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Lou on trying to sign free agents before July 1st


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“We have done that before,” Lamoriello said. “We just don’t publicize it. We’ve done it with other people that you don’t even know about. We just don’t talk about it, but we have done it.”

 

Most recently, after Parise’s departure in the summer of 2012, he negotiated an extension with center Travis Zajac that was nearly completed before the lockout began on Sept. 15 of that season. The deal was announced shortly after the lockout ended.

 

Goaltender Martin Brodeur was critical of the Devils a few weeks ago for waiting too long to try to re-sign Parise. Lamoriello did try to sign Parise to a long-term extension the summer of 2011 when he was a restricted free agent, but Parise has said multiple times that the Devils made no attempt to open contract negotiations the previous summer – the year he before his contract expired and the summer in which they eventually re-signed Ilya Kovalchuk to a 15-year, $100 million contract.

 

“We did it for two years,” Lamoriello said of trying to re-sign Parise before adding, “There were extenuating circumstances involved with ownership.”

Regardless, it sounds clear Lamoriello will attempt this summer to get Schneider (and possibly Greene) locked up this summer.

 

“It’s sometimes confidential,” Lamoriello said of such contract discussions. “We did it with Scott Stevens. We did it with Marty Brodeur. It’s just that we don’t put everything in the papers because there are certain people that you don’t do it with. So, if you talk about it and you don’t do it with some and you do it with them, you’re not being respectful to those players. And it’s as simple as that. I don’t care what people think, but that’s my thought process.”

 

- See more at: http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/fireice/comments/will_devils_be_able_to_keep_top_defense_pair_of_fayne_and_greene/#sthash.TgpguaE9.dpuf

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Absolutely shocking.  To think that the most secretive organization in the league does contract negotiations behind closed doors, all the while towing the company line in public.  Never saw this coming......

 

Come on, anyone who did not think that this was the case all along was being delusional.

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I think we were all well aware that this was going on. Right now, Marty's behaving like a teenage girl who's just been told she can't go to the prom with that guy with the motorcycle. It's not pretty and he's just being spiteful so he's reaching for anything he can say that he thinks will garner him attention, all the while not realizing that the only one he's hurting in the process is himself as he makes himself a less and less attractive player to sign.

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This is the second time Lou has had to address Marty's idiotic comments.  The first being that management is ok with mediocrity and now Lou waiting until the last possible second to negotiate with UFAs. I hate to pull a Chere and be a sensationalist, but is Lou firing back at MB30? He must be getting sick of Brodeur whining to the press

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This is the second time Lou has had to address Marty's idiotic comments.  The first being that management is ok with mediocrity and now Lou waiting until the last possible second to negotiate with UFAs. I hate to pull a Chere and be a sensationalist, but is Lou firing back at MB30? He must be getting sick of Brodeur whining to the press

 

Have we ever seen Lou have to defend himself or chose to defend himself from any comments? I'm not so sure and certainly not from anyone within the organization.

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I can't remember Lou being this opne in an interview before... he sounds a tad ddefensive

 

I think Marty is talking his way right out of an organizational job. I'm glad he revealed his true colors now so we don't have to waste our times under the delusion that he's in any way future GM material.

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Lou sounds defensive because I think he's feeling a bit more heat on him now than ever before.  I think there might be a bit of hurt as well that it's Marty saying this publicly.

 

As much as I'd like Brodeur to be quiet, he's not wrong on a lot of what he said.  It's just coming from him, it's like a glass house situation considering that part of the predicament we are in is because of him and the deference shown to him in some ways the last few years.

 

All will be forgotten at a retirement ceremony in a year or two, but Marty probably talked his way out of a management/ambassador type job with the Devils here at least in the short-term once he retires.

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I think Marty is talking his way right out of an organizational job. I'm glad he revealed his true colors now so we don't have to waste our times under the delusion that he's in any way future GM material.

 

How is Marty talking his way out of an organizational job?  Because he pointed out that we are mediocre?   Regardless of what happens next year, Marty will be back in the organization in some capacity within the next three years, without a doubt.

Edited by MantaRay
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How is Marty talking his way out of an organizational job?  Because he pointed out that we are mediocre?   Regardless of what happens next year, Marty will be back in the organization in some capacity within the next three years, without a doubt.

 

I'm sure he will be back in the organization in some capacity, but the question is what capacity. I feel like before this behavior he was considered by management as a potential mover and shaker of the organization. After this, if they are still considering him in that capacity then they're blind. You don't want someone who reacts to what are normal parts of life with this kind of behavior.

 

As far as what he's pointing out, he didn't say that we're mediocre; he said we've accepted mediocrity. There is an enormous difference between those two things. One is a statement of current facts, the other is an implication of current standards. Our standards have never changed, which is what Lou responded about. We still are unsatisfied, or at least I am, with anything less than a Stanley Cup every year.

 

Does that mean we're actually going to achieve that every year? Of course not, but that is the organizational standard. We have not become the Florida Panthers all of a sudden where making the playoffs is the goal. Obviously we didn't make the playoffs this year, but I'd be just as disappointed had we made it and lost out in the first round or for that matter any round and that is still an organizational standard.

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I would say with regards to Lou, Zach and Marty - the truth as it regards the former #9 probably lies somewhere in the middle. I believe Lou tried to get something done, Zach and his agents were probably asking for certain things, but I can imagine Lou's hands were tied over what he was able to do and not do given JVB's status, the NHL's loan to the team, and what that might've meant in terms of structure/numbers...We just don't know. You can argue Lou's "not negogiating with Zach" could have been "Look, I don't know if I can do x or y let's wait until after the season when the financial status of the team is more certain."

