Triumph

Well, I was wondering that myself, because 'cut' usually implies sent down to the minors or back to junior.. not 'released' This makes a lot more sense. Lou isn't going to toss away a million dollars.

Has, you can't tell me Lou didn't see something like this coming when he signed Albelin. If it wasn't Zyuzin, it would have been Commodore. I think this is the move that had to be made, but the right move would've been not signing Albelin and signing Ken Sutton instead.

This isn't good news. The Devils are going to have to pay the 1 million owed to Albelin this season. Tossing away a million dollars isn't exactly a good thing for the Devils budget.

Didn't Ferraro play with Messier in New York? I doubt he forgot. Maybe he remembered all too well..

Jovo might not be better on D right of this minute, but he will be by the end of the year.. Jovonovski is a more effective defenseman who is still growing. I would rather have Jovo on my team, I think he's quicker, and takes less undisciplined penalties.. I just don't like Hatcher's defensive style at all. I don't think he's horribly effective and I think this year, with the obstruction rules, he'll be less effective.

Well, I don't look at him like Carpenter because Carpenter was ineffective in 98 and 99.. Yashin and Straka/Jagr rolled over the Devils in those years. In fact, I suspected the Devils acquired Peter Zezel to try to replace Carpenter, but somehow he was worse than Bobby.. Replacing Carpenter with Holik was one of the Devils best moves.. and one that's basically forgotten, I think..that Pandolfo-Carpenter-Rolston became Brylin (Nemchinov, Kelly)-Holik-McKay (Lemieux)..

Come on, Jovo matches up against the top lines in Vancouver and does a fairly decent job. Hatcher's playing in a defensive system with another top defensive defenseman in Matvichuk, and players who are all devoted to the backcheck. Don't use +/-, it's not a reliable stat at all.

Holik did a great job on Sundin in 2000. Outstanding job.. he and Stevens made Mats a total non-factor. He did not do a very good job on Sundin in 2001. Luckily for Holik, he made the key pass to McKay in overtime of Game 2, or the Devils might've been down 2-0, after blowing two three-goal leads..and Sundin and his line scored the goals..the Devils won, but Sundin definitely played much better against Holik in 2001. I think Holik's reputation as a defensive center is a bit overblown, but then again the Devils don't have anyone to come close to replacing him either.

Jerry, Holik was heavily criticized for his 4 year playoff goal drought. Yes, he had 7 assists against Pittsburgh, but Holik's not a playmaker. He's a scorer. I don't hold him responsible at all for Pittsburgh (defense and Rolston/Morrison shoulder that one), but we're being plenty objective here. Holik showed up for the playoffs, but sometimes he left his shot back in the regular season.

Holik at his best was a 3rd line player. The Devils never won anything with him in any other role. Whenever Holik was asked to score as a Devil (i.e. on the '2nd line') the team never went anywhere, regardless of whether he scored. If you characterize any line that does not have pure scorers and that matches against the other team's top line as the 3rd line, then Holik was the 3rd line center in 2000 and 2001.. and 1995. I still call him the best 3rd line center in the league. By far. He just never fit in a 2nd line role with the Devils.

Whoever you're referring to chort, he cost either 3 or 9 times as much as Grier. I don't think Grier is 'tough as nails'.. he's a former college player. He'll hit a lot, but I don't think he gets involved in the rough stuff. Maybe I'm wrong, I haven't looked at his PIMs.. Edmonton traded him for picks because they probably needed to cut salary.. with the absurd deal they gave York and the arbitration settlement with Jason Smith, someone had to go.. but most thought it would be Todd Marchant.

Why would Buffalo want Niedermayer and Madden? They already have Zhitink and Woolley as offensive defensemen. Campbell is waiting for his shot to replace Woolley. Why Madden? He's just another Todd Marchant. He's not likely to score 30 goals.. Johnny doesn't have very good hands. Plus, he's not very big. He's probably the best 4th line center in the league, but as a 3rd line center, I'm not convinced he'll be effective. The Sabres would be throwing away 55 goals a year for 25. They don't particularly need Niedermayer, their defense is actually fairly solid, although losing Smehlik will hurt. They need Afinogenov and Connolly to step up their games a notch.

No, it really doesn't, chort.. then again the Devils have gone to the Cup Finals 2 out of the last 3 years, so it's kind of hard for those people to have been wrong.. Most people equate effort with a win, because with the Devils' talent level the last 4 years it's been mostly true. This year it might not be..the Devils might just get outplayed in some games.

