kenrock Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 I dunno if we are losers today, but the Devils cannot be confused as winners with the deadline passing. With it all said and done, I sure as hell am disappointed. Look what we have...Hrdina. Kozlov is post-concussion and just back to skating folks...when will he be back? And he was/is soft anyways...and won't be playing his preferred position when he does come back. And NONE OF YOU can count Stevens! People, you just can't. Not like DET can count Hatcher or VAN can soon count Jovo. Concussions are just so different from regular injuries...they take time. And there are mental (psychological) as much as physical issues to overcome. With any kinda physical rehab, conditioning can be maintained. I don't think Scotty has done anything. I mean, any Insiders here (crap about Stevens ready to come back if Burns is fired?) have some substantial facts to report about him working out at all? Coming back...this season? Playoffs? At all? I see things a lot differently I guess. As I have mentioned here before, the Kool-Aid must get seriously watered-down by the time it reaches me here in Chicago. This is a unique season folks...yes of course, defending the Cup/back-to-back...but more so with the CBA looming. The business of hockey is gonna be sooooo different whenever the next season is...and so will the business of the Devils be handled differently. Who's to say, at anywhere near the same payroll. Consider: New owners? Scotty retiring? A salary cap? RFAs becoming UFAs? Today the Devils let an opportunity slip through their collective grasp...a chance to improve a core strength of the franchise...Defense. Witt? Or even Hill? Nope. Uncle Lou didn't. While I trust him, I cannot agree with what when down (or what didn't go down) today...especially considering (not what others did per se but...) what others had to pay for recently acquired D-men. Ask yourself if you believe our playoff positioning is gonna improve with essentially home-and-homes versus Philly, Montreal and Boston on the horizon. And TB. And NYI. And two more with the Rag$...who would love to play spoilers? And who knows what will happen when Marty's caddie gets in games versus Chicago, Pitt, and Florida. Folks here have even mentioned Terreri. Folks, this team has been up-and-down since Scotty has been out. Beating the lower teams and losing to about every top tier team they've faced. Go look at the results in Jan, Feb and so far in March and tell me this team is going places in April? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueNJ97 Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 First of all, come down off the ledge. As much as we love the Devils, no sports team is worth the LEDGE. (Yes, I know you are exaggerating for effect). Second, I would guess that teams decided to hold Lou's balls to the fire regarding D-men this year. They figured Stevens wasn't REALLY coming back (whether that's true or not, we don't know) and that Lou would be desperate enough to overpay. Lou most likely decided he would rather not trade that over-pay, which either means Stevens is REALLY coming back, or every single team asked for Parise no matter who Lou asked for. Or both. That's just my opinion, of course. But it seems likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJD Jester Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 I dunno if we are losers today, but the Devils cannot be confused as winners with the deadline passing. With it all said and done, I sure as hell am disappointed. Of course you are. You're a Devils fan at the trade deadline. And that means despite making trades, we think they didn't make ANY trades. And because those deals didn't reach the orgasmic highs of our masturbatory trade fantasies, we feel disappointed. We shouldn't be. Would Sean Hill REALLY have made this team better? Maybe. Alexander Karpovtsev? No. Andy Delmore, Jeff Jillson? No and no. Derek Morris went for Chris Gratton; that's a Friesen for us. Greg de Vries went for Karel Rachunek; we wouldn't have offered anything near that, especially to the Rag$. Leetch? T.O. overpaid. Witt didn't get moved. So obviously he was either off the block, or the price was too high. None of the Ducks defensemen were traded. The Sabres turned buyers instead of sellers. What did you want? Lou wasn't going to overpay for defense, and thankfully didn't. Today the Devils let an opportunity slip through their collective grasp...a chance to improve a core strength of the franchise Today the Devils let an opportunity slip through their collective grasp...a chance to improve a core strength of the franchise The bottom line is that they may not need to. The top four are set for years. If another of the kids and Hale develop, then you don't need a Witt to come in and solidify anything. <JESTER> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattyelias Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 (edited) Of course you are. You're a Devils fan at the trade deadline. And that means despite making trades, we think they didn't make ANY trades. And because those deals didn't reach the orgasmic highs of our masturbatory trade fantasies, we feel disappointed. What the hell are you talking about????? When Lou pulled off Rupp and a 2nd for Hrdina I had to run into the bathroom as fast as possible in order to not um.....you know. THEY WERE BRAND NEW BOXERS!!!!!! You owe me $4.99 Lou!!! Edited March 9, 2004 by pattyelias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepperkorn Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 Witt and Hill didn't go anywhere... We didn't need anyone who DID go anywhere. I'm happy enough as is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 Three Cups in nine years means you shouldn't be on the proverbial ledge, even