Josh Harris is clearly calling the shots now for the Devils

[2ELIAS6]

this thread is just soley here for drama.. i probably need not say anymore than that.. lou claimed it was his idea to give up the gm position and stay on as president..yet so many people are claiming the owners forced him out of the spot of gm.. enless something else has come out that i didnt see i dont know why people need to go above and beyond to jump to conclusions that are the complete opposite of whats been stated. drama thread.

[Triumph]

That is false. I don't like Hugh Weber, he isn't an owner, or did I miss something.

 

I respect the owners business sense tremendously, especially Mr. Blitzer, Blackrock is a hell of a company. However, I don't think they should be involved in hockey operations. I've seen what happened firsthand with the Knicks, and vaguely remember Big Stein's crazy trades before he was banned from baseball. 

 

These owners - the Steinbrenners, the Dolans, the Ranadives - are terrible because they make short term moves.  The Yankees squandered tons of great young players in the 80s because of their win-now philosophy.  Harris and Blitzer have shown that it's about the long-term for them.  There had to be a succession plan in place this offseason at the very least.  If anything, it's Lou who was running the team like one of these owners who don't see the long-term.

[HellOnICE]

Also, every quote I've seen from Harris this weekend is exactly the type of owner I want in charge. 

 

And he's a Jew. I mean come on, we're good at these things 

[William D'Aquila]

Also, every quote I've seen from Harris this weekend is exactly the type of owner I want in charge. 

 

And he's a Jew. I mean come on, we're good at these things 

 

Sans Donald Sterling 

[slasher72]

So far I'm liking everything I'm hearing from Harris. It's good to have an owner willing to shake things up, spend money, and have a long-term plan. Lou will always be a legend in these parts but it was time for him to step aside. Period.

[Devilsfan118]

You're so clueless Bettlebum. I'm almost hoping you're just doing this for attention.

[William D'Aquila]

You're so clueless Bettlebum. I'm almost hoping you're just doing this for attention.

 

Did you click on the article you silly mook. 

[Devilsfan118]

Did you click on the article you silly mook.

I did, friend. It's nothing to be worried about - in fact, I welcome the change. I believe these guys know what it takes to build a team, longterm. A task which Lou has, in my opinion, struggled with since the departure of his star players.

And your posts about this whole transition since the announcement have lead me to believe you truly are clueless, like I said. Or you're trolling for attention, like you do on other forums.

[BostonNala370]

Probably time to close this thread.

[William D'Aquila]

I did, friend. It's nothing to be worried about - in fact, I welcome the change. I believe these guys know what it takes to build a team, longterm. A task which Lou has, in my opinion, struggled with since the departure of his star players.

And your posts about this whole transition since the announcement have lead me to believe you truly are clueless, like I said. Or you're trolling for attention, like you do on other forums.

 

If the Devils are a playoff team in a year or two, it will be because of Lou, not the owners or Shero. Lou did everything within reason to try and replace Kovy and Parise. Unfortunately, the Devils were putrid in the shootout, and finally bottomed out this year. None the less, long term they are in terrific shape from the salary cap to our back end.

 

I have a different opinion than yours. That doesn't make me clueless, it makes me a maverick, but that Rutgers education of yours does not provide you the necessary language to express yourself in a cogent analytical manner.

Edited May 11, 2015 by William D'Aquila

[BostonNala370]

If the Devils are a playoff team in a year or two, it will be because of Lou, not the owners or Shero. Lou did everything within reason to try and replace Kovy and Parise. Unfortunately, the Devils were putrid in the shootout, and finally bottomed out this year. None the less, long term they are in terrific shape from the salary cap to our back end.

 

I have a different opinion than yours. That doesn't make me clueless, it makes me a maverick, but that Rutgers education of yours does not provide you the necessary language to express yourself in a cogent analytical manner.

 

As  I said it is time to close this thread.

[Devilsfan118]

If the Devils are a playoff team in a year or two, it will be because of Lou, not the owners or Shero. Lou did everything within reason to try and replace Kovy and Parise. Unfortunately, the Devils were putrid in the shootout, and finally bottomed out this year. None the less, long term they are in terrific shape from the salary cap to our back end.

