NJDevs4978 Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 (edited) Stop gap is not a winning strategy. I can' t see paying an old, slow, former scoring threat several millions (based on what he did a decade ago) to watch him play half a season, get his annual injury and then watch him struggle in the first round of the playoffs and then gone when we get eliminated. PASS on JAGR. Maybe we have a Clarkson, or some other undrafted player waiting in the wings to get a chance. I think we have a young eager team that will NOW get the opportunity to play. A stopgap is the only FA move that makes sense now. There ain't too many guys left worth commiting multiple years to and the few guys we have in the system aren't ready yet. I don't want to do with Boucher what we did with Matteau this year. Let the few guys we have left develop properly. We don't have the assets to get greedy and try for Vanek. Edited July 12, 2013 by NJDevs4978 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 A stopgap is the only FA move that makes sense now. There ain't too many guys left worth commiting multiple years to and the few guys we have in the system aren't ready yet. I don't want to do with Boucher what we did with Matteau this year. Let the few guys we have left develop properly. We don't have the assets to get greedy and try for Vanek. Yes, for the right price and fit. Jagr is neither. I know this opens up cap space but I would rather sign a Raymond and/or Boyes for at least two years while the Matteau;s develop. I agree now on Vanek. I would include Grabovski here too. He has much to prove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevsftw Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Grabovski seems like a typical Devils type of forward, seems like a good pickup. Should be possible to get him at a discount and fairly short term as well as he needs to prove himself again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarpathianForest Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Boyes is totally undervalued. Besides Buffalo, he's put up 2nd line numbers his whole career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Just to sptiball, trade for Vanek contingent on an extension, which I believe we can do at this point in his contract. I know the advanced stat guys don't think he's that great, but he scores goals. If you overpay for the extension, so be it. Whatever it is will be a lot less burdensome than what we would have been paying Kovy. What goes to Buffalo is tough. They invested heavily in defense at the draft, so they probably feel they have less use for where our prospect pool is strongest. Perhaps they're enamored with Boucher, who knows. The first rounder in 2015 is insurance against the worst case scenario, so I wouldn't want to part with it. Would be very difficult to make it work even if you think Vanek would be a big help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMazz Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 (edited) Stop gap is not a winning strategy. I can' t see paying an old, slow, former scoring threat several millions (based on what he did a decade ago) to watch him play half a season, get his annual injury and then watch him struggle in the first round of the playoffs and then gone when we get eliminated. PASS on JAGR. Maybe we have a Clarkson, or some other undrafted player waiting in the wings to get a chance. I think we have a young eager team that will NOW get the opportunity to play. Show me your ideal lineup. To me putting pressure on these kids to get us into the playoffs and risking stunting their development is more of a risk then signing Jagr for one year and paying for someone proven next year. EDIT: Trade to get Vanek is great on paper but what do we give Buffalo? Unless they want defensive prospects I don't know what we can offer them. Also who knows if Vanek would want to re-sign here. Edited July 12, 2013 by TheMazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Show me your ideal lineup. To me putting pressure on these kids to get us into the playoffs and risking stunting their development is more of a risk then signing Jagr for one year and paying for someone proven next year. EDIT: Trade to get Vanek is great on paper but what do we give Buffalo? Unless they want defensive prospects I don't know what we can offer them. Also who knows if Vanek would want to re-sign here. Jagr is out of the quesiton it's just a waste of time and money. Ideally, sign Grabovsky or Boyes or Raymond. I would be happy with one or two from this lot as Josefson is going to have a breakout year, (40 points) and still develop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerzey Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Before we make any trades or free agent signings we have to be very realistic about our chances to win the cup this year. If we don't think we're contenders than Jagr for one year makes no sense. Grabovski for a few years could be a good idea I just don't think we should make any major moves until we know what this team is capable of. Personally I don't think we'll make it very far if we make it to the playoffs so might as well give the kids a year to develop. Losing a low pick is going to suck either way but it wasn't going to be ours anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njd3b1ink Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 the PP was practiced and constructed to feature ONE PLAYER. What did you expect. We were predictable and SH teams licked thier chops seeing Kovy at the point. The BlueJackets only NOW are a young and eager team. In the past they have spent millions on UFA's trying to build something that doesn't work. They also don't have the scouts that we do. Kovy was not the focus last year