Edited by HellOnICE
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I would say with regards to Lou, Zach and Marty - the truth as it regards the former #9 probably lies somewhere in the middle. I believe Lou tried to get something done, Zach and his agents were probably asking for certain things, but I can imagine Lou's hands were tied over what he was able to do and not do given JVB's status, the NHL's loan to the team, and what that might've meant in terms of structure/numbers...We just don't know. You can argue Lou's "not negogiating with Zach" could have been "Look, I don't know if I can do x or y let's wait until after the season when the financial status of the team is more certain."

there is so much detail about that whole situation and when contract negotiations go on that the public doesnt have any idea about.. all the fans can do is Monday-morning quarterback it so to say and claim so and so shouldve done this that way or this way yada yada.. it comes down to no one really knowing what the real deal story was with that zp situation or any of the signings for that matter.
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Lou is feeling the heat for the first time in his career from Marty's (and others') comments, AS HE SHOULD. 3 seasons out of 4 missing the playoffs should absolutely put a general manager on notice.

 

The main problem with this mentality is that it's not only very "What have you done for me lately?", it's also basically telling GMs that they either have their teams making the playoffs every year (or almost every year), or they're shown the door.  You're basically saying they're not allowed to have a downturn. 

 

This team is two years removed from a SC Final.  This past season, considered "awful" by many, resulted in 88 points, and it wasn't like that total felt inflated...if anything, with the insanely bad shootout record, it felt like it was more the other way.  But we still haven't seen a real bottoming-out, all-is-hopeless, 60-70 point season.  2010-11 was close, but that team wasn't as bad as its first half, and the second half attested to that. 

 

I'm not implying that everything is hunky-dory and that Lou doesn't have some serious work to do.  He does.  Someone else brought it up elsewhere on this board...even though the Devils technically might not have been that bad, they are a really tough team to watch.  We all know the reasons why:  lots of ugly hockey, constant scoring troubles.   They will probably never be as dominant as they once were in the shootout...Marty was among the best at them during his peak...Cory was about average with Vancouver, and will probably be that in the future.  Devils probably shouldn't count on more than 40% of potential shootout points anytime soon (though as we know and have seen, these things can change very quickly).

 

But anyway, I think Lou's "There were extenuating circumstances involved with ownership" says a lot.  That's as close to a real dig as Lou will take at someone.  There's probably some moves he wanted to make but couldn't, and he's probably sick of some people assessing most (if not all) of the responsibility to him for the perennial playoff appearances coming to a halt. 

 

You have to give Lou this season to try to start righting the ship.  If anything, his situation is actually pretty favorable:

 

1)  Schneider should provide good to great goaltending on a very consistent basis.  He hasn't shown any reason why he shouldn't.  The postseason sample is too small to judge, but hopefully, when the Devils start making them again, he won't be a guy who folds in them (I don't think he will, but no one can say until he's in the position to take his team deep).  I think Lou is going to do everything in his power to get him re-signed, and I have a feeling he's going to get it done.

 

2)  He's got good young defensemen coming up through the system (which means they'll be cost-effective).  Merrill and Gelinas getting this much experience at the NHL level is a positive.  And Larsson is probably up with the big boys for good next season.  Think Greene gets re-signed to be the veteran anchor.  Have a feeling Zids is coming back on another one-year. 

 

3)  Most of the Devils' forwards are not on prohibitively awful contracts.  They may not bring much back, but at least Lou should be to deal some of these guys and open up some payroll.   

 

Lou should have some money to spend and has a fair amount of flexibility.  I think we're going to be pleasantly surprised by his moves.   

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976
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The main problem with this mentality is that it's not only very "What have you done for me lately?", it's also basically telling GMs that they either have their teams making the playoffs every year (or almost every year), or they're shown the door.  You're basically saying they're not allowed to have a downturn.

 

I generally agree with most of what you said.

 

If I were ownership, I would give him at least another 2 years to prove that he's righting the ship. However, not re-signing Schneider and potentially losing him would be a HUGE blow to him making his case. Depending on other things like team performance and the fans' attitude (which, believe it or not, the new ownership listens to), botching up the Schneider situation could lead to Lou getting canned.

 

But to step back a bit, Lou's job this offseason is pretty clear. The job at hand this offseason isn't the hardest he's had to figure out and luckily, he has the money to help him do so.

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Q: A few Devils players at times this season have said they need a top scorer added to the roster. Obviously, it’s easier said than done. Nobody is going to hand you Sidney Crosby, but is that something you really feel this team needs going forward?

Lamoriello: “Well, let me put it to you this way: I’ve love to have that player who said that to you tell me. He should never worry about what you don’t have. He should make the most of what you have. And that to me is something I don’t really like to hear, that a player would be worried about what we don’t have. Their job is to perform within the abilities that we have. It’s what you make out of what you have, not what you don’t have.”

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The interesting thing for me is seeing Lou speaking out this much. It just hows he's a bit stung by all of the criticism and wants to set the record straight where he can.

true but honestly this is really the first time in his many years here where he really may deserve legitimate criticism (ie missing the playoffs 2 years in a row), so this is sort of uncharted territory for everyone involved (fans, players, management).

I'm just glad he came out and said that extending Cory is his #1 priority on July 1.

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