devilsrule33

It should be said that the florida panthers fans are among the best in the league. They are polite, passionate, and really proud of their team for pushing us to within a goal of elimination. if they won game seven I would have jumped on their bandwagon.

Woah woah...that's not allowed here. Every organization and fanbase of that organization that the Devils play have to be idiots, obnoxious, rude, bush league, disgusting, trailer trash, etc. Take that back now won't you.

Congratulations to the Phoenix Coyotes for advancing to the 2nd round. We talk about this being a brutal hockey market and that this team needs to move immediately, but guess what...this is their first playoff series win since the team moved from Winnipeg in 1996. Chances are Florida, Anaheim, Tampa Bay, Anaheim San Jose, Nashville, Colorado, New Jersey, Dallas would be on the very thinnest ice or gone if they had never won a playoff series since their team moved there.

Maybe this run helps bring in more season ticket holders, sponsors and a new owner. Every franchise deserves a chance to see if they can be successful. And you only really know if the team has success on the ice.

DEVILS FANS!!!!!!! TAKE OUT YOUR GUNS!!!!!!!!!!

It is a big miss. The slogan "Because It's the Cup" is perfect but the execution of all the ads are absolutely awful. The voiceover. The script. The images. Just pretty crappy all around.

They could have come up with something a lot cooler that showed the incredible sacrifice players go through from the 82 regular season games to the grueling playoffs trying to get 16W. I'm thinking of shots like the one of Darryl Sydor in 2000. Remember that? He can't skate or get up. He's in so much pain, but he's dragging himself in front to try and block a shot. It was incredible.



"Why do they do this? Why do they put themselves through the unbearable pain. Because it's the Cup."

Or let the images do the talking and just have cool music with Sydor crawling to the net with Thorne's voice over the music...and the tagline..."Because It's the Cup."

I like how this "NEW" News. The Devils have always had trouble with attendance and marketing.

The key factor for the Devils has always been hard-work and a frugal GM who would say, "this is what you are going to make... take it or leave it." While at times it was not what I agreed with, it worked and worked for years. No one can deny from 1987-88 when they first got to the playoffs until the 2009-10 they were a team based upon on drafting, goaltending, and defense first. That was a business model that had not changed until now.

Kovalchuk while being a tremendous talent has made quite the stir since coming to the Devils. He has has also made quite a bit of noise with his contract (both the length and controversy with it). This was the first deal in which the Devils organiation said, "hey we want you, what will it cost?" While many Devils fans were elated to land Kovalchuk some (such as yours truly) saw it differently. No one will deny that Kovalchuk has immense talent, but the lack of a true two-way player has hurt the team on many occassions. His defensive lapses have hurt the team when they occur and there are times when he has turned the puck over that he coasts back on defense when he plays the point. The ultimate impact won't be fully realized for years although next year might be the start with Parise. What will happen? I've speculated, but no one knows until it happens.

As for hiring a consulting firm to help like Gabe has stated... They can't even pay rent and nothing says, "we don't know what the hell we are doing" like hiring a consulting firm. It is the preverbial 'last straw' before just plain selling and the Devils are not there yet.

The Devils need to put people in their seats. Unused seats are like lost rented rooms at a hotel; you cannot recoup that loss as it is gone forever. The team should take a hard-look at things and really be more proactive. Look to other clubs like the Maple Leafs and Blackhawks who pack the stands. True they are both original six teams, but the Blackhawks once alienated their fans and their former stars for years under the dictatorship of William Wirtz. Once he died, and Rocky took over... things changed and boy did they ever. A revamped team and renewed passion of going to the Hawks games was born. To date the Blackhawks have close to 185 consecutive sell-out crowds. Do that math, CONSECUTIVE sell-out crowds. They have cool give-aways and they make going to a Hawks game the "thing to do". From shoot the puck, to bobblehead give-aways, to just great food, to former player on ice-celebartions, to their very own convention, to you name it. It is a happening place to be as I saw first hand when the Devils were in town to play the Hawks in November of 2010. The city has a 10% sales tax that is outragious along with expensive parking and yet they still fill that building. Unfortunately for the Devils to make money, they are going to need to spend it and I don't see it happening. If they did 1/2 of what the Hawks did right, they'd fill those seats and start their way there.

Before I get jumped on, please take a look at attendance for Hawks games in 2004-06 and then on the turn-around when Rocky Wirtz took over... There business model works, the Devils current one doesn't.

Very impressive. One of the biggest Kovy haters on the board comes along in a marketing thread no less and somehow finds a way to rip Kovy for an entire paragraph. Well done sir.

It really seems lately that the entire roster has warmed up to him. You could tell last year and early this year that guys like Elias and Parise were very wary of Kovalchuk and being able to adjust to "Devils hockey", but lately it seems that both have really warmed to him.

