Patrick Sundstrom Ghost

I did not think going into this season my first post on here would be about a lotto pick for the Devils, but these are the games we play, so here we go. Under zero circumstances should the Devils consider trading this top 10 pick for the goalies we know might be available. Saros, is going to be 29, he is 2 years older than Corey was, he is also 4 inches shorter, I am not touching him for a 1st that is a top 10 pick. Now if the Devils were a playoff team and he also already had a contract, it would be a different situation, but combine those two important details and it's a firm, no on him. Markstrom, LOL, are you serious????? Not a fn chance they trade a top 10 pick for him, Cal had their chance, their owner sh!t his pants and killed the deal, unless the price is not much, I am not touching his contract, and hell no for a top 10 pick. The two young former 1st rd picks from Nahville and Florida. The Russian is interesting, I don't think he is available, but if they chose Saros, he would make me think about it, while utilimately saying no, and offering a 2025 first instead. The Florida USA kid is a firm no, his off ice troubles, combined with everything else, again I would be interested in taking him, not no chance for the cost. Unless the Isles decide to rebuild, I see no other goalies I am even thinking of trading that pick for, now if there any other choices out there, I am listening. Is Ottawa going to trade the GM's cousin, he I would trade that pick for, not many other players will be worth that pick unless teams implode and players are asking to be dealt. The draft is complicated, a probable star going 1st, then a lot of really good defenseman available, plus some decent forwards. I look forward to digging into the players, and seeing where out lotto luck plus the rest of the season ends up. Be well all, and all is not lost, DH getting hurt, Marino and Siegs regressing and Jack's injury torpedoed this season, Luke and Simon are the goods, we need a proper non moron HC, and a GM who decides not to be asleep, and things are still looking very good here.

There are some questions to ask when it comes to Casey and how the Devils or more succinctly Fitz feels about short D being on his team as he tries to build a Cup winning team. The way the TF talks in interviews leads one to believe he wants guys who can skate and are big enough to defend defenseman. I don't think we have a firm answer on if Casey will be able to do that in the NHL, I watched Michigan last season and to be honest I saw nothing in him that is a huge liabilty in his own zone even with his size limitations. This coming season will be a big test as he moves up the line-up and he takes on way more responsiblity, can he be in the top pairing probably along with Edwards, it will be very interesting to see for sure. Now there is a wild card out there for me at least with Casey, he played one game at forward last season when Michigan had a bunch of players out, and he from what others said looked great, can he possibly be a forward in the NHL? His lack of size means nothing up front, his hands and hockey awareness are special, I think this is something to keep in mind as an outside the box thought of his future.

Yep, of course things can change and who knows we may need VV in this series, and he is on a reasonable contract & will have a large part of the future here, but Akira is the guy. His stick work is the thing we don't talk about, he is the best since Marty, and I don't think it's close. That is such a huge weapon that helps a defensive unit, that the Devils have been lacking for so long now. How many times have we seen dump ins where our defense gets attacked and turnovers lead to goals, with a goalie with good athleticism to get behind the net plus the ability to move the puck, it makes things so much easier. Oh and the money, the money is another lotto ticket for this team, Akira plus Bahl doing what he is, it really is amazing how well they are going to be setup for the long term health Cap wise for this decade plus run we are just starting.

Oh and one more thing that came from yesterday with them signing Misyul and bringing him over for next season, they have to have their eyes firmly set on a guy like Bardakov and getting him over here after next season. If anyone here has not seen the videos Guadana did on youtube on him, check those out, that kid is like a dog on a bone forchecker and defensively so impressive, he is the perfect bottom 6 player for the future of this team.

On a day we beat the POS NY team we also get two nice updates one something we knew was happening & one a complete surprise out of nowhere signing. Vilen is here in Utica and he has taken his game to a completely different level and I honestly don't know what the team does if he plays as well as he did next season. The good news is he is only a few months older than Luke, so him playing all of next season in Utica getting used to the smaller ice even if he does what Simon did will only be a good thing. To think in a year we could have 3 young D in our line-up with another one ready to be put in, just crazy. Having Bahl become the D we are hoped he possibly could, but probably would not, and him not only doing it to end the season, but then up his game in the playoffs, amazing. The big surprise out of nowhere, Danill Misyul signed with the team and will be over here next year. I know his career has had stops and starts, but it seems he played a good deal more this season in the KHL, and while his points prodection is nothing great, he was known as an excellent skater, so having him as a possible fill in guy a year or 2 from now is another great sign of how loaded this team is for the long term. Now we just need to get Gritsyuk here, and I bet Guadana will disagree and think him signing with a new KHL team is okay, but for me, I don't see anyway one of the big teams there are going to sign him for less than 3 years and I think that's a very bad thing for the Devils. I hope the kid really does follow the Devils as was mentioned online at some point earlier this season and he decides to bet on himself and take less money to play in the AHL at first and get ready to help the Devils next season

Congratulations everyone, what a great night it was, this was like 94 to me or maybe even 87 in terms of feeling. Now let's focus on Carolina, a really different team than the Rangers, but one I also think we are better than, especially with their key injuries. Oh and fvck the Rangers, fvck their fans, fvck the media, fvck Toronto and the entire NHL hub central who wanted and tried their best to help NY win. LFGD.

