Triumph Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Pete Deboer is quoted by TG today saying this: "I’ve got to do a better job of getting our fourth line involved and getting them some minutes.” Yeah, great. Except that you've got Eric Boulton, who's about halfway a hockey player and is quickly turning into not a hockey player at all, and Cam Janssen who has never been confused with a man capable of playing professional hockey at a competent level, on that line. Teams have been consistently getting one of their top 2 lines against this line with predictable results. Now you might be asking - well, why aren't there any other forwards on this team? Because Lou screwed up, that's why. It's a little known rule, but after the trade deadline, a team is only allowed 4 non-emergency recalls from their minor league team. This rule covers both the regular season and the playoffs - if the Albany Devils are out of the playoffs and the New Jersey Devils make the playoffs, you'll see the Devils use all of their recalls after the final day of the AHL season. I don't think Lou is willing to recall a player in a non-emergency only to send him down a few days later. He will have wasted a recall by doing so. So you might be thinking, well then, why doesn't he use emergency recall? Well, you can only use emergency recall if your team goes below 12 healthy forwards. The Devils have 12 healthy forwards - it's just that one of them is Cam Janssen, who's a forward in quotes. 4th lines ultimately don't mean that much, but the Devils have yet to have a goal scored while their entire 4th line was out on the ice, while they've had several goals scored against them. They've made their 4th line mean as much as it possibly can. AHL playoffs be damned, get Zharkov or Zalewski or Wiseman or someone up here who can play at a competent NHL level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I actually agree with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 i don't disagree with this at all. remember in january, it was not just the 4th line, but the 3rd line that was awful. Lou addressed that with Ponikarovski and Bernier. They've tried to fill a 4th line w/ AHL filler and two goons - something you wrote well about on the blog yesterday. i do think lou has been holding out hope that zajac's return would create a 4th line of carter-josefson-boulton which isn't entirely awful. all that being said, zharkov should absolutely be up here. the 4th line is about giving other lines a rest more than anything else. it should at worst be as little a liability as possible. zharkov was NEVER considered a liability when he played. he might have provided little to no offense, but he wasn't out there with a target on his chest for opposing forwards to tee off on and attack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Well to Boultons credit, he is due to get that hat trick any game now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamieleewv Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Although i agree cam and boulton are not the best hockey players, they are 4th liners their job is to bang bodies and pump up the team with fighting when neccesary, i do agree they could contribute a lot more offensively and we don't need both on the 4th line as they both effectively do the same job but i do think your being harsh on the pair. Cam is only a -8 ok boulton is a -12 but clarky is a -11 so dont think you can read too much into that. When zajac comes back i dont think you will see at least one of them in the lineup anyway. Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Although i agree cam and boulton are not the best hockey players, they are 4th liners their job is to bang bodies and pump up the team with fighting when neccesary, i do agree they could contribute a lot more offensively and we don't need both on the 4th line as they both effectively do the same job but i do think your being harsh on the pair. Cam is only a -8 ok boulton is a -12 but clarky is a -11 so dont think you can read too much into that. When zajac comes back i dont think you will see at least one of them in the lineup anyway. Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk boulton is a -12 in only 266 minutes of even strength hockey. clarkson has played 865 minutes of even strength hockey, were he to produce the same rate of minuses, he'd be -39. and that's ignoring that a lot of clarkson's minuses have come while on the power play or with the net empty - he's only -3 at even strength. now boulton's got his share of bad luck - 80 shots on goal by the devils without a goal while he's been on the ice - but at some point the puck has to go in the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devlman Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Once Zajac comes back it should balance the lines and add depth to the 4th line. Only hope that Zajac does indeed return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derlique Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Yeah, the fourth line was victimized against the Isles when Okposo scored. They are definitely costing us some points and something needs to be done. When they are on the ice, one of three things always happens: 1. They are scored on 2. They ice the puck, causing a dangerous defensive draw 3. They are pinned in our zone and constantly fail to clear the puck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Although i agree cam and boulton are not the best hockey players, they are 4th liners their job is to bang bodies and pump up the team with fighting when neccesary, i do agree they could contribute a lot more offensively and we don't need both on the 4th line as they both effectively do the same job but i do think your being harsh on the pair. Cam is only a -8 ok boulton is a -12 but clarky is a -11 so dont think you can read too much into that. When zajac comes back i dont think you will see at least one of them in the lineup anyway. Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk Janssen's like a joke that's not funny anymore. It's a miracle he's actually got 303 NHL games under his belt. And the Cam staged-fight thing has gotten old too. I'll never mind fights that happen with good reason, but the whole "neither one of us can do anything else, so let's fight" nonsense is lame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onddeck Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Janssen's like a joke that's not funny anymore. It's a miracle he's actually got 303 NHL games under his belt. And the Cam staged-fight thing has gotten old too. I'll never mind fights that happen with good reason, but the whole "neither one of us can do anything else, so let's fight" nonsense is lame. and its not like he's even dominated fights this year... like what gives?