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The 2014 NJ Devils Offseason Thread


Derlique

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I hear ya and know where you're coming from. I guess a part of me would rather see this team miss the playoffs for 3-5 years if it meant getting a chance to build a roster like the Kings or Hawks. If I knew we could potentially pull that off, I'd actually be patient with the work ahead. As opposed to cheap low tier acquisitions (minus Schneider), and barely making the playoffs.

 

I see where you're coming from. The problem I have is that 3 - 5 losing years doesn't guarantee a good team. For every Kings and Hawks there's an Oilers and Islanders. I think this team has enough pieces (especially defense and goaltending) to be successful within the next 2 - 3 seasons if the right forwards get plugged in. Keep in mind Lou won't be around much longer. We may be seeing that rebuild when he leaves and the new guy decides to put his own stamp on things. 

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Devil Dan 56, on 19 Jun 2014 - 12:00 AM, said:

We may be seeing that rebuild when he leaves and the new guy decides to put his own stamp on things. 

 

 

Lou is only 71 years old, seems to be in good health, and seems to enjoy what he's doing. He could be the GM for another 10 years, and absolutely no one will fire him. So, I dunno.. i'm not so sure he's retiring so soon.

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For a buyout of Clowe to make sense, the Devils have to expect to get less than the difference of his buyout and his actual contract.  Buying him out would cost 12.79M, playing him costs 19.2.  So the Devils would have to expect less than 6.4M in value over the life of the contract, which even given the concussion issues he's had, doesn't seem likely to me.  Two more seasons like the one he just had would get him there.

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I'm thinking Clowe is fine.  I think I'd be kind of swaying towards Brian Boyle.  Although I wouldn't pay him 2m/year that's for sure.  The player that I wanted to point out was Patrik Elias.  I sat down and stared at the stats and he had 53 points in 65 games.  Has he slowed in skating at all?  I was thinking that the only thing that's truly going to slow Patty down would be injuries, as compared to his age slowing him down. 

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Lou is only 71 years old, seems to be in good health, and seems to enjoy what he's doing. He could be the GM for another 10 years, and absolutely no one will fire him. So, I dunno.. i'm not so sure he's retiring so soon.

"Only" 71..

Being a GM is a pretty stressful job for anyone, let alone a man in his 70s.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

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I mean, sure, it's stressful...but something tells me if he's been doing it for 30 years, the guys like him, Poile and Sather have figured out a system of ways to make their lives very manageable. Let's remember they are helming a hockey team. They don't have nuclear missles or brain surgery to do in the morning. At the end of the day, I think they know this.

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I mean, sure, it's stressful...but something tells me if he's been doing it for 30 years, the guys like him, Poile and Sather have figured out a system of ways to make their lives very manageable. Let's remember they are helming a hockey team. They don't have nuclear missles or brain surgery to do in the morning. At the end of the day, I think they know this.

 

Guys like Sather and Murray have lieutenants that do a lot of the day-to-day work for them. From all accounts, Lou does not have these people around. 

 

It's a job if done correctly, there really shouldn't be any time off.  

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this is probably a good thing though, and maybe thats what he wanted as well.

Yeah it is a good thing, some people saw it as the new owners taking away power from Lou, but the new owners seem to be experts in efficiency and have management teams for everything that's going on in Newark, the Prudential Center etc. Lou can just concentrate on the team.

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I guess this whole discussion is predicated on whether or not we can actually get a big name UFA to come here. I'm reminded of Clowe's response in getting signed with NJ when he said the price and terms were right. There was no mention of wanting to play with the Devils. This club is still in the lower tier as far as being a sexy place to play.

 

He did say he liked the area from his short time as a Ranger and that the proximity to the airport was a big plus for him, to be able to catch a direct flight to Newfoundland when he wanted to visit his family.

 

Although not a UFA, Schneider sang a similar tune. Being 4 hours from his family in Massachussetts is a lot better than being 2-transfer-flights and a 10 hour trip in Vancouver...

 

Regardless, like it or not, being 15 minutes from New York City is our biggest selling point to UFAs. A better season and Schneider signed long-term will also work wonders.

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He did say he liked the area from his short time as a Ranger and that the proximity to the airport was a big plus for him, to be able to catch a direct flight to Newfoundland when he wanted to visit his family.

 

Although not a UFA, Schneider sang a similar tune. Being 4 hours from his family in Massachussetts is a lot better than being 2-transfer-flights and a 10 hour trip in Vancouver...