Simon with the give and go to Walsh to tie the game with 2 second to go and then in OT he clearly sees his teammate in front and shoot passes it to him for the game and series winner.

They did not lose the first game because of physciality, they lost because they took bad penalties, they did not play their game and their PP was pathetic. So this old man who is showing the game might have passed him by, instead puts in the only player on the roster who is close to Wood in taking bad penalties. Oh and keeps Wood in and moves him up in the line-up. I want his head when this backfires, seriously, get rid of the old take of we need to be physical, no dummy you need to play your game and not change how you played for 82 games. I obviously hope I am an idiot and this works and Wood and Smith are amazing, but Lindy is showing who he has always been, a guy who can't coach in big games, and Fitz is showing he's not very bright either.

I understand what you're saying and I don't disagree about level of play, but I do disagree if he leaves his current team and signs elsewhere in the KHL, they will want a longer term commintment for a good salary for him and that is not a great thing for his future with the Devils. Yeah he could sign a 2 year deal with a new team but do you really think a team will pay him what he wants for only 2 years? I want him over here growing with the rest of NJ as soon as possible, not 3 or 4 years down the line, whether we own his rights or not, the future is now, and I want him to be apart of that much sooner than 2 years or longer. I think he can learn how to play a 200 foot game in Utica, will the competition be the same, no it won't, but that does not mean he can not learn it here and be in the NHL as early as next season depending on how he does. I don't know why his agent would be saying he will be here next year if it is not true, but I hope the Devils get a deal done.

Miles is not a surprise, he is what he is, the surprise is this coaching and management continues to put him in games and hurt the team. He might score a goal, but you know what he will always do, take bad penalties, you just can't have a player like him in in the line-up and expect any other outcome than what we saw in the 1st period. I want Luke in this series, he will grow from being in thrown into the fire, and if Graves is going to play so bad on the PK, put Bahl out there and Luke can take Graves spot. Two nice people I am sure, Graves helped the team greatly when they traded for him, but he is gone when the season is over, so hurt feelings mean nothing, get Luke ready to play in the next game. I say this even as I don't think this game is over at all, we played badly and still were the better team, but bad PP, bad PK, and too much passing is what it is, lets come back and then win this game. Make those changes in the next game, Lazar, Sharo, anyone is better than Wood, no matter his hard word and sometimes goals. Graves, thank you for your time, there is a 19 year old way more talented than you who needs to play.

Well this makes things less complicated because if he wants to play over here I sign him right now even if he has to play in Utica next season to begin with. I know Guadana and others too might worry about him becoming a complete player and playing in a lesser league is an issue if you want him to reach his full potential in the NHL. This is a legit worry, but I think you have to hope the coaching in Utica can help him reach the same finishing touches as him playing another season in the KHL would do. Now if they don't sign him, this is very worrisome as he would look to sign a long term deal with a new team, and that team would have no reason to do so unless they had him for a long time. I say lets him bring over and hope for the best as losing him now might prevent any future signing from happening for years.

Thank you for posting, I really hope this is the case as I want to watch the game on my tv rather than my laptop. My only fear is the difference between ESPN not blocking it out but then TNT having different rules and doing so. Comcast and MSG both suck.

The question is does Gritsyuk want to be in NA, and if so, can he continue to make the improvements he needs as a player in the AHL if the team thinks he is not quite ready for the NHL. I really don't want him to sign a 2 or 3 year deal with another KHL team, that would be very bad to me as he joins a new team and it's less likely he comes over here at all. If he re-signs with his current team while at the same time signing with the Devils, he can continue to improve on the things NJ thinks he needs to do before he can compete for a spot on the roster here. Guadana what do you think currently if you see this?

What you're saying makes sense, I just don't see the team carrying 8 d on the roster, so could they sign a guy who is going to be sent down and on waivers mutiple times, sure, but if there is lets say mutiple injuries, that type of player is not going to be someone who you want in the line-up consistently I don't think. I agree though that Vilen is someone who they would only bring up to put him in the line-up, and not have him sitting in the stands to often.

Besides Nemec who has been great in the second half, Clarke has been so consistenly impressive as well in the second half for Utica. He has earned a legit shot at making the team next season and if Tatar wants too much money or term, I think he has a good chance at the 3rd line with Meier joining Nico and Mercer.