134 replies to this topic

[UnderDogX]

Its always best, in my opinion, to take a chance on YOUR players and lock them up when you get a chance. These are guys, and more so when talking about the Devils, that are players who buy into the system, who know what it takes to be a Devil, and want to play the Devil's way. If it means you overpay because they just had a good year or if you get a deal because they are coming off an injury it doesn't matter. What does matter is the fact that if you want to keep the players you draft you forget about a "no talking about contracts during the year" policy and you get things done.

That being said I think Lou handled the situation from July 1st on very very well. He made a competitive offer and tried his best but obviously Zach had something else in mind. Now do I think he handled it well before July 1st? Probably not. There were opportunities, I'm sure, that could've allowed him to avoid this situation all together. And I would like him to not let those opportunities with other players, that we want to keep, pass him by.

[insanity_gallops]

Tough to make the Rangers comparison about impending UFAs... Who is the last home-grown talent from NYR to garner significant interest? Lundqvist didn't make it to UFA status, but nobody thought he would leave, just like decades of Brodeur in similar spots.

Rangers will have to up their game as McDonagh, Kreider, Stepan, and Del Zotto age. This is the first real generation of NYR kid-talent that other people care about...while the Devils had Niedermayer, Rafalski, Gionta, Gomez, Parise all want to test UFA because they knew there was serious interest from other teams.

[ZeroGravityFat]

i'm happy with the devils' style of 'if you want more than we offer, then take a hike'. once you start paying more for players who don't deserve, the whole thing unravels and you become a patch work like the rags.

[Devils Pride 26]

Lou gets passes way to often.

Dude, that is a circular argument.

What could Lou have done to get a pass? Sign Parise. There was not a single other thing Lou could have done in order to make the right move for the franchise.

[RedArmy8]

Lou is the best GM in the league. His style is what keeps the Devils competitive.
I would never have given such a bad contract for Parise, regardless of how much I loved him as a player.

Good for Lou.

[DevsMan84]

Lou gets passes way to often.

I do agree with you to a certain extent. There was that period of 2005 to 2008 where I thought he was one of the worst GM's in the league and outside of Elias couldn't keep anyone. But overall his moves or non-moves make the team better in the end.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I do agree with you to a certain extent. There was that period of 2005 to 2008 where I thought he was one of the worst GM's in the league and outside of Elias couldn't keep anyone. But overall his moves or non-moves make the team better in the end.

He did keep Langenbrunner and White. At the time everyone seemed pretty happy to get those guys back. Also signed Rafalski to a 2-year deal when he was an UFA for the first time.

Not singling you out, but there is too much of a tendency to take note of the guys who left, and not the ones who stayed. Which of the "big" guys who left did you want back for the prices they signed for?

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976, 05 July 2012 - 08:45 AM.

[RedArmy8]

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the way Lou handled this.

Agreed. Zach said himself he would have signed here if the Wild didn't offer him a such a (foolish-imo) contract.

[RedArmy8]

Bottom line #2: Nobody is ever gonna convince me that Lou did "everything he possibly could" to re-sign Zach.

Then what is the point if you not going to let reality enter your opinion? This was Zach's choice, he said would have come back if Minny didn't offer such a (foolish- IMO) contract.

Lou did his job. Zach said he loved playing for NJ that is all you can ask aside from throwing money away on a player. Which we wisely did not do this this ridiculous extent.

[Zubie#8]

Zach was thinking about playing with Suter over the last year. Not Lous fault.

[DevsMan84]

He did keep Langenbrunner and White. At the time everyone seemed pretty happy to get those guys back. Also signed Rafalski to a 2-year deal when he was an UFA for the first time.

Not singling you out, but there is too much of a tendency to take note of the guys who left, and not the ones who stayed. Which of the "big" guys who left did you want back for the prices they signed for?

Oh of course. I mean I was pleasantly surprised that he managed to keep Elias and I felt it was best that he let Gionta walk in 09.

