Triumph

Preseason..I wouldn't put much stock in it either way. It'd be nice if they looked good tonight, but it's not overly important that they don't..

For any team to want Zyuzin, the Devils are going to have to play him in most games and Andrei'll have to show that he is capable of being a 3rd pairing defenseman, with flashes of 2nd pairing duty.. I think Zyuzin could be the centerpiece to acquire a UFA-to-be in March, *maybe*, but aside from that, he has no trade value at this point. Tampa dealt him for 2 C-grade prospects and an unknown in But, and since then Andrei's had a conditioning stint in the minors and been knocked out of the top 6 by Tommy Albelin. Zyuzin isn't capable of being a #1 or #2 d man. Those days ended long ago. If he plays well every game he could be a 2nd pairing guy who can work the power play, and put up 25-30 points a year. But he'll have to show this year that he's capable of doing that..

Then you're delusional. This shoulder injury stuff only came up in March. Are you saying he played through this injury for 2 months, with the Olympic break to rest his shoulder, and it was still a problem? Talk about making excuses, you're one of the few people better than Arnott at it. It was obvious in years past that the guy floated through games, but it wasn't a problem, the Devils were winning and scoring enough goals. In 2002, he tries to float through games, gets knocked off the top line, and keeps playing like crap.. the guy wasn't a leader, and in arbitration, he was going to want to be paid like one. He had to be dealt. Now, if Nieuwendyk leaves at the end of the season and the Devils don't have an ECF championship or a Cup, I'm going to be badgering Lou as well. I hope Arnott finally pulls it together, but I don't think he ever will...and he's certainly not going to with Dallas. I expect him to be dealt by March.

Oh stop it ^7^, I had been saying trade Arnott since January.. that's not living up Lou L.'s ass and rationalizing after he got dealt, it was noticing a problem and seeing that it had to go away. I was a big fan of the Guerin for Arnott deal when it happened and I was a big Arnott fan. The guy's not a leader. He was asked to be one, and he couldn't handle it. He won't win a Stanley Cup again.

Once it stopped being fun, Arnott couldn't handle it. One thing we could all say about the Arnott line is that they all loved scoring goals.. Last year it stopped being a game, it stopped being fun. Arnott and his crew had to score, and Arnott couldn't hack it. He couldn't be a first line center on a line that had to lead.. The fact that he can't understand it makes me think he's only going to repeat the same pattern in Dallas.

Drury is also 5-10, so he would've solved our size problem too. Devs need size before they get a scorer. Chort, I like your lines, except Friesen's on his off-wing... I think Brylin's going to have to be bumped down to some makeshift third line.. like what about, Brylin-Madden-Stevenson, moving Gionta up to play with Gomez.. then Pandolfo-Danton-Berglund as a physical line..

No, I don't, ^7^. I have memory. 97-98 or 98-99, does anyone remember these years? I'm sure most of you, before 97-98 started, said, "I think at 31, Randy McKay's going to score 25 goals." I'm sure in 98, after Gilmour left, everyone was happy with the offense then, right? Everyone was thinking "The Devils will be among the league leaders in offense."

Agreed, olp. I didn't see any of these "objective" fans claming #89 was going to average 25 goals a year (as he did with the Canucks for the previous 3 seasons). The Devils will get goals from unexpected places. Book it.

He played with Kariya for about five games, with Kariya at center or right wing. You guys are astounding, your one-sided statistical usage is commendable, but still astounding.. Friesen will score 23+ goals this year. He did very well in San Jose when he was one of the few scorers there, and right now, he's one of the few scorers in New Jersey.