Devils Pride 26 Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Our defense was "Very Good" in 2009 for sure. We were 4th in the league with 207 Goals against. 4th in the league at anything is very good if not excellent. We tend to be a bit spoiled here in NJ over our defense, which was and is currently very good. Also, if I remember correctly, we had to have our backup goaltender in for about 50 games...making the defensive effort even more impressive. While being 4th in the league in GA is good, it really doesn't mean much when it comes to the playoffs and playing against top teams for 7 games. Thus has been the problem the last few years for the Devils, playing great in the regular season but struggling in the playoffs. When push comes to shove, our defense has gotten abused in the playoffs, they just don't stack up. The talent on the backend is just to thin at this point. Yes... my point was similar in my article... good but not great = no Stanley Cup... need a different coaching style and philosophy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msweet Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 Our defense was "Very Good" in 2009 for sure. We were 4th in the league with 207 Goals against. 4th in the league at anything is very good if not excellent. We tend to be a bit spoiled here in NJ over our defense, which was and is currently very good. Also, if I remember correctly, we had to have our backup goaltender in for about 50 games...making the defensive effort even more impressive. While being 4th in the league in GA is good, it really doesn't mean much when it comes to the playoffs and playing against top teams for 7 games. Thus has been the problem the last few years for the Devils, playing great in the regular season but struggling in the playoffs. When push comes to shove, our defense has gotten abused in the playoffs, they just don't stack up. The talent on the backend is just to thin at this point. Yes... my point was similar in my article... good but not great = no Stanley Cup... need a different coaching style and philosophy I still think we need another top 4 guy along with one of the kids to step up before anything else. Maybe Lemaire will get us out of the first round but we are not winning the cup with the defense we have right now. I have been saying for quite a while that we will need a stud on defense to win another Cup...for sure...agree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils Pride 26 Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 One guy I have been interested in long before Sutter was even gone is Marek Zidlicky. He's not a number 1 by any means but he is the type of defensemen we've been in need of. Brings a good offensive game. The last 2 years he put up 42 and 43 points. Last year he scored 12 goals on 147 shots (8.2%). It wasn't that different than his career 7.4%. He's still young, he can run a PP, only one year left with a 3.35M hit (almost a perfect contract us us right now), and most importantly played under Lemaire. I would love to see: Martin - Zidlicky Oduya - Corrente White - Salvador/Eckford/Greene/Mottau Only problem is size, but White and Sal are big dudes, Corrente plays big, and Eckford is big too. One of the reason's why I think he is a darkhorse to make the team. You can't have enough big guys that can skate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prucenterrules Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I was completely against Lemaire at the start of the coaching search but now i'm kind of happy he's the coach. He will deffinetly hold the players accountable for their play and as long as he keeps the offense mostly the way it was we deffinetly have a chance if Marty plays like the real Marty and not like the Marty we have seen the last 5 seasons in the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msweet Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 I was completely against Lemaire at the start of the coaching search but now i'm kind of happy he's the coach. He will deffinetly hold the players accountable for their play and as long as he keeps the offense mostly the way it was we deffinetly have a chance if Marty plays like the real Marty and not like the Marty we have seen the last 5 seasons in the playoffs. I am realized for a year now this team as constructed and as coached by Sutter was not going to win anything big. We simply don't match up well in the East against the best. Lemaire is Lou's realization that we have to play a different way with this group of player sif we are going to win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overtime98 Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 if you dont believe we can be competitive and have a chance at the cup, please jump off the bandwagon. thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepperkorn Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I was completely against Lemaire at the start of the coaching search but now i'm kind of happy he's the coach. He will deffinetly hold the players accountable for their play and as long as he keeps the offense mostly the way it was we deffinetly have a chance if Marty plays like the real Marty and not like the Marty we have seen the last 5 seasons in the playoffs. I am realized for a year now this team as constructed and as coached by Sutter was not going to win anything big. We simply don't match up well in the East against the best. Lemaire is Lou's realization that we have to play a different way with this group of player sif we are going to win. See now I didn't know that ...UNTIL Sutter quit. Then I saw he doesn't have the stuff -- the stuff meaning the ability and desire to learn and grow from mistakes. Ditching the team rather than feeling impelled to finish out his contract and try to improve over this past season -- that was such a huge tip off that he wasn't the guy for the job. Not because he didn't like Jersey or any of that -- but he doesn't have a head coach instinct like Burns. I wouldn't have taken Brent if I was