Z-Man

As bad as he looked last year, I'm not ready to throw in the towel on Ryder. Dude has 5 seasons of scoring 25+ goals. His 2011 season was very similar in points to last year, and he followed that season with a 35 goal output. He was pretty snake-bit last year, so I'm willing to give him another chance. Brunner doesn't have the track record of Ryder, and was signed out of necessity last year.

I can't understand why anyone is still talking about remaining UFA forwards. If/when Josefson signs, that makes 14 NHL forwards. If Lou brings Carter back, that's 15. Not to mention Boucher and Matteau may have a shot to stick with the team in training camp. Give it up. Other than shipping out Ryder or Brunner, this is the group we have.

http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/2014/07/devils_will_sign_veteran_backup_goalie_steve_bernier_agrees_to_1-year_600000_deal.html Lamoriello pretty much gives his feeling about Gio's performance & role vs. Bernier:

Why feel bad? Lou's been a ridiculously successful GM for over 25 years with the same team. He doesn't care what a bunch of jack-offs on a message board think.

Got one right. Now waiting for the Booth signing.

So essentially if you sign RFA's Gelinas, Josefson and Kinkaid, and re-sign Carter and Gionta as has been speculated, that leaves just under $10 million to spend on 2 roster spots. Unfortunately, I fear the signings will be David Booth (trying to work the DeBoer magic) and Martin Havlat (add to the Czech presence on the team).

I'm sure you mean AHL. And yes, he can be sent down, he would just continue to get the NHL salary.

The refs can only do so much when trying to determine if "embellishment" or "diving" occurred during a split-second call. The NHL should take the NBA model and put some more teeth behind it: - NHL offices review all potential "dives" - First offense: Maximum fine per CBA (1/2 a day's salary, up to $10k) - Second offense: One game suspension - Third offense: Five game suspension Start taking money out of the player's wallet & sitting them down for a game. That'll get the message across real quick.

Dino Costa got caught publishing other writers' articles on his website with new headlines, and no credit to the original writers. This guy has less than zero credibility. When someone who's worth a damn starts to discuss it, I'll listen. http://awfulannouncing.com/2014/dino-costas-website-is-plagiarizing-everyone-in-sports-including-us.html

Ryder and Brunner are going nowhere. We have $6 mil tied up in these turds next year. No one will trade for a washed-up Ryder at $3.5 mil (who had more points in the half season last year than the full season this year). And there was a reason no one offered Brunner a contract in the offseason, but yet Lou gave him a 2 year deal based on a one week tryout.

As TG stated earlier on Twitter, a Devils loss tonight and it's possible they could get mathematically eliminated even before they take the ice on Thursday vs. Ottawa. MUST win.

Brodeur will get sunburn on the back of his neck from the red light repeatedly flashing. 5-2 Yotes.

While ridiculously unlikely, an 8-2 finish (91 pts.) would still be a good bet to get us in. The Devils would then have the tie-breaker over all four teams (ROW wins), and you'd need three of those teams to get 11 points or fewer the rest of the way: Toronto (11 or fewer pts. in 8 remaining games): Still have Philly, Detroit, Boston and a 3 game road trip at the end of the season. Washington (11 or fewer in 9 remaining games): Boston, Dallas, Devils, St. Louis and Chicago still remain. Detroit & Columbus (11 or fewer in 10 remaining games): Obviously one of these two needs to go on a bit of a tailspin, but neither schedule is a cakewalk.

Maybe I haven't watched a Ranger game in a while, but where is Micheletti? Who is the color guy?

No one at Prudential Center would ever start a "____" swallows chant or say anything anti-gay. In all seriousness, glad to see the pro-Devils response on the REAL story, even from Flyer fans.

This is pretty much the dumbest thread ever. Yep, let's scrap the Schneider plan. I don't want him re-signed, either. We might as well offer contracts to Jonas Hiller, Jaroslav Halak or Bryzgalov this offseason, because Cory isn't the long term answer.

NHL changed the goal credit this morning to Suter.

We can all nit-pick and critique, but the fact is these jobs are extremely difficult to do well. Imagine someone critiquing what you say over a 3 hour period while describing something that is unfolding in front of your eyes. Dano did not seem out of place & didn't give any indication that he was in over his head. If he does take over, he'll improve as he gets comfortable.

The NHL had this for a long time. They were called "ties."

Quick 5 minute analysis of the 3-2-1 point system if it was in use today (3 pts. for Reg. W, 2 pts. for OT or SO win, 1 pt. for OT/SO loss): 1. Boston 140 2. Montreal 110 3. Tampa 110 4. Toronto 103 (WC #2) 5. Detroit 98 6. Ottawa 91 7. Florida 79 8. Buffalo 56 1. Pittsburgh 131 2. Rangers 110 3. Philly 109 4. Columbus 105 (WC #1) 5. Washington 97 6. Carolina 94 7. New Jersey 92 8. Islanders 77 Translation? Exact same teams in playoff spots.

Like it or not, it's not going away. Neither is the 3 point game. With about 12 games to play, 20+ teams are still within reasonable striking distance for a playoff spot. Both keep teams in the hunt longer.

Ugh, it's not bad enough the Devils are stinking up the joint. Dano forgets to hit the cough button and you hear him hocking up mucus. Eww. Guess he's getting into the retro night with something green.

Put a tent over this circus.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/craig-custance/post/_/id/1793/the-future-of-hockeys-analytics-movement Great ESPN article on advance stats & the Devils. Sorry it's only insider if you subscribe. Here's a teaser/snipet: