22 replies to this topic

[moustic]

Tom Gulitti ‏@TGfireandice
RT @dchesnokov: #NJD forward Vladimir Zharkov signed a two year contract with CSKA in the #KHL.

[ZeroGravityFat]

Non-confidence from Lou and Deboer finally got to him I guess, maybe we will play him in two years if he learns to shoot the puck in between the pipes.

[skullsmasher]

I doubt we'll ever see him again. It was like we were all waiting for something to happen that I don't think ever will.

[StormJosh]

goodbye sweet prince

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

Very dissapointed.

Its highly unlikley that the signing of Cam had any effect of Sharky walking, but it is pretty dissapointing when you lose a player like sharky and keep a "player" like Cam around.

[insanity_gallops]

Good for him. Hope he makes good money and gets to play a lot - 'cause he wasn't going to be able to do either in North America this season. Hope he does well.

[Zubie#8]

[Chuck the Duck]

I liked a lot of what I saw from this kid in his limited time here. He had good wheels and was good on the forecheck. He just couldn't finish to save his life. Still, I was surprised he didn't make the team on the 4th line out of camp last season or get a call up throughout the season and, as others have already said, it seemed like he was never really given a shot here for some reason.

Wish him the best in Moscow.

Edited by Chuck the Duck, 03 July 2012 - 08:46 AM.

[HellOnICE]

Thought he deserved another shot.

[Mayday]

Good for him. No point in playing here in NA if you're not in the big leagues. Not a huge loss for us except Albany is much weaker now. We already have a 4th line in place with Cam as our fighter so he had no shot here unless he planned on cracking the top 9 in camp or pushing out one of Bernier/Carter/Gionta.

[Triumph]

Hopefully he improves a bit at CSKA and comes back here on a one-year deal but I'm not counting on it. Seemingly only Lemaire saw the value of this player.

[Devilsfan118]

Best of luck to him. I mean, I doubt he was going to see NHL time this year.

[devlman]

Peace!

[Devil Dan 56]

Very dissapointed.

Its highly unlikley that the signing of Cam had any effect of Sharky walking, but it is pretty dissapointing when you lose a player like sharky and keep a "player" like Cam around.

They are 2 totally different players with totally different roles.

I don't see this as a surprise at all. When he wasn't getting called up this year at all, it seemed pretty obvious that he was no longer in the teams plans. I think a couple of people here speculated that he and Lou had agreed that he would be moving on if he didn't make the team out of camp.

[Devils Pride 26]

I will never understand why DeBo never played him.

[Devils731]

Zharkov got lost in the numbers game. Watching him, it's easy to see he's more effective than anyone on next years 4th line, but Zharkov mainly got his chances playing 5 minutes a night with line killers like Cam.

[Neb00rs]

#FREEZHARKOV

[AEWHistory]

Okay, I am going to rant a bit here: I think that the Devils system is now sabotaging the development of players like Zharkov. Because LL is always in a 'win now, we don't ever rebuild" mode, there is an extremely short leash for young and inexperienced players to develop. As it is we have had relatively few draft picks and they have been of poor quality for about a decade and a half. The players we do get are smooched under veterans because we want "experience" over risking developing new people. Are there exceptions? Yes, of course. But some players need more time and hand holding. Raga ski didn't make the NHL for years; same with Madden. Would anyone have argued that they weren't excellent in their heyday? Problem is I don't know how many other Rafalskis and Maddens the Devils have pissed away by always bringing in vets at the cost of giving younger, hungrier guys a shot. Maybe none... But I do know that the vets we have brought in as stopgap measures have been expensive, largely ineffective, and often worse.... Just one or two really good younger guys, properly developed, would give this franchise some depth AND youth that we have lacked for ages AND for a lower price point. While keeping salary down may not be a problem at the moment, it has been recently, so this is not a non-issue.

Owell, end of rant. Stepping down from soap box. Would someone like to buy one slightly used, but apparently very sturdy soap box? Can hold the weight of a chubby, whiny Devils fan without collapsing!

[devs82fan]

he is a good player, maybe he'll come back soon

[mouse]

Very dissapointed.

Its highly unlikley that the signing of Cam had any effect of Sharky walking, but it is pretty dissapointing when you lose a player like sharky and keep a "player" like Cam around.

I'd argue Gio's postseason and subsequent contract had much more to do with it than Cam. Short of injuries, Zharkov wasn't replacing any of the 4th liners, because he does similar things worse at this point. Before I get flamed for that, I admit he's a very good skater, and is great on the forecheck, but he can't bury a goal to save his life, even playing with Patty and Kovy, which he did for enough games for us to get an idea.