NJDevs4978

The real refs do 'not' screw up this much, stop perpetuating this fallacy.  Instead of there being a few bad calls a week that get talked about normally, now there are a dozen bad calls and common procedural errors every game.  Errors on stuff we should be taking for granted in a professional game of the 'best sports league in America', like marking off a 40-yard penalty on a personal foul in Detroit-Tennessee or using a kicking ball for a two-point conversion last night in addition to all their other errors.  Not to mention players and coaches are getting more out of control by the week due to frustration and taking advantage of seventh-rate refs (not even second or third-rate).

I wouldn't count on anything happening until after tonight's games.  Of course the first time I don't check this thread for a few hours I'll be on the clock for half a day

the real reason they were so pissed about the kovalchuk contract wasn't because of the cap circumvention (although that didn't help). it was that they knew HE couldn't afford to pay it. he has leveraged just about everything he can to continue his ownership of this team.

This is the first time I've ever heard that even as a rumor, although it certainly confirms what some people suspected when the weird contract format came out (less money in the first two years before the big payouts, when does THAT ever happen?).

JVB is despised by the NHL. He is despised by his partners. He has done everything with leveraged money earned 10 years ago. Trying to cobble money from people to stay his execution another couple of years is counter productive. This is Wilpon-esque but to a worse degree.

Thing is JVB actually seems like a genuine fan of the Devils, that's what makes it hard for me to root for his demise.  I mean until this year the payroll has never been an issue, and the team's fan relations department has been dramatically upgraded the last few years.  

As opposed to the Wilpons who are bigger fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers as evidenced by Citi Field, and never open the pocketbook until they 'have' to (when fans were ready to riot in '98 after they refused to consider acquiring Piazza at first, and in '04 when they were terrible for three straight years).  Not to mention the Mets' lack of incentives to be a season ticket holder is  a disgrace.

Well he has gotten plenty of golf practice lately

meh, it's almost FFB draft time. manta will be around plenty.

Barring another hurricane

Can't we have a seperate thread every season instead of just retitling one that started in 2010?

You should jump ship TO the Devils.

I'd rather have no fans than fans like 'that'.

Again, this isn't the time to be pleading for leniency in front of an angry mob.  I don't understand why people don't get this.  If you want to make this argument on November 10 about how Zach's a good guy and all and complain how people aren't over it, whatever.  The wound's too fresh now, you and everyone else are not going to get anywhere arguing this point this week.  

No offense but people arguing how we're being too hard on Zach and why we shouldn't hate him are annoying me almost as much as Zach's bromance itself.  He's not a Devil anymore and he left us, why should I give two ***** about being fair to him now?  And if he felt he was going to be here all along, why was he talking with Suter during the season about linking up?  Please.

No, it definitely affected roster composition midseason since people had to make a choice whether they wanted to use a spot on Manning and other injured non-IR players without any real indication whether the keeper rule would be amended for those kind of situations this year.

Funny how things change in a year or two.  The idea of keeping Kovalchuk and losing Parise two years ago was unspeakably horrible to everyone here.  Even last offseason when Parise only signed to a one year deal it left everyone terrified and angry that the team might lose Parise and just keep Kovy.

Admittedly I would have said last year Zach was clearly the better player, but Kovy really rounded out his game with all the PK'ing he did - for the first time in his career, and was impressive in the way he was able to put up points at half strength (if that) in the playoffs while Zach really was invisible for long stretches with no injury.

At this point I'm starting to buy into the mentality of just throw two defensemen out there and play the PP like a 5-on-5 offense.  I mean we only have two legit pointmen and both are compromised due to injury anyway.  We're 0-14 on the PP against a formidable Kings' PK.  Throwing out two defensemen and playing our normal cycle offense down low might just yield some dividends.  Can't hurt.  If Kovy and Zidlicky weren't both hurt that'd be something else but at this point might as well gifve up on the 'conventional' PP.

I missed the entire game due to a high school awards show i had to attend, but that bit is pretty funny (unless you are getting view blocked by one of those heads)

I would assume the heads were only up during a stoppage of play anyway.

We need to win tomorrow, then we can put Sopranos heads behind their bench Saturday, maybe that'll scare them lol.

lol at all four goals being stoppable.  Game 1 was a one-timer and a breakaway with their best player.  Game 2 Doughty made half the team look silly and fired a shot through a screen, then Carter scored off a rebound.  At most one of them was soft, and that's only because Marty himself took the blame on the Fraser goal.

Let Marty embrace his inner troll, he's been feisty in the media all series.  Whatever you want to say about his play, he wants to stick it to the Rangers as bad as any of us. And that's rare, when a player genuinely cares as much as the fans do...especially a guy of Marty's stature.

Had them all the way I guess lol.

Marty and Lundqvist both stinking, the fourth line bailing us out in the Conference Finals, just nuts.