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Devils re-sign Zidlicky


MadDog2020

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Is Fayne that hot of a property? I mean he's a good player, but are GM's really out there thinking he is the answer to their defensive woes?

He is WAY under the radar. The kind of guy who you know is doing his job because you barely notice he's there.

 

I think so, and I agree with your latter statement. He's absolutely under the radar, I can't see him being in too many GMs' plans, other than the smart ones. 

 

But Devils should do whatever they can to keep him; the improvement I've seen in him in just 2 years is unbelievable, and he's only just 27 now. I couldn't stand him at first, and all the while Lou was his biggest fan; didn't understand why, then, but I do now. A buyout/salary dump trade and re-signing Fayne seem imperative imo.

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losing fayne because we're holding on to zid and sal and volch for one year seems foolish and short-sighted . gelly and larsson are the up and comers but neither play 1 v 1 against NHL speed like fayne , and obviously volch sal and zid dont either.

We'll probably lose Fayne to the Rangers, and be stuck with both Vol and Sal. Don't forget Brian Gionta though who's likely coming here. At least he'll bring some nostalgia to the fans.

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Whether NJ keeps Fayne or not is probably predicated on whether they do a deal involving their young D.  I think they want Fayne back for sure, but I don't think they should be willing to go too high on his price, and they definitely have to ditch 2 D in order to keep him.

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Great move by Lou!!!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Outstanding move by Lou!! Zids is the best offensive D man on the team and one of the best in the NHL. I could have even lived with a multi-year deal but 1 year is ok too. The next move is figuring out what to do with Sal and Volky. I wish we didn't have to lose either of them but we have a virtual logjam on defense and some moves need to be made. I'm not as down on Sal as others, I think he provides good leadership. But, I'm confident Lou will do the right thing. If we lose Fayne, that would not be good.. but again, if we did it wouldn't be the end of the world. There are others who can fill in for him. As for other moves this offseason, I see big Gio being mentioned in a lot of posts. I actually would welcome the move with open arms. He would help fill seats because he was a fan favorite. He would also be a huge addition to this team. We're only a few players away from competing for the Cup. We're not as far away as others fear.. no time for panic. All will be well....with Lou at the helm there's no reason to be worried. Trust in the master.

 

Go Devils!! :thumbsup:

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Lou Lams on the Zids signing, very interesting read. 

http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/fireice/comments/devisl_re-sign_defenseman_marek_zidlicky/

Apparently Fayne is still on the to-do list.  Lou also mentioned there will be room for young defensemen on the team and that "We'll be doing some other things." 

I am very hopeful.

extremely curious to know what "other things" actually consist of.. larsson? merril? gel? .. someone has to be moving somewhere we need to trade for a decent forward to help our production a bit
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extremely curious to know what "other things" actually consist of.. larsson? merril? gel? .. someone has to be moving somewhere we need to trade for a decent forward to help our production a bit

Why would "other things" involve players we already have? That was the young defensemen part. Clearly he meant there were other changes coming.

Edited by mfitz804
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extremely curious to know what "other things" actually consist of.. larsson? merril? gel? .. someone has to be moving somewhere we need to trade for a decent forward to help our production a bit

You've been saying this in other threads too, but I disagree that we move any of those guys.  Say we pull the trigger on the deal for a 'decent' forward, where does he go in our lineup.  We don't have the space unless we're giving up another forward.  We have too much dead weight in Zubrus, Ryder, Brunner.  You have to make space somewhere. 

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You've been saying this in other threads too, but I disagree that we move any of those guys.  Say we pull the trigger on the deal for a 'decent' forward, where does he go in our lineup.  We don't have the space unless we're giving up another forward.  We have too much dead weight in Zubrus, Ryder, Brunner.  You have to make space somewhere. 

Our entire 4th line are UFA's, I dont think they'll all be back, meaning we can bump some useless forwards down a line (or two) 

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Watching the Rangers in this series, what are the odds that Lou will really turn this thing around and draft better players, acquire free agents who don't amount to busts, keep away from signing ex-Devils like Gionta, and get this roster younger? I mean, our biggest star player is a 42 year old Jagr and he's the face of the franchise.