Elias and Kovy have been part of some great passing plays this season.

Now on to some other business. Manta has to be one of the most gutless posters on the board. Nobody posted more last season than Manta when things were sh!t, but now that things have been going well, he is nowhere to be found. I guess he really would have rather been right about Kovy and the team struggling than seeing this team actually succeed. Pretty pathetic.

So what is it about goalies…and this isn’t about Brodeur. Anyone who follows baseball knows that relievers can be the most volatile athletes in sports. One year they’re good; the next…they’re not. Well, I think goaltenders have become the new relievers, or close to it, with their volatility reaching new levels. Don’t follow...well let me explain. Keep in mind that it is early in the year, and a lot can change, but the numbers are very wacky.

We’ll start with goalie graveyard connection. If you named two teams that have had more goalie problems over the last 15 years, it would be the Flyers and the Senators. Two teams who have struggled for years trying to find the guy for the future and two teams which have bad goaltending that has certainly cost them Stanley Cups. So let’s start with Philly. Here comes the savoir…the end of their goalie problems for years to come, and the final piece of their Stanley Cup puzzle. 9 years and 51-million for an all-star, a Vezina finalist, and a big reason for the Coyotes turn around. Most people saw this as a crazy contract. Way too many years. Too much money. Some thought it was a savvy deal because the rumour was he was looking for 7 million minimum. Well so far things are looking good for the Flyers as they have been 1st in the east of the most of the season. Still one missing piece though: GOALTENDING. Ilya Bryzgalov has been terrible. I’m talking about 30th in the league in GAA with 2.92 and 37th in save percentage at .896 terrible. It can’t get worse can it?

The next story has an Ottawa connection as it is the number 1 “are you fvcking kidding me story of the year”. That is former Sens and current St Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott who leads the NHL in GAA (1.43!) Save Percentage (.948!) and shutouts (4). Now the Ottawa Senators were battling with NJ for worst team in the league for the 40-45 games last year. But they weren’t that bad of a team. They just had atrocious goaltending. Brian Elliot couldn’t make a key save. He’d let in back breaking goals at all times of the game. He finished the season in Ottawa with stats of 3.19 and .894. He’s the same goalie that two years prior, Senators fans believed would finally be their long-term answer in net. Now last February, the Avalanche were slipping out of a playoff spot and it was becoming clear that this wasn’t their year. So I am convinced they traded Anderson straight up for Elliott to tank for a top 3 pick. And it was a very smart move. The Avalanche dropped to the 2nd overall pick behind Elliott’s 3.83 and .891. Elliott had done his job and he was thrown out like trash. Well here is Brian Elliott leading the NHL in pretty much every goalie statistic. And I know some might say it is the Hitchcock factor like we saw with Leclaire and Mason, but Elliott was getting it done the entire time before Hitch took over. He’s just continued that run since the coaching change.

By the way, the goalie the Senators traded Elliot for and then proceeded to sign to a 4-year $12.75 million deal in the hopes of being a stabilizing force in nets, well he’s 42nd of 44 goalies eligible with a 3.42 GAA.

Moving on…I just finished talking about the Florida Panthers in my last post being off to an incredible shocking start. They lost Tomas Vokoun who was willing to take millions less in salary just to get away from Florida and play for a competitive hockey team. That left the Panthers with Scott Clemmensen. Dave Tallon spun his wheel and it landed on Jose Theodore. The same Jose Theodore that hasn’t been relevant since 2004 in Montreal and has only disappointed the teams he has played for since including the Capitals. Look up those stats of his since the lockout ended. It’s been ugly. (I do want to give him a bit of a pass the last few years for the heartbreak he went through a couple years back with the death of his infant baby. That had to be the toughest thing in the world) Well he has a .923 save percentage and is backstopping the best team in the southeast. As for the goalie that he replaced…Tomas Vokoun. That’s the 2-time all-star that has been so solid for so long, and been the only thing keeping the Panthers from being one of the worst teams in the league most years. Well as we talked about…he has been awful in Washington with 2.81 GAA. He’s having the worst statistical season since he was a rookie back in 1999.

Where to next? Why not Edmonton with Nikolai Khabibulin. He’s been sh!t on ever since he won the Cup with the Lightning in 2004. He signed a 4-year $27 million deal becoming the highest paid goalie in the league, which by the way everyone knew was the dumbest contract ever and one he would never live up to. And he didn’t. But that didn’t stop the Oilers from giving him a 4 years and $15 million deal. To summarize, he sucked for 5 of those 6 contract years before this season and was absolutely pathetic last year. This year he has only put up the best numbers of his career so far with a 2.00 GAA and .932 SVP. Makes sense of course.