I guess it is just the feeling that Lou had trouble adapting to the cap and the new NHL and seeing Rafalski and Niedermayer leaving while signing Malakhov, McGillis, Mogilny and others. What I am trying to say is that it just seems the players leave at the worst possible times and the replacements tend to be less than stellar.

Again Lou did everything he could do with Parise and did everything he could do with Rafalski and Niedermayer. Just hard being a fan of a team that while we have been very successful the last 20 years, cannot entice players to stay because we don't have as long of a team history compared to others, have no real "sex appeal", do not have a large group of players who were born and raised her to come home to, and represent a state where a large group of people are fans of the other area teams.

Edited by DevsMan84, 05 July 2012 - 08:57 AM.

[NCDevsFan]

Zach who?

Zach who?

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Then what is the point if you not going to let reality enter your opinion? This was Zach's choice, he said would have come back if Minny didn't offer such a (foolish- IMO) contract.

Lou did his job. Zach said he loved playing for NJ that is all you can ask aside from throwing money away on a player. Which we wisely did not do this this ridiculous extent.

Sterio looks at these things in a very black-and-white manner. Truth is there's a LOT of shades of gray here, some of which we're privy to, many of which we're not. There will always be fans who think they know what could've/should've been done when to prevent something from happening, and they won't be convinced otherwise.

Like others have noted, I think Lou did absolutely everything he could. I think Zach made a very difficult decision that didn't go our way. Some fans will insist there was some shadiness on Zach's part, that he was never truly interested in signing here, that he's a douche and a traitor and a money-chaser, whatever.

[DevsMan84]

Sterio looks at these things in a very black-and-white manner. Truth is there's a LOT of shades of gray here, some of which we're privy to, many of which we're not. There will always be fans who think they know what could've/should've been done when to prevent something from happening, and they won't be convinced otherwise.

Like others have noted, I think Lou did absolutely everything he could. I think Zach made a very difficult decision that didn't go our way. Some fans will insist there was some shadiness on Zach's part, that he was never truly interested in signing here, that he's a douche and a traitor and a money-chaser, whatever.

I guess his opinion and certainly a little in mine is that while we do understand Lou did everything he could to sign Parise, we just feel that he could have done more. This is not based on any real evidence or anything at all, it is all based on just feeling.

I think the source of this is watching other teams, especially the Rags and Philly next to us, who seem to get every free agent they desire. We watched this go on for many years and felt like the last kid picked when making teams in gym class. There is little to no reality to base on how we feel, I guess a lot of it has to do with envy of of the other teams.

But like I said again in my mind I know Lou did everything he could. Hell we got Kovy a couple of summers ago and I never ever thought the Devils would be able to sign a player like that in his prime ever.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Oh of course. I mean I was pleasantly surprised that he managed to keep Elias and I felt it was best that he let Gionta walk in 09.

I guess it is just the feeling that Lou had trouble adapting to the cap and the new NHL and seeing Rafalski and Niedermayer leaving while signing Malakhov, McGillis, Mogilny and others. What I am trying to say is that it just seems the players leave at the worst possible times and the replacements tend to be less than stellar.

Again Lou did everything he could do with Parise and did everything he could do with Rafalski and Niedermayer. Just hard being a fan of a team that while we have been very successful the last 20 years, cannot entice players to stay because we don't have as long of a team history compared to others, have no real "sex appeal", do not have a large group of players who were born and raised her to come home to, and represent a state where a large group of people are fans of the other area teams.

I'm guessing you didn't want Gomer back either. Or Martin. Did he even make Rafalski an offer that second time? I'm thinking no, but I was glad he didn't try to match Detroit's offer.

Some players do stay here, contrary to popular belief, and some leave. Most of the ones who did leave left for contracts they had no chance of living up to, like Gomez, Gio and Martin, and the Devils were better off for it, even if it stung a little at the time. There were a couple of others that left because the Devils simply couldn't provide the one or two things that those other teams could, but if IIRC, in Niedermayer's case, Lou did try to trade for Rob, and as we just saw in Zach's case, Lou did at least reach out to Suter's camp. So it ain't for lack of effort.