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Watching the Rangers in this series, what are the odds that Lou will really turn this thing around and draft better players, acquire free agents who don't amount to busts, keep away from signing ex-Devils like Gionta, and get this roster younger? I mean, our biggest star player is a 42 year old Jagr and he's the face of the franchise.

 

Right after he solves world hunger and forms a one-world government, I suppose.

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Right after he solves world hunger and forms a one-world government, I suppose.

So, in other words, we have to happy with the roster we have (and just keep telling ourselves, "we're only one or two players away"), accept his poor-mediocre drafting, and get excited when he resigns players like Zids and Zubrus.

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Watching the Rangers in this series, what are the odds that Lou will really turn this thing around and draft better players, acquire free agents who don't amount to busts, keep away from signing ex-Devils like Gionta, and get this roster younger? I mean, our biggest star player is a 42 year old Jagr and he's the face of the franchise.

This made me lol so hard I almost fell out of my seat.  You apparently have never looked at the young players we have in the pipeline.  I guess the drafting of Mark Fayne(5th round) was a bust, oh wait Severson, Merrill, Gelinas, Larsson all say hi.  Reid Boucher(4th round(?)), Adam Henrique(3rd) all say hi too.  There are other young forwards waiting for their shot as well who are coming out of juniors and just starting their pro careers. 

If Jaromir Jagr is the face of the franchise, we're in serious trouble.  Just because he's a star and effective veteran player doesn't make him the face of the franchise.  When I hear current face of the franchise, I think Zajac, Henrique, maybe Greene.  Yeah, these guys still have a lot to prove, but their loyalty is unquestioned and they're productive players.  Give me a Cory Schneider too who's ready to be the face of A franchise, hopefully New Jersey.

 

So, in other words, we have to happy with the roster we have (and just keep telling ourselves, "we're only one or two players away"), accept his poor-mediocre drafting, and get excited when he resigns players like Zids and Zubrus.

 

To this, I say that while I disagree with re-signing Zids and would rather have Fayne if I was going to pick between the 2.  Zidlicky is coming off of a 42 point campaign and Jagr coming off of a 67 point season.  That's a combined 109 points.  It's hard to be against the re-signing of both of them.   I predict Zids doesn't repeat his year, but I think its very likely that Jagr puts up another good year. 

Edited by RizzMB30
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This made me lol so hard I almost fell out of my seat. You apparently have never looked at the young players we have in the pipeline. I guess the drafting of Mark Fayne(5th round) was a bust, oh wait Severson, Merrill, Gelinas, Larsson all say hi. Reid Boucher(4th round(?)), Adam Henrique(3rd) all say hi too. There are other young forwards waiting for their shot as well who are coming out of juniors and just starting their pro careers.

If Jaromir Jagr is the face of the franchise, we're in serious trouble. Just because he's a star and effective veteran player doesn't make him the face of the franchise. When I hear current face of the franchise, I think Zajac, Henrique, maybe Greene. Yeah, these guys still have a lot to prove, but their loyalty is unquestioned and they're productive players. Give me a Cory Schneider too who's ready to be the face of A franchise, hopefully New Jersey.

To this, I say that while I disagree with re-signing Zids and would rather have Fayne if I was going to pick between the 2. Zidlicky is coming off of a 42 point campaign and Jagr coming off of a 67 point season. That's a combined 109 points. It's hard to be against the re-signing of both of them. I predict Zids doesn't repeat his year, but I think its very likely that Jagr puts up another good year.

Larsson, our first round pick whom PDB refuses to play and has been wasting away in the minors. I actually didn't think Larsson would be a fit for this team, I was hoping for Coutourier. And don't get me started on Tedenby.

My point was the players we have drafted for the past 10 years have not made the impact we were expecting. I do hope Henrique becomes a very good player for this team but how many busted picks have we had for every Henrique? Nearly every first round pick sans Parise has been underwhelming. And the picks after the first round havent been great either. Zajac is a nice player, not a great player, ditto for Greene. Every team has them. Same for Merrill, Severson, and Fayne. As for firepower, our best players are Elias and Jagr (Ages 38 and 42 respectively). Again, i hope Henrique becomes an offensive weapon but that's a wildcard at this point.