Who else? Why not everyone’s favourite Conn Smythe winning goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere. He has been pretty damn bad since 2008 with Ducks and Leafs failing to post a GAA below 2.95. Giguere ended up signing a deal to be the Avalanche’s backup to former 1st round pick of the Capitals Semyon Varlamov. The Avalanche traded a top pick of their own which is certainly going to be a lottery pick AND a 2nd round pick. An awful trade by the Avalanche since they probably could have signed him to an offer-sheet with the compensation being a 2nd round pick! Anyway, Varlamov has been quite bad so far with a 3.14 GAA and a .896 SVP, while Giguere has been outstanding at less than half the price with a 1.86 GAA and a .927 SVP.

More? Ryan Miller was pedestrian last year after his Vezina and Olympic greatness season of 2010. This year he has flat out sucked with a 3.12 GAA, and been outplayed by his backup Enroth. Roberto Luongo is being paid a fortune for a very long time. That 12 year $64 million contract looks worse and worse every day. One because they have an excellent goalie in Corey Schneider, and two because Roberto Luongo has been struggling mightily. He is sporting the lowest save percentage since he was an Islander at .905 and a GAA of 2.62. And we don’t need to get into the season Dwayne Roloson is having since that was covered (3.67 GAA). Of course, I didn’t even mention all these former all-star goalies crapping it up on bad teams like Cam Ward (3.29, .899), Jonas Hiller (3.15, .898) and the disaster that is Steve Mason (one hit wonder? 3.52 and .880). Alright, my head’s spinning.

Now baseball has that one glue guy. He’s as reliable as death and taxes. That’s Yankees closer Mo Rivera. For years in the NHL it was Marty Brodeur, but now it seems he has passed that title to Tim Thomas. The reigning Stanley Cup, Vezina and Conn Smythe winner is only getting better when you thought it couldn’t be possible. He finished the playoffs with a 1.98 GAA and 9.40 save percentage, and remember he broke the NHL regular season record with a .938 percentage. So far this season .943 and 1.84. Not too shabby at all. And this isn’t to say Tim Thomas isn’t the only reliable goalie in the league. There are a bunch but none as damn good as Tim Thomas.

That’s it for now. I could go on, but I think the post is long enough. What does everyone make of all of this…that is if you finished the entire post? Has goaltending always been this messed up? Have they always been baseball’s equivalent of the relieiver? Maybe all these goalies will cool off and some will pick up their play. It’s something to look out for as the season continues. I don’t know how a GM picks a goalie, but what we have learned is that whoever you do pick…just don’t pay him…unless it’s Tim Thomas.

Great video and around 5:25 really stuck out to me. Scott Niedermayer had won two Cups. It was his brother's second chance at it, and the Devils won again. He got his 3rd, while his brother once again was left in utter disappointment. He says in the video, "hopefully my brother will have another chance somewhere down the road."

He had accomplished everything he could in Jersey. Can anyone actually blame Niedermayer for leaving NJ to try and accomplish something special with his brother? I know it took a long time, but I think that was out of respect to the Devils organization and how much this organization meant to him that made the decision to leave so hard. It seemed like he was really in a tough spot between his actual family and what had become a second family. He chose to try and win with this brother, and I think that is admirable. It clearly meant a whole lot to him and his family.

There is always going to be ill will when a player leaves, especially one who has accomplished so much for a team like Niedermayer did with NJ, but Scott's chapter in NJ was complete. He already had won everything in his career, let alone NHL career, except having the great opportunity of playing with his brother and finally sharing success with him too. You can't be mad at someone for that. When Niedermayer shook hands with his brother in 2003, I think he probably made up his mind right then and there that he would help his brother win a Cup.

I hope anyone who ever was mad at Niedermayer at the time understands that and has moved on. Tomorrow should be a great night honouring one of the best to ever wear the Devils jersey.

Anyone who continuously asks people to kill themselves or says for people to die has no business on this message board regardless of the argument being discussed, stupid or not.

Enough is enough.

This isn't the night to get on the hype machine, unfortunately Crosby's one of the rare ones that lives up to the hype. If you think two goals and four points isn't a HUGE story after the guy missed eleven months I don't know what to tell you.

"NHL needs to learn how to market its top players like other leagues."

"Holy sh!t. NHL.com is talking on and on about Crosby's insane night. What idiots."

Am I the only one annoyed that this thread about something real that is positive is being turned into a personal complain fest?

Seriously. I don't think any of these guys have egos. If I was in that section, I might think Rolston or Heddy was acknowledging the fans too. Honest mistake. Big deal.

