76 replies to this topic

[SterioDesign]

It would be sick if Matteau made the team.. We can start a tradition of chanting his name 3 times after he scores a goal to mock Ranger fans

In terms of our D, we have too much at this point with Merrill not even in the system yet. I say we either bring in a top scorer or we survey the draft and try to trade up for a very high pick

might be a smart move to wait tho... so that we if we have injuries on the D well were set. Then this year a bunch of teams are looking for D depth and single bad slump can kill the season so some teams could have bad Ds or injuries and would need immediate solutions and maybe they'd be willing to give up a good prospect for a solide NHL dman + a pick... or a similar scenario you know. Its a gamble but i could be good

[Triumph]

On the one hand, I like what I'm hearing about Matteau, on the other, I don't like the idea of him starting in the NHL this year. Then again that could just be DeBoer talking to the media and saying the right things.

[SterioDesign]

On the one hand, I like what I'm hearing about Matteau, on the other, I don't like the idea of him starting in the NHL this year. Then again that could just be DeBoer talking to the media and saying the right things.

i really don't thin Matteau will be in the NHL more than maybe a few games to see where he's at.

[njd3b1ink]

I don't care about missing Sykora - Butler should be able to do most of what he did. I care about Ponikarovsky - after his acquisition, the Devils basically won 2/3rds of their games. They were 36-20-4 playoffs and regular season after his acquisition, that's .633 point percentage. Darche is in the same mold but cannot replace him.

I agree, but I would like to say that I think poni could be replaced somewhat easily especially if we trade a defenseman this season. I thought the trade was good for the sole reason that it gave the devils depth and they finally had 3 lines instead of 2. I thought poni played his best early on before he got injured. After he came back he didn't do much and that line in general didnt do a whole lot. I think lou could pull off a depth move similar to this without too much trouble. I think it depends on what happens this week in camp.

[cgb6397]

i really don't thin Matteau will be in the NHL more than maybe a few games to see where he's at.

I actually like the idea. We're clearly not too strong at forward thus far and if Larsson made it his first year, why not Matteau. Granted there is a gap in talent but with the attitude Matteau has shown/is known for, I don't think we see him being all sad and sulky like Larsson last year after being a crash test dummy for a good part of the season.

[Zubie#8]

If Debo and Lou are thinking about seeing what the kid has he should play on a line with Elias and Zubrus. That sounds like a good idea to me (well anything to keep Tedenby out of the lineup).

Butler Zajac Kovalchuk
Matteau Elias Zubrus
Darche Josefson Clarkson
Carter Gionta Bernier

...dat left wing depth

Edited by Zubie#8, 14 January 2013 - 07:55 PM.

[thefiestygoat]

Matteau's having a decent year in the Q but it has been a bit underwhelming. I think finishing the year off in Blainville would do him well. I wouldn't be shocked if he gets a few games if there are injuries and they need a body but no way he sticks this year.

[cgb6397]

If Debo and Lou are thinking about seeing what the kid has he should play on a line with Elias and Zubrus. That sounds like a good idea to me (well anything to keep Tedenby out of the lineup).

Butler Zajac Kovalchuk
Matteau Elias Zubrus
Darche Josefson Clarkson
Carter Gionta Bernier

...dat left wing depth

No way the playoff fourth line stays together.

Zubrus-Zajac-Kovalchuk
Butler-Elias-Clarkson
Darche? Tedenby?-Josefson-Bernier
Carter-Gionta-Janssen

[CarpathianForest]

I'm just hoping to see Reid Boucher up with the big boys in the next couple seasons.

[Zubie#8]

I love the fact that Zubrus is mentoring Matteau and skates with him over the summer and now they are on the same line during camp. It is also good to hear Stefan mention how much Zubrus is helping him out. It would be great if he can become a bull along the boards like Dainius.

[ThreeCups]

How many games does Cam play this year? Barch? How many games are they BOTH in the lineup for?!?

[nmigliore]

How many games are they BOTH in the lineup for?!?

Hopefully zero. Oh the horrors that would be....

Josefson back to practice, per TG: http://blogs.northje..._training_camp/

[redruM]

Really worried about the first 10 to 15 games, getting out he gate FAST is imperative in a short season. Missing Henrique for 3 or 4 weeks could be really bad...

[Devils731]

Really worried about the first 10 to 15 games, getting out he gate FAST is imperative in a short season. Missing Henrique for 3 or 4 weeks could be really bad...

Shouldn't be that long, I think they're targeting end of the this month, if this go great, but more likely early next month.

[caron14]

We will be fine i have a feeling that bobby butler will score a lot of goal for us..

[Devils731]

Rich Chere ‏@Ledger_NJDevils
Brodeur says Stefan Matteau looks to be faster skater than his dad. He says the kid doesn't look out of place in camp

------------------------------

Stefan looked like a pretty crappy skater at the WJC. Maybe his skater is more suited to the smaller surface here though.

[newarkdev01]

Ya I have to imagine there is going to be alot of shifting aroudn the lines as we pretty much rode whatever was hot last year and I can't see PB changing thath philosophy. I am just hoping we can continue to have as effective of a penalty kill, and improve on our power play.

[nmigliore]

Butler sounds like a smart player:

Butler struggled to find his scoring touch and lost confidence last season, however, and ended up with just six goals and 10 assists in 56 NHL games with Ottawa. After the Senators bought out the final season of his contract last summer, the Devils signed him to a two-way deal with the NHL minimum salary of $525,000.

Butler said it was just a matter of finding his confidence again and remembering to shoot more often and more quickly. He had just 86 shots on goal in 56 games last season with Ottawa. He had 94 shots on goal in his 32 games with Albany.

“You can’t score if you don’t throw it towards the net,” he said. “I didn’t shoot enough last year, so I want to shoot as much as I can this year. It was something I figured out, just looking at stats here and there. I just knew I wasn’t shooting fast enough and shooting enough last year, so that’s one of my focuses this year.”

-TG

For reference, he shot 73 times in 36 games in 2010-2011 - the year in which he scored 10 goals and put up 21 points. In that same year, in the AHL, he shot 136 times in 47 games and scored 22 goals and 33 points. As TG points out above, this year in the AHL he's shot 94 times in 32 games and it's resulted in 15 goals and 23 points. So on average:

2010-2011 (NHL): 2.03 shots per game
2010-2011 (AHL): 2.90 shots per game
2011-2012 (NHL): 1.56 shots per game
2012-2013 (AHL): 2.94 shots per game

It's good to see he realized he wasn't shooting enough in 2011-2012. I don't think he's suddenly going to be on pace to score like 30+ goals at the NHL level, but for those that are missing Sykora, I think he could do an ample job of replacing his scoring if he can maintain the 2+ shot per game average, especially if he's playing on the top line. In the shortened season, is something like 12-15 goals realistic?

Edited by nmigliore, 15 January 2013 - 08:12 PM.

[Zubie#8]

@TGfireandice:
Matteau beats Brodeur, yes, at 14:30 for PPG

Edited by Zubie#8, 16 January 2013 - 02:12 PM.

[ZeroGravityFat]

LOL MATTEAU! kids going to make the team!