given that we didn't get any 'Christmas presents' today. We went through this same song and dance last year, with people thinking the team had no chance because we made no big-name deals - even some of the same posters that said it last year are saying it AGAIN as Don pointed out in another thread with an example Yeah I would liked to have seen more at the deadline this year...and do I think this year's team can win? Depends on Stevens coming back, how effective Marty is going into the playoffs after playing 75+ games, whether some of the scorers like Friesen and Langenbrunner pick it up. I'm not confident per se...but I won't go postal if they don't win this year either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsrule33 Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 (edited) I don't see why Lou didn't get a defenseman for a 4th rounder. It isn't that much just to get some help in case you need it. Edited March 10, 2004 by devilsrule33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lateralous Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 This is a unique season folks...yes of course, defending the Cup/back-to-back...but more so with the CBA looming. The business of hockey is gonna be sooooo different whenever the next season is...and so will the business of the Devils be handled differently. Who's to say, at anywhere near the same payroll. Consider: New owners? Scotty retiring? A salary cap? RFAs becoming UFAs? I agree that the post-CBA NHL will be be very different league. Assuming that the idea is to level the playing field for all teams, will be to our advantage with our record for scouting, drafting and developing players. I think we can also safely assume that in the future, it will be even more important to have alot of cheap, young talent, especially if there is a salary cap. For this reason, I was relieved that we hung onto Parise, Suglobov, Foster, Hale, Martin and our 1st round pick instead of trading any of them for a quick fix. That being said, I was slightly shocked that we didn't get another d-man today but considering that I would have only been willing to give up Ahonen (I don't see much future for him here) and maybe a 3rd round pick, I can't really complain. We may not go far in the playoffs this year, but in the long run it is probably better to let this team reload with the young guns in our system that constantly trading for the last piece of the puzzle. We traded alot of young guys from 2000 -2002, and it was well justified considering how close we were to the cup, but we are now paying for letting guys like Mitchell and Souray go. Once you get into this cycle, it takes a fews years to break out of it. Believe me, I went to the River Rats game last night and there wasn't a whole lot there! Anyway, I for one am pretty happy with the moves we made and the ones we didn't make, especially if it is true that most of the other GMs were asking for Parise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenrock Posted March 10, 2004 Author Share Posted March 10, 2004 Three Cups in nine years means you shouldn't be on the proverbial ledge, even given that we didn't get any 'Christmas presents' today. We went through this same song and dance last year, with people thinking the team had no chance because we made no big-name deals - even some of the same posters that said it last year are saying it AGAIN as Don pointed out in another thread with an example Yeah I would liked to have seen more at the deadline this year...and do I think this year's team can win? Depends on Stevens coming back, how effective Marty is going into the playoffs after playing 75+ games, whether some of the scorers like Friesen and Langenbrunner pick it up. I'm not confident per se...but I won't go postal if they don't win this year either. Not to jump on you Hasan, but would everyone please IGNORE the ledge comment and focus on the points in my argument for acquiring a blueliner today and the playoffs. While I am not gonna be orgasming or "going postal" over anything the Devils do (Cups included), I am seriously bummed. And I can't understand (or agree with) the notion that a grizzly ole GM like Uncle Lou was held hostage by his fellow GMs requiring Parise or Martin. Please. Only Lou and the Devils were forced to over-pay. Not the Bs? Not the Sens? Not TML? Come on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Devsrule Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 I agree with you Kenrock. Tonight vs Philly was a perfect example. Despite the fact that it was only 2-1, the devils looked like boys playing against men. Year after year the eastern competition has gotten greater and sooner or later all of the talent being gained will accumulate and be too much to handle. This is not the same team from last year. The team from last year had a spark when they played teams like Philly. Now its stressful to watch these games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenrock Posted March 11, 2004 Author Share Posted March 11, 2004 I agree with you Kenrock. Tonight vs Philly was a perfect example. Despite the fact that it was only 2-1, the devils looked like boys playing against men. Year after year the eastern competition has gotten greater and sooner or later all of the talent being gained will accumulate and be too much to handle. This is not the same team from last year. The team from last year had a spark when they played teams like Philly. Now its stressful to watch these games. Dude. You don't have to. Tough loss last night (and Raffy?). At least the lowly Hawks are sandwiched in between. Schedule looks difficult, and who thinks the Clemmer will go .500 versus Chicago, Pittsburgh, Florida and Atlanta? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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