You are right, in that the Devils will probably never have the sex appeal of some other teams. Pittsburgh and Detroit will always be seen as fun-to-watch offensive dynamos, just like the Devils will always be labeled a boring trap team, even when they're not. The Original 6s will always have that prestige...even when Toronto and Montreal suck, there will be always be players who will dream of playing for those teams, and will jump at the chance to do it. I honestly don't think too many kids growing up dream of wearing the Devils' black-and-red someday, which means that even if they're drafted by the Devils and everything goes well, they may eventually leave when the get that chance for someplace more "dreamy". All it means is that the Devils have do their very best to keep the pipeline of young talent flowing up to the NHL best they can...obviously EVERY team wants that, duh, goes without saying really, but it's nice that when someone leaves for whatever the reasons, to have guys who can do a good part of the previous player's job at a fraction of the cost. Especially when the Devils are never going to be a "throw $196 million and 26 years at two players and hope it works out" kind of franchise.

[Triumph]

I guess his opinion and certainly a little in mine is that while we do understand Lou did everything he could to sign Parise, we just feel that he could have done more. This is not based on any real evidence or anything at all, it is all based on just feeling.

I think the source of this is watching other teams, especially the Rags and Philly next to us, who seem to get every free agent they desire. We watched this go on for many years and felt like the last kid picked when making teams in gym class. There is little to no reality to base on how we feel, I guess a lot of it has to do with envy of of the other teams.

But like I said again in my mind I know Lou did everything he could. Hell we got Kovy a couple of summers ago and I never ever thought the Devils would be able to sign a player like that in his prime ever.

Philly just let their best defenseman walk away for a very fair price. This JUST happened hardly more than 12 hours ago. So let's keep that in mind.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I guess his opinion and certainly a little in mine is that while we do understand Lou did everything he could to sign Parise, we just feel that he could have done more. This is not based on any real evidence or anything at all, it is all based on just feeling.

I think the source of this is watching other teams, especially the Rags and Philly next to us, who seem to get every free agent they desire. We watched this go on for many years and felt like the last kid picked when making teams in gym class. There is little to no reality to base on how we feel, I guess a lot of it has to do with envy of of the other teams.

But like I said again in my mind I know Lou did everything he could. Hell we got Kovy a couple of summers ago and I never ever thought the Devils would be able to sign a player like that in his prime ever.

The Rangers and Flyers seemingly never hesitate to throw big contracts out there, or so it seems. That's given them lots of backpage news through the years. And if you think about it, how's that worked out for them? One team hasn't made the SC Finals since '94, the second made it twice and went 2-8 in their two SC Finals combined. Once you look at it that way, it's that much easier not get aggravated by their spending.

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976, 05 July 2012 - 09:34 AM.

[insanity_gallops]

Every team has hits and misses - unless you're the Nashville Predators, who just can't convince top talent to stay, and is really, really depressing to watch unfold. I hope for the sake of the franchise and the fans that they lock in Shea Weber, regardless of how much money it costs. $8mil per season? Do it. 13 years? Do it. Can't lose Suter and Weber in back-to-back years, just can't.


re: Tri's point, the Flyers wanted Suter to anchor their blueline and didn't get him. They were also said to be in the running for Parise and didn't get him. Free agency can still be such a crapshoot.

[Neb00rs]

You gotta take it easy, Man.
Lou approached Zach and Zach was advised not to sign and wait.

Actually u gotta take it easy. We get it, you figured out what u think happened and now you want everyone to hear it. Truth is, that's complete speculation and probably not true.

[DevsMan84]

The Rangers and Flyers seemingly never hesitate to throw big contracts out there, or so it seems. That's given them lots of backpage news through the years. And if you think about it, how's that worked out for them? One team hasn't made the SC Finals since '94, the second made it twice and went 2-8 in their two SC Finals combined. Once you look at it that way, it's that much easier not get aggravated by their spending.

Defininitely but what I am mostly talking about are players they have and intend to re-sign. It seems very few of their UFA go to another team but it seems ours seem to bolt out more often at least.

But you are right. In the end our signings and non-signings have faired better for us than any of the Rags or Philly.