Devils do need someone like Hatcher, but not Hatcher himself... Colin White, if he stays with the Devils for 5 or 6 more years, has the potential to become Hatcher..I've never been impressed with Derian and I never will be, he's a bit of a pylon and uses the stick way too much. When Stevens leaves, the Devils should actually dip into the UFA pool and try to pull someone out .. use Stevens old money to buy a defensive defenseman of his caliber.. hard to say who'll be available in 2 years, though. There's no way Hale will be ready for top-4 duty in 2 years, even if he does leave college after this year.. Rumor is that the Stars are offering a Hatcher-Arnott package around the league..

negative, n_f? not really, just stating the obvious. Many of the people on the board have said that the Devils will have a losing season and miss the playoffs. They're going to look for every opportunity to prove it, especially the first game. If the Devils lose it, they'll use whatever went wrong in the game to 'prove' their point.

Agree, Z-Man.. he doesn't really fit in our lineup or I think Lou would've made a big pitch for him.. If only he were a left wing... I'd been lobbying for Grier for part of the summer, but he was forced into 2nd line duty in Edmonton and didn't really succeed there. He's a two-way bruising forward who can chip in 15.

3-2 Ottawa. Then I want to come home from class on Thursday night and see a 30 post thread as to why the Devils won't win another game.

I didn't know very much about other teams in 95, ^7^. I will say that Thomas was a 'playoff wizard' before and after coming to New Jersey, but never in Jersey. I also remember from his tenure here that he used to float up near center ice a lot, more so than Guerin or #89 did. Steve Thomas was a huge disappointment in New Jersey.

Well, that little tidbit about Sykora is very interesting.. someone on the board speculated that that was the case.. Probably for financial reasons, I imagine Tverdovsky and Friesen make around 6 million combined, whereas Sykora only made 4.. I don't think Lou would've kept Sykora, but he would have tried to move him out for prospects rather than established players. The #89 story is interesting as well.

Yup. Except he has NO logic to his posts whatsoever. Kyy is the perfect agitator, knows when to pick his spots.. KD figures if he posts enough incindiary nonsene someone'll respond

Oh god.. the stats DO show Elias in favor. He had a 96 point season. He's been a better playoff performer. Derek, if you want to whine after getting called out for labeling brylin18 and myself homers, go ahead. If you can't take it, don't dish it out. To alledge that Satan is better than Elias is, to me, simply indefensible. Elias was a 1st team all star in 01. That wasn't a result of his line, but he was certainly helped by it. To say that Satan would put up similar numbers on the same line doesn't seem to be borne out by Satan's game.. which is largely one-dimensional. He's a great stickhandler, a great shooter, but he doesn't have the speed of say, Bondra. He's not a great passer. Nothing sticks out about Satan's game; he's a very talented player, but he's a step down from Elias. He's not as strong, and I think Elias has better hockey sense. Also, it'd serve you to stop using bad logic.. the typical argument among NHL fans is that "if player A plays on a worse team than player B, yet puts up good numbers, he must be better." That's simply not the case. brylin and I are telling you to look away from the stats, because they can serve either one of our viewpoints. There's too many variables involved to declare Satan's numbers 'better' simply because he plays on a worse team. Elias is also a year and a half younger. And he's already better..

Please, Derek, just watch the games and you'll see what Brylin is talking about. Elias is the better player. He's stronger, hits more, plays more chippy, doesn't get knocked off the puck as easily. Reality check: the players aren't that much different. You're right. Elias is still better. Satan is the better stickhandler. I think he might also have a better shot release, but that's debatable. What would you rather have in the playoffs, a better stickhandler or a stronger player? Satan is more capable of doing it by himself. He's perfect on a team like Buffalo. Put him with a playmaker, and I don't think he would improve very much. Stop justyfing yourself with statistics, and actually go by evidence..

Who's he been playing with? Tim Connolly, a very talented center, and probably someone like Dumont on the other wing. Miroslav Satan is a step down from Elias and Naslund. He doesn't have Elias's strength or Naslund's wrist shot. I stand by my statement.

Doug Weight has a 9 million dollar contract and a no trade clause. Satan's hardly a franchise player; he's good, but he's no Elias or Naslund. The Blues still need scoring on the wings; they lost Scott Young and haven't replaced him. They won't be dealing Demitra any time soon. A team that needs a defenseman like Niedermayer or Rafalski or Tverdovsky is one that is on the brink of Cup contention. San Jose is a club that has plenty of fine young talent, and does not have a game-breaker on the backline quite yet. But, unless the Devs think someone like Cheechoo is going to be an NHL star, they shouldn't be dealing one of the three for youth.. A team is unlikely to deal a slumping star player or veteran for an offensive defenseman simply because offensive defensemen are usually the missing link... not something that helps out a struggling team. Heck, Anaheim proved that when they dealt Tverdovsky.

With the Sabres tenuous financial situation, there's no way they add a player like Niedermayer.. and especially not for Afinogenov, who's still cheap and has 30 goal potential. Plus, Gratton isn't a 1st line center by any stretch of the imagination. He'd be perfect for the third line, though.