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 and its not like he's even dominated fights this year... like what gives?? Did he ever, really? I know he's fearless (or just stupid), but I don't ever remember him being some kind of a fighting beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaneykoIsGod Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Did he ever, really? I know he's fearless (or just stupid), but I don't ever remember him being some kind of a fighting beast. His bouts with Hollweg and Tucker are among my all-time favorite hockey fights. Hollweg in particular was a total asswhooping. Which was rare for Cam, considering how he rarely finds opponents in his own weight class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amberite Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 For now Lou has the points cushion to keep the 4th line intact, but that cushion is shrinking rapidly with this slide we're on and he may soon have to recall Zharkov and others if it continues, like you say Tri. But as long as we have this cushion, and Zajac is on the horizon, he won't do a thing until the AHL season is over, and I don't think you can blame him. We all say "AHL be damned", but it is actually important to the organization that they perform as well as they can. However, I actually AM very excited about our playoff roster since I'm pretty sure that between Zajac, Zharkov and Tedenby (I hope), we should be able to field a decent 4 lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 i am in no way defending having both of these guys on the roster and it's almost negligent that they be in the lineup together, but cam is a very well liked guy in the clubhouse and a fan favorite. keep in mind, this is still entertainment and fans clearly want to see janssen. #freezharkov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Devils recall Brad Mills. Wouldnt be my 1st through 3rd or 4th choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Devils recall Brad Mills. Wouldnt be my 1st through 3rd or 4th choice. Wonderful - a player slightly better than Janssen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Devils recall Brad Mills. Wouldnt be my 1st through 3rd or 4th choice. blech. zharkov killed lou's dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 We already have Zharkov up, only he's changed his name to Josefson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarpathianForest Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Don't need goons anymore. Look at Detroit. Make your statement in pucks in net not in punches to the face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 29th Pick Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Don't need goons anymore. Look at Detroit. Make your statement in pucks in net not in punches to the face. especially 2 of them, look Clarkson does a lot of enforcing, we dont need Cam and Boulton, or better yet we dont need both of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevsftw Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Don't need goons anymore. Look at Detroit. Make your statement in pucks in net not in punches to the face. Hear Hear! Those pathetic fights are not even remotely close to entertaining anyway. Try embarrassing and annoying. It's utterly ridiculous that these players (Janssen, Boulton, Mills) are ever on the team. We could easily replace the entire 4th line with 100% superior players from europe for less then a $1M cap hit. (Granted, maybe not on two-way contracts.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger27 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Pete Deboer is quoted by TG today saying this: "I’ve got to do a better job of getting our fourth line involved and getting them some minutes.” Yeah, great. Except that you've got Eric Boulton, who's about halfway a hockey player and is quickly turning into not a hockey player at all, and Cam Janssen who has never been confused with a man capable of playing professional hockey at a competent level, on that line. Teams have been consistently getting one of their top 2 lines against this line with predictable results. Now you might be asking - well, why aren't there any other forwards on this team? Because Lou screwed up, that's why. It's a little known rule, but after the trade deadline, a team is only allowed 4 non-emergency recalls from their minor league team. This rule covers both the regular season and the playoffs - if the Albany Devils are out of the playoffs and the New Jersey Devils make the playoffs, you'll see the Devils use all of their recalls after the final day of the AHL season. I don't think Lou is willing to recall a player in a non-emergency only to send him down a few days later. He will have wasted a recall by doing so. So you might be thinking, well then, why doesn't he use emergency recall? Well, you can only use emergency recall if your team goes below 12 healthy forwards. The Devils have 12 healthy forwards - it's just that one of them is Cam Janssen, who's a forward in quotes. 4th lines ultimately don't mean that much, but the Devils have yet to have a goal scored while their entire 4th line was out on the ice, while they've had several goals scored against them. They've made their 4th line mean as much as it possibly can. AHL playoffs be damned, get Zharkov or Zalewski or Wiseman or someone up here who can play at a competent NHL level. Yes sir we need somewhat of scoring spark there.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msweet Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Parise-Kovalchuk-Henrique Sykora-Elias-Zubrus Poni-Zajac-Clarkson Bernier-Josefson-Carter I don't know what we're talking about here.. That's the point of all of Lou's recent moves.. we now have 4 real lines You can switch around some of the players around on my lines 3 and 4... we still have all legit NHL players... Lou knew what he was doing There's no Boulton, Janssen or Mills on my playoff starting roster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 There's no Boulton, Janssen or Mills on my playoff starting roster My worry is that there is on DeBoer's roster. The guy seems to be in love with grit and size, even if it's ineffectual grit and size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazer Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 pull all the goons and watch us get roughed up and not score, happened when Henrique "fought" Iginla im not is disagreement and im not saying tedy is the answer start zajac on the 4th line and let him work it out i just cant understand how fighting is not part of the game two great fights vs the rags after we were already up, not a great time but defenitly a factor in the series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.