Disagree.

Lou has this team in relatively poor shape going forward. If by some miracle the forward corps is post-season worthy in a few years, it's no thanks to Lou.

I have a different opinion than yours. That doesn't make me clueless, it makes me a maverick, but that Rutgers education of yours does not provide you the necessary language to express yourself in a cogent analytical manner.

Now now, don't get creepy with it. If you have to reach outside the forums for material you're trying too hard.

[William D'Aquila]

Disagree.

Lou has this team in relatively poor shape going forward. If by some miracle the forward corps is post-season worthy in a few years, it's no thanks to Lou.

Now now, don't get creepy with it. If you have to reach outside the forums for material you're trying too hard.

 

Reach outside the forum? I don't even know your name, boss. You spoke about going to school at RU, and you support their football team. Pretty ease to deduce at that point where you attend or attended college. 

[EdgeControl]

Josh Harris is clearly calling the shots now for the Devils

 

Josh Harris is clearly the owner of the Devils now.

[DJ Eco]

At least Dolan was smart enough to leave Slats alone because of his track record.

 

Oh man, where to start.... Oh! Here ^^^

 

The case can be argued that Rangers would've had a Cup between 1994 and now if Sather had been let go maybe 10 years ago, when he deserved it. Hell, maybe 5-6 years ago. That he hasn't gotten a Cup, with the consistent resource$ Dolan has given for his disposal, is enough to get any GM fired. And you're praising him why? Until they win a Cup, they are still perennial underachievers; even now, while they're clawing their way to survive the 2nd round.

 

If the Devils are a playoff team in a year or two, it will be because of Lou, not the owners or Shero.

 

We won't be, though.

Edited May 11, 2015 by DJ Eco

[jagknife]

Oh man, where to start.... Oh! Here ^^^

 

The case can be argued that Rangers would've had a Cup between 1994 and now if Sather had been let go maybe 10 years ago, when he deserved it. Hell, maybe 5-6 years ago. That he hasn't gotten a Cup, with the consistent resource$ Dolan has given for his disposal, is enough to get any GM fired. And you're praising him why? Until they win a Cup, they are still perennial underachievers; even now, while they're clawing their way to survive the 2nd round.

 

 

We won't be, though.

 

But he won cups with Edmonton man, legacy earns leeway man!

[BostonNala370]

When will everyone understand that Harris and company wanted a change. It was necessary the team was failing under Lou's control, so why not change and let Lou stay as President for one year. Thank you Mr. Harris, it was the right move.

[themightyall]

Boston, why do you have so much faith in these owners?  Since when does being the best money mover mean you know what you're doing running a team?  From what we have seen with them running a team is the 76ers "collecting players instead of building a team".  Oh wait, that's apples and oranges though.

[DJ Eco]

Boston, why do you have so much faith in these owners?  Since when does being the best money mover mean you know what you're doing running a team?  From what we have seen with them running a team is the 76ers "collecting players instead of building a team".  Oh wait, that's apples and oranges though.

 

They only bought the 76ers two years before buying the Devils. If anything it's indication that they're putting their money where their mouth is. Their M.O. is to be in it for the long haul. In the 76ers' case, it's a full rebuild. In the Devils' case, it's a partial rebuild (and imagine them trying to tell Lou this). Let's look at your comparison further though:

 

For starters, the 76ers weren't some successful team that Harris/Blitzer bought, gutted, and caused to plummet into oblivion. They were one year removed from finishing bottom 5 in the league and then the year they bought them, they somehow made the playoffs but were bounced out in the second round. They were 10 years removed from their last NBA Finals appearance, and made the playoffs off and on throughout that time, but always bowing out the first round. That's a bad indicator in the NHL but is even worse in the NBA, the way NBA teams and the league is structured. A perennial first round exiting team in the NBA is not on the bubble, they are far from it. The mentality isn't like the NHL's, to "just get it in and anything can happen". Nothing will happen for a decade or two or three if you don't change the strategy and do so drastically; which they did. I mean, that's the reason alone why NBA Playoffs are less entertaining than NHL, and why I don't follow it too much. The more favored teams usually win, there are very few x-factors.