As for free agents and player trades, I was happy we landed Kovy (not his contract) but that move was so out of character for Lou and his MO since the lockout has been signing utility players and then going after ex-Devils. Kovy was the exception. Putting Kovy aside, you'll never see this team acquire a forward like Jeff Carter via a trade. It's just not Lou's style.

As for Schneider, I'm with you on that 100%. I hope he becomes the man here. That's assuming of course that Brodeur leaves. I'm not so sure he will, despite his quotes in the papers about testing free agency. Will be interesting to see what transpires this offseason.

Edited by slasher72
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Larsson, our first round pick whom PDB refuses to play and has been wasting away in the minors. I actually didn't think Larsson would be a fit for this team, I was hoping for Cortourier.

My point was the players we have drafted for the past 10 years have not made the impact we were expecting. I do hope Henrique becomes a very good player for this team but how many busted picks have we had for every Henrique? Nearly every first round pick sans Parise has been underwhelming. Zajac is not a great player and neither is Greene. They're nice. But every team has them. Same for Merrill, Severson, and Fayne. As for firepower, our best players are Elias and Jagr (38 and 42 respectively). Again, i hope Henrique becomes an offensive weapon but that's a wildcard at this point.

As for free agents and player trades, I was happy we landed Kovy (not his contract) but that move was so out of character for Lou and his MO since the lockout has been signing utility players and then going after ex-Devils. Kovy was the exception. Putting Kovy aside, you'll never see this team acquire a forward like Jeff Carter via a trade. It's just not Lou's style.

As for Schneider, I'm with you on that 100%. I hope he becomes the man here. That's assuming of course that Brodeur leaves. I'm not so sure he will, despite his quotes in the papers. Will be interesting to see what transpires.

As for the first bolded, I completely disagree.  Zajac is your stereotypical Devils forward and I'd call him a great player.  He's not elite or amazing, but how many fans outside of Devils fans would call Patrik Elias an elite?  Andy Greene has played more minutes for the Devils in a top pairing spot for at least 2 years now.  He point up points similar to Paul Martin, who is a comparable.  Henrique scored 25 goals this year, if he picks up more assists in this upcoming season and scores the same amount of goals, I'd call him a weapon.  You mentioned poor drafting and I was arguing that despite the recent first round flops, the drafting isn't that bad when you're getting good, productive players from it and I gave examples of such.  Would you argue that Edmonton has had good drafting??

As to the second bolded, why in the flying fvck would you want Jeff Carter.  No thanks.  Comparing Carter to the Kovalchuk that we acquired in 2011 is crazy.  Wanting an Anze Kopitar, hell to the yes, everyday, twice on Tuesdays.   Carter is no better than Zajac or Henrique. 

In reference to the age of our "firepower" players, I don't see the problem with someone's age as long as they are contributing.  My argument was that brining those old Czech players back makes sense and you shouldn't knock Lou for bringing back productive players, despite age.  Zids and Jagr really really wanted to stay here in New Jersey as well. 

Larsson will have a major role in the team next season.  He becomes waiver eligible.  Also, he wasn't "wasting away" in the minors, he only played half the season in Albany maybe.  I'd argue that his time spent in Albany did wonders for his confidence, he got PP unit time and developed the offensive side of his game, like Gelinas has been doing in Albany the past 2-3 years.  It wasn't a case of DeBoer not playing him, it was a case of the logjam the Devils have on defense due to the emergence of Gelinas and Merrill. 

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As for the first bolded, I completely disagree. Zajac is your stereotypical Devils forward and I'd call him a great player. He's not elite or amazing, but how many fans outside of Devils fans would call Patrik Elias an elite? Andy Greene has played more minutes for the Devils in a top pairing spot for at least 2 years now. He point up points similar to Paul Martin, who is a comparable. Henrique scored 25 goals this year, if he picks up more assists in this upcoming season and scores the same amount of goals, I'd call him a weapon. You mentioned poor drafting and I was arguing that despite the recent first round flops, the drafting isn't that bad when you're getting good, productive players from it and I gave examples of such. Would you argue that Edmonton has had good drafting??