Darryl. I'd have said No sir -- you take that extra year and you learn what youve got to learn our East -- THEN bring it back here and make my organization thrive! Lemaire... I think it's the best fit for now and the best fit available. I'm also not sure if I agree this team needs to play a different way... I think this team needs to LEARN how to play as a whole. A coach needs to understand that certain things do NOT just fall into place. Sutter was thinking like a player -- if you all do this then it'll all fall into place. Fine for a Captain but a coach has to see every detail and understand how to tweak parts as needed... the only thing that falls into place is chemistry. If you get the technical stuff down then chemistry falls into place -- OR you see who isnt aligned and never see within the teams vision. That's been really difficult the past three seasons or so. There are very different camps who are meshing together as best they can -- but something has to give. The fact that Madden was let go means it's not business as usual defensive hockey here we come. The single hardest thing to articulate is that a players vision is the same as the teams vision -- and to trust the coach if he gives you a drill or tells you to focus on something you do understand the value of -- you have to trust that he's correct. Gomez wasnt smart enough to get that. Needmybrother just didn't give a sh!t. He'd suck it up just enough to get the job done yet long to do it his way. I knew hed learn what he needed to on teh Ducks...schmuk Dubmass still thinks he's doing it his way. All he KNOWs he tok with him was the he's such an a$$hole that's all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddog Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I was completely against Lemaire at the start of the coaching search but now i'm kind of happy he's the coach. He will deffinetly hold the players accountable for their play and as long as he keeps the offense mostly the way it was we deffinetly have a chance if Marty plays like the real Marty and not like the Marty we have seen the last 5 seasons in the playoffs. I am realized for a year now this team as constructed and as coached by Sutter was not going to win anything big. We simply don't match up well in the East against the best. Lemaire is Lou's realization that we have to play a different way with this group of player sif we are going to win. I would have to agree with this 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I was completely against Lemaire at the start of the coaching search but now i'm kind of happy he's the coach. He will deffinetly hold the players accountable for their play and as long as he keeps the offense mostly the way it was we deffinetly have a chance if Marty plays like the real Marty and not like the Marty we have seen the last 5 seasons in the playoffs. I am realized for a year now this team as constructed and as coached by Sutter was not going to win anything big. We simply don't match up well in the East against the best. Lemaire is Lou's realization that we have to play a different way with this group of player sif we are going to win. i disagree a lot. the team's strength is in the forwards - the defense isn't weak like people around here will have you believe, but it is not ridiculously strong. the way to win in the nhl is to have your forwards out-possess the other team's forwards. jacques lemaire's system traditionally doesn't believe in this - it believes you can give the puck to the other team and take it away from them in a more advantageous position, something which i don't think is true anymore. it also traditionally focuses the team on line matching, which is okay, but line matching used to be about getting the guy who could hook, slash, and hack the team's best player to keep him from scoring. this simply isn't the case anymore. you need to have players who can keep up with them offensively - you can't just rope-a-dope and hope that your guys come out on top, because they simply won't. even jordan staal, everyone's wunderkindphenomsuperstar checking line center, was a large minus in this year's playoffs, because he was going up against top lines and they were still dominating his. i have faith that lemaire is a smart hockey mind. i hope he's learned something from his time in minnesota. but the neutral zone trap as a long-term strategy isn't effective as a way to win the stanley cup. it may grind the most out of this pedestrian roster, but unless lemaire comes to his senses and begins matching up patrik elias against top lines - it's not going ot happen with rod pelley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucifersDog Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I am happy it is Lemaire when I was thinking it could have been Johnny Mac. Anyone talking about this team, as we know it, winning the Stanley Cup is stretching things a lot. All I want to see is a team that improves and gets past round one, after all we have "Marty" in goal. As I see the team right now we have two weak links: both overpaid underachievers they are Pando and Zubrus. If there was a way to get rid of both of them it would be best for the team. BTW I don't think we are using Elias correctly if we have him playing as center so we still need a 2nd line center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msweet Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 i have faith that lemaire is a smart hockey mind. i hope he's learned something from his time in minnesota. but the neutral zone trap as a long-term strategy isn't effective as a way to win the stanley cup. it may grind the most out of this pedestrian roster, but unless lemaire comes to his senses and begins matching up patrik elias against top lines - it's not going ot happen with rod pelley. I really believe Lemaire will know what to do. He's really smart (unlike Sutter). He will not plat the trap. I have a good feeling about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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