And for posting quotes from players about the fans...that's what it is all about. This isn't about having an ego but knowing that the players are appreciating what this group set out to do: supporting the team during a tough year and giving them some energy (an actual home ice advantage). The arena seemed loud on TV on Friday and it was awesome. I can't remember a regular season game that loud in years (not including Rangers, Banner raising or Marty record games). Now is it all due to the supporters? Of course not, but you can't deny their energy. Hopefully their energy carries out throughout the building or helps pick up on other energy areas around the building to the point where you won't need to decipher between any sections because the whole stadium is rocking.

I think a few people are just judging this group based on a few groups before them and are ready to pounce on them for no real reason.It's a fvcking cheering section for goodness sake. Everyone is supporting the same team. What is their to fight about?

I can't even begin to describe how idiotic that timeout by Jim Caldwell was. It was pretty much insane. He gave the Jets an extra timeout. There was absolutely no way that the Colts were getting the ball back. He called timeout at 33 seconds, so if he doesn't call it they won't get a play off until 23 seconds and you make a young QB scramble. Instead, you stop the clock and give the coaches a chance to call their best play. Absolutely crazy.

While this might not be the most popular idea after what has transpired over the past year, but there were still a ton of great moments that came from Jamie that are worth celebrating. It was only a short time ago that Jamie was one of the most respected players on this team by the fans, and it seems like no matter what we thought, he still was very respected by his teammates. Once again, we don't know what happened behind the scenes or in his personal life over the past year, so it is hard to judge. Maybe Jamie would have done it all differently if he had the chance. Anyway, let's get back to the good stuff and keep this thread positive. There were some good times...really good times.





My favourite moments:

2003 playoffs. 11 goals and really stepped up in the first 3 rounds when Elias and Gomez were nowhere to be found. Kept this team alive in game 7 against Ottawa with 2 goals.

2008-2009 season. It was a really fun regular season partly due to the ZZ Pop line. It was exciting every time these guys got on the ice. You thought something could happen. Then in the playoffs, missing just 3 games due to arthroscopic knee surgery and scoring in game 7.

Dolphins talking to Jim Harbaugh as possible candidate for the head coaching job....not sure if that's a good mix (or that Harbaugh is ready for the NFL)

Personally I think he should take the Michigan job (it's probably a better fit and I wanna see him prove himself under some pressure before he jumps to the pros)

Sorry Crasher. You are very wrong. Jim Harbaugh is ready for the NFL. He's a hell of a coach. And why would he go to Michigan when he is probably the most sought-after coach in NFL history. 4-5 teams are bidding for his services. No reason to fix the mess in Michigan.

Just read Rolston's quotes from TG, and all I could think is that Brian Rolston needs to shut the fvck up. He got a ridiculous contract that severely overpaid him. Not for one minute of this contract did he even play close to the way he did with the Wild. Brian Rolston was never worth $5 million at any level in his career, and he certainly never lived up to that amount here. His agent took advantage of a pathetic free agent year just like Wade Redden and Brian Campbell's agents did. And look where Wade Redden is...stuck in the minors for years. Brian Campbell could be there too but his contract is just too ridiculous, and it cost the Hawks some serious talen this off-season. So he should count his lucky stars he isn't where Redden is. Because he could have been there a long time ago. It helped that the Devils were not in cap trouble and things were going so well in 2009 for anyone to really care.

Where was the great shot to help the power play? Where was the great speed he had? Where was the good two-way game and the effort? None of that has been there for two-and-a-half years. Instead we saw some serious pansy ass sh!t along the boards and a piss-poor effort.

Oh and Rolston things he is a sacrificial lamb? Here's a message to him: You're not a sacraficial lamb you idiot. You don't think Lou has tried to move half the roster already. He'd trade 4-5 guys, but knows he can get some value at the deadline. You on the other hand have no value. Not only do you have no value at your current contract, but not one GM in the league would take you at half the price. But you blame the economy? Is that a joke? Have you seen teams slow down the spending? The answer is no. Still a ton of players getting overpaid. It isn't the economy. It is 29 other GMs in the league have you seen you play against them and know you suck. That is why no one wants you. Because you fvcking suck and will be 39 next season. It is because you have 2 goals right now and are on pace to finish the year with 6. It is because every team for the league min can get a guy who will give more of an effort and might score the same amount of goals. But sure blame the economy. And back to the sacrificial lamb part. You want to know a real sacrificial lamb? How about John MacLean. The coach who got canned for coaching a bunch of sh!tty hockey players like yourself with big ass contracts like yourself. He will most likely not touch a head coaching gig for years if he is even lucky because of players like you with big fat contracts. That is a sacrificial lamb, especially when the GM cant get rid of half your teammates. This is the new NHL. sh!t like this happens to guys with big contracts all the time. Except most of those guys are simply cap casualties who actually give a fvcking effort. You are lucky you are still with the Devils and not in Albany. Maybe down there you'd see some guys actually working their ass off to get to a league you've taken advantage of for the past few years. Take some responsibility.

End of rant.