 

Fast forward 2 years when they're eyeing up the Devils purchase. The similarities abound when you look at where the Devils were at that point. First (and second, rarely) round exits for the better part of the decade, missing the playoffs in 2010-2011, then making an unexpected run to the Finals in 2012, then missing the playoffs again in 2013. Sounds familiar, huh? Except they gave Lou a much bigger leash (a 2 year leash, and a bigger budget; keep in mind our payroll at the beginning of this season was 2x what they're spending in Philadephia on the 76ers), who then proceeded to not make the playoffs again the two ensuing years.

 

So when Lou comes out and says "we're 2 top 6 players away from being a playoff contender", he sealed his fate. People much smarter than I am agreed that this is the opposite way the Devils should go, and I get the sense Harris/Blitzer felt this way as well. The little that Shero has said since being hired seems to indicate that he agrees with that as well (and not Lou). So, while I don't have 100% unwavering trust in this ownership group (I think their sample size of 4 years in Philly and 2 years here is way too small), I definitely am not contesting every little move they make (like others here and elsewhere) because I think their general strategy will end up being the right one 5, 10, 15 years down the road. Lou will never have seen eye-to-eye with them on a partial rebuild (the "R" word that Lou has never uttered in his quarter-century of tenure) and that was his undoing. 

 

My guess is that Harris' gameplan is to have 2 marquee Cup-contending teams under his ownership by 2018-2020, with a 5+ year window on the success they can achieve. Financially speaking, they bought low on both teams and it's in their best interest to build a "Blackhawks", to build a "Red Wings", to build an "LA Kings". I don't think they would've been satisfied with the odd sporadic 1, 2, 3-round playoff run here and there. They want several Cups. Even after this year, through his words and actions, Lou just seemed incapable of seeing past 2016-2017.

Edited May 11, 2015 by DJ Eco

[DevsMan84]

They only bought the 76ers two years before buying the Devils. If anything it's indication that they're putting their money where their mouth is. Their M.O. is to be in it for the long haul. In the 76ers' case, it's a full rebuild. In the Devils' case, it's a partial rebuild (and imagine them trying to tell Lou this). Let's look at your comparison further though:

 

For starters, the 76ers weren't some successful team that Harris/Blitzer bought, gutted, and caused to plummet into oblivion. They were one year removed from finishing bottom 5 in the league and then the year they bought them, they somehow made the playoffs but were bounced out in the second round. They were 10 years removed from their last NBA Finals appearance, and made the playoffs off and on throughout that time, but always bowing out the first round. That's a bad indicator in the NHL but is even worse in the NBA, the way NBA teams and the league is structured. A perennial first round exiting team in the NBA is not on the bubble, they are far from it. The mentality isn't like the NHL's, to "just get it in and anything can happen". Nothing will happen for a decade or two or three if you don't change the strategy and do so drastically; which they did.

 

Fast forward 2 years when they're eyeing up the Devils purchase. The similarities abound when you look at where the Devils were at that point. First (and second, rarely) round exits for the better part of the decade, missing the playoffs in 2010-2011, then making an unexpected run to the Finals in 2012, then missing the playoffs again in 2013. Sounds familiar, huh? Except they gave Lou a much bigger leash (a 2 year leash, and a bigger budget; keep in mind our payroll at the beginning of this season was 2x what they're spending in Philadephia on the 76ers), who then proceeded to not make the playoffs again the two ensuing years.

 

So when Lou comes out and says "we're 2 top 6 players away from being a playoff contender", he sealed his fate. People much smarter than I am agreed that this is the opposite way the Devils should go, and I get the sense Harris/Blitzer felt this way as well. The little that Shero has said since being hired seems to indicate that he agrees with that as well (and not Lou). So, while I don't have 100% unwavering trust in this ownership group (I think their sample size of 4 years in Philly and 2 years here is way too small), I definitely am not contesting every little move they make (like others here and elsewhere) because I think their general strategy will end up being the right one 5, 10, 15 years down the road. Lou will never have seen eye-to-eye with them on a partial rebuild (the "R" word that Lou has never uttered in his quarter-century of tenure) and that was his undoing. 