As to the second bolded, why in the flying fvck would you want Jeff Carter. No thanks. Comparing Carter to the Kovalchuk that we acquired in 2011 is crazy. Wanting an Anze Kopitar, hell to the yes, everyday, twice on Tuesdays. Carter is no better than Zajac or Henrique.

In reference to the age of our "firepower" players, I don't see the problem with someone's age as long as they are contributing. My argument was that brining those old Czech players back makes sense and you shouldn't knock Lou for bringing back productive players, despite age. Zids and Jagr really really wanted to stay here in New Jersey as well.

Larsson will have a major role in the team next season. He becomes waiver eligible. Also, he wasn't "wasting away" in the minors, he only played half the season in Albany maybe. I'd argue that his time spent in Albany did wonders for his confidence, he got PP unit time and developed the offensive side of his game, like Gelinas has been doing in Albany the past 2-3 years. It wasn't a case of DeBoer not playing him, it was a case of the logjam the Devils have on defense due to the emergence of Gelinas and Merrill.

I wasn't comparing Jeff Carter to Kovy. Which is why I said, "putting Kovy aside". Comparing Carter to Zajac and Henrique is a bit inaccurate. As much as I hate the Kings (except during this series), I'd take Carter over Travis Zajac any day of the week. This team could use a player that has offensive skills and gets under other players' skin.

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Larsson, our first round pick whom PDB refuses to play and has been wasting away in the minors. I actually didn't think Larsson would be a fit for this team, I was hoping for Coutourier. And don't get me started on Tedenby.

My point was the players we have drafted for the past 10 years have not made the impact we were expecting. I do hope Henrique becomes a very good player for this team but how many busted picks have we had for every Henrique? Nearly every first round pick sans Parise has been underwhelming. And the picks after the first round havent been great either. Zajac is a nice player, not a great player, ditto for Greene. Every team has them. Same for Merrill, Severson, and Fayne. As for firepower, our best players are Elias and Jagr (Ages 38 and 42 respectively). Again, i hope Henrique becomes an offensive weapon but that's a wildcard at this point.

As for free agents and player trades, I was happy we landed Kovy (not his contract) but that move was so out of character for Lou and his MO since the lockout has been signing utility players and then going after ex-Devils. Kovy was the exception. Putting Kovy aside, you'll never see this team acquire a forward like Jeff Carter via a trade. It's just not Lou's style.

As for Schneider, I'm with you on that 100%. I hope he becomes the man here. That's assuming of course that Brodeur leaves. I'm not so sure he will, despite his quotes in the papers about testing free agency. Will be interesting to see what transpires this offseason.

 

The players the Devils have drafted in the last 10 years have almost always been in the bottom 10 picks of the 1st round.  It is really difficult to find star players there.  So no, the Devils haven't drafted particularly well, but it isn't easy to draft well from there, and when you don't draft well, you create a vicious cycle where you are short draft picks every year because you have to patch holes on your roster every year.  NJ used to draft so well that they created a virtuous cycle - they would be able to sell players who weren't able to make the team for draft picks.  That's not happening anymore, in part because the league has caught up to some of the things NJ tends to do.

 

'Putting Kovy aside, you'll never see this team acquire a forward like Jeff Carter'  Hurr durr.  How about Jason Arnott, who was like Jeff Carter but without the years of NHL success?  How about Peter Stastny, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Doug Gilmour?  The Devils haven't had the kind of players that help you get a player like this and that's why they haven't done it.  And I agree that Carter specifically, I don't think Lou would trade for a player with an 11 year contract, but those are illegal now.  I mean you can't on the one hand run down NJ's drafting in the last 10 years then wonder why they haven't gotten a Jeff Carter type player.  You can't run down Lou's free agent acquisitions and wonder why he couldn't acquire other, better players in free agency - he uses free agency just like any other general manager now.  He's signed players who haven't played for NJ to 5 and 6 year deals.  It's hard to keep winning in the NHL.

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