 

Regardless, like it or not, being 15 minutes from New York City is our biggest selling point to UFAs. A better season and Schneider signed long-term will also work wonders.

 

I think all it would really take is for some of these guys to see the nicer parts of Jersey. Most people who aren't from Jersey only see this state as the Turnpike and Newark Airport.

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look at Scott Stevens,he  didnt want to come here after the compensation saga, then re-signed with St Louis before Lou matched the offer, and now he makes his home in NJ and enjoys the fishing and all that good stuff

heck Dano didnt even know where New Jersey was when he was drafted

it just takes a little time and then they like it

Didnt Grant Marshall also stay here after he retired?

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I just because of our severe lack of center depth and with no one projected to be top six in the system - I think they need to be overly aggressive to see if they can pick up the pieces of whatever Statsny or ROR happens in Colorado. I know Lou hates offer sheets, well at least you've heard that, but in this case - you'd think ROR would well be worth a 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounder. If Colorado wants to match, then so be it. I'd also be in favor of going the trade route, even if it means giving up someone like Andy Greene.

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I just because of our severe lack of center depth and with no one projected to be top six in the system - I think they need to be overly aggressive to see if they can pick up the pieces of whatever Statsny or ROR happens in Colorado. I know Lou hates offer sheets, well at least you've heard that, but in this case - you'd think ROR would well be worth a 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounder. If Colorado wants to match, then so be it. I'd also be in favor of going the trade route, even if it means giving up someone like Andy Greene.

 

Offer sheet no bueno, too high of a chance Colorado matches.  And then if they don't match, well how onerous is that contract

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why are the Devils worried about the fourth line when they need to address the first two lines

amen. It's really head scratching. I've never heard of a fanbase that when their team is bottom five in the NHL in offense they complain about fourth liners and bottom pairing defensemen. I guess you can put a change to the fourth line in your wish list but to have practically half this thread dedicated to fourth lines/league minimum guys is ridiculous.

Maybe it's just the offseason doldrums, but this has been going on all season.

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amen. It's really head scratching. I've never heard of a fanbase that when their team is bottom five in the NHL in offense they complain about fourth liners and bottom pairing defensemen. I guess you can put a change to the fourth line in your wish list but to have practically half this thread dedicated to fourth lines/league minimum guys is ridiculous.

Maybe it's just the offseason doldrums, but this has been going on all season.

the entire 4th line are UFA

thats why there's so much discussion

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amen. It's really head scratching. I've never heard of a fanbase that when their team is bottom five in the NHL in offense they complain about fourth liners and bottom pairing defensemen. I guess you can put a change to the fourth line in your wish list but to have practically half this thread dedicated to fourth lines/league minimum guys is ridiculous.

Maybe it's just the offseason doldrums, but this has been going on all season.

 

Well, everyone here is well aware the team needs top-end scoring, especially at the center position. There just isn't much out there (everyone here has been talking about Stastny for months). People are throwing around other names as well. The Devils have very few assets to make a trade to bring in that player, though.

 

As for the 4th line and the 5th and 6th defenseman. It's been a point of contention for a while. There are many players that bring little value (and that the GM and coach love) that have been unscratchable, and it has blocked playing time from younger players like Loktonov and Josefson up front (Rusty Olesz wasn't given enough of a shot either) and defensively many people loved what Gelinas bring. They want to see Larsson everyday, so it has been frustrating.

 

It was a frustrating year last season with Brodeur getting so many games, Larsson not playing when he was healthy again, and no youngster showing enough/given enough of a look to become a regular.

 

You are right, though. Besides the Brodeur issue (which looks finished), there are much more important issues, but people also don't want to go through another year with a few of these players.

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amen. It's really head scratching. I've never heard of a fanbase that when their team is bottom five in the NHL in offense they complain about fourth liners and bottom pairing defensemen. I guess you can put a change to the fourth line in your wish list but to have practically half this thread dedicated to fourth lines/league minimum guys is ridiculous.

Maybe it's just the offseason doldrums, but this has been going on all season.

 

Those are the only areas of this team where we could see some change.  Why don't we just not discuss anything at all on a Devils message board.  That would make more sense.  Our defense corps and goalie situation leave little to be discussed about.  The only discussion on the back end is Mark Fayne and possible buyouts.  Maybe you forgetting that the fourth liners have been a consistent focus since they "emerged" after the 2012 run and it would be nice to see some new faces in those supporting roles.  What do you want from us??  Should we talk more about how Jagr and Elias are beasts and Ryder and Brunner have the trade value of a bag of pucks?

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