for the team by having them in the lineup.