 

My guess is that Harris' gameplan is to have 2 marquee Cup-contending teams under his ownership by 2018-2020, with a 5+ year window on the success they can achieve. Even after this year, through his words and actions, Lou just seemed incapable of seeing past 2016-2017.

 

This 100%

 

And really it is apples to oranges but a good sized segment will always fall back on "see look at what they did to the 76'ers!" nonsense any chance they get to take a stab at these owners.  Totally different leagues with totally different paths towards success.

[Daniel]

I really like the new ownership group, and Harris is saying all the right things, and I believe he's sincere about it.

And it's funny that people are bringing up the Knicks and Sixers. While I don't follow basketball really at all, the Knicks dumped a lot into big time free agents and trade acquisitions and it got them as far as the second round of the playoffs in one year, and now they're terrible. That seems to have been the route Lou would have preferred to go. The Sixers have been a laughing stock, but I imagine they're in better shape for the future than the Knicks are.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[themightyall]

This 100%

 

And really it is apples to oranges but a good sized segment will always fall back on "see look at what they did to the 76'ers!" nonsense any chance they get to take a stab at these owners.  Totally different leagues with totally different paths towards success.

 

That apples to oranges comment sounds like a whole lot of nonsense.  Any chance when someone points out that you can't trust the owners you just say it doesn't equate because you don't want it to.

 

Do you guys watch basketball? Do you guys follow the 76ers? All of that was wrong. Everyone has this misconception that a team is worse because they are not good but not bad because a couple of teams tank and then win (Pens/Shero). Look at the teams in the hunt for basketball the last few years. They are not teams that bottomed out for a rebuild, most aren't that actually. Atlanta were 5, 6, and 8 seeds in previous years and are the first this year. Golden State is the same way.  How did the Heat win championships? It wasn't drafting LeBron or Bosh or Shaq in a rebuild.

 

These owners didn't do anything yet with personnel but all you "Anyone But Lou" crowd make them out to geniuses and would welcome them to tear down the team just like they did to the 6ers.

Edited May 11, 2015 by themightyall

[Triumph]

That apples to oranges comment sounds like a whole lot of nonsense.  Any chance when someone points out that you can't trust the owners you just say it doesn't equate because you don't want it to.

 

Do you guys watch basketball? Do you guys follow the 76ers? All of that was wrong. Everyone has this misconception that a team is worse because they are not good but not bad because a couple of teams tank and then win (Pens/Shero). Look at the teams in the hunt for basketball the last few years. They are not teams that bottomed out for a rebuild, most aren't that actually. Atlanta were 5, 6, and 8 seeds in previous years and are the first this year. Golden State is the same way.  How did the Heat win championships? It wasn't drafting LeBron or Bosh or Shaq in a rebuild.

 

These owners didn't do anything yet with personnel but all you "Anyone But Lou" crowd make them out to geniuses and would welcome them to tear down the team just like they did to the 6ers.

 

Golden State and Atlanta are two franchises who not only have won almost nothing in the last 20 years, they haven't been close.  Atlanta has lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs 10 times in the last 30 years; they've not been to the Eastern Conference Final.  You really don't have teams like this in hockey who constantly get beat by a better team.  Golden State's record is even worse - they made the playoffs once out of the last 15 years up until this latest run.   So sure, this year they're doing well - Stephen Curry was the MVP and deservedly so, and he was not taken with a 1st overall pick.  But success in the NBA playoffs is tied heavily to very few players, and the best way to get one of these players is to get very high picks.   You're not guaranteed success by building your team this way, and you're not guaranteed not-success by building your team the way that Golden State and Atlanta have done so (though both have some terrible seasons and lottery picks on their team).  You just want to give yourself the best chance, and hwo the 76ers are doing it is giving them the best chance.  Have you ever read about how the 76ers do things - how they run their practices, how they analyze plays, and so forth?  It's revolutionary stuff.  I love that the Devils have owners willing to take these kinds of chances with their team.  It's not a guarantee of success, but it's better than Lou trading the 6th overall for forward help and kicking the can down the road another year.  In fact it would not surprise me if Shero isn't able to turn things around that the Devils clear out both Lou and Shero and hire some young hotshot.

 

Because Vanderbeek was a Devils fan before he owned the team, he has escaped criticism, but he almost as much as Lou shares the blame for the predicament NJ is in now.

Edited May 12, 2015 by Triumph

[themightyall]

So Harris owning a team that is based on good drafting that isn't the first overall pick, developing that talent, making sound free agency contracts and executing timely trades is how they need to win and when it doesn't work out they can force out the legend that was running the team.  Wait, what sport am I talking about?  All sports with a cap and a draft system are based on these.  That is why it is apples to apples.  The 76ers are right now full of sound and fury signifying nothing ever since they ran Collins out of town.  They are using all of these revolutionary practices but how close are they to anything?  The Warriors and Hawks (and whatever happened to the past doesn't matter?) are definitely eons closer to a championship than the 6ers.  How was that revolution when they traded for Andrew Bynum?  Or away every good player they did have:  MCW, Turner, Hawes.

 

Can you show me where Lou said he was looking to trade the pick?  I heard him reference that he had 2 2nds that could help get forward help but nothing about the 6th pick.  The predicament the Devils are in is mostly Lou's fault, with the rest JVB's, but I always thought there would be a couple more years for him to right the ship and him to go out on his own terms.  And your point about how Shero can easily be canned soon as well scares me even more.  We are going to turn into the Maple Leafs if they don't show stability.

[Triumph]

So Harris owning a team that is based on good drafting that isn't the first overall pick, developing that talent, making sound free agency contracts and executing timely trades is how they need to win and when it doesn't work out they can force out the legend that was running the team.  Wait, what sport am I talking about?  All sports with a cap and a draft system are based on these.  That is why it is apples to apples.  The 76ers are right now full of sound and fury signifying nothing ever since they ran Collins out of town.  They are using all of these revolutionary practices but how close are they to anything?  The Warriors and Hawks (and whatever happened to the past doesn't matter?) are definitely eons closer to a championship than the 6ers.  How was that revolution when they traded for Andrew Bynum?  Or away every good player they did have:  MCW, Turner, Hawes.

 

Can you show me where Lou said he was looking to trade the pick?  I heard him reference that he had 2 2nds that could help get forward help but nothing about the 6th pick.  The predicament the Devils are in is mostly Lou's fault, with the rest JVB's, but I always thought there would be a couple more years for him to right the ship and him to go out on his own terms.  And your point about how Shero can easily be canned soon as well scares me even more.  We are going to turn into the Maple Leafs if they don't show stability.

 

No, they're not.  The draft is simply way more valuable in the NBA - without a miracle situation like what the Heat put themselves in, you are unlikely to get world-class talent on your team.  1st overall picks are enormous.  You don't often have zombie franchises in the NHL like you do in the NBA - teams like the Bucks, like the Kings, like the Golden State Warriors were.  The past doesn't matter - I never said the Hawks won't win based on the fact that they've come up short in the past, but it's incredible how short they've come up, but that's just how the NBA is - it's very easy to build a team that can lose in the 1st round for years and years, like the old Garnett Timberwolves.  8s beat 1s all the time in the NHL, when it happens in the NBA it is a huge deal.

 

Lou never said he was looking to trade the pick, but is it so hard to imagine him doing so?  Or signing free agents past the age of 30 to significant contracts?  The issue is that at Lou's age, it was unlikely he was going to see whatever he is starting to build here culminate in a long playoff run - that's a ways off now.  And he did go out on his own terms, otherwise he wouldn't still be working for the organization.

 

The Maple Leafs are in a better position going forward than the Devils - they have some tradeable assets on their team and some very good young players, plus a smart front office.  In fact, it's hard to find a team worse off than NJ right now.  The Devils aren't devoid of young talent, but they just have no way of ensuring that they acquire elite talent.

Edited May 12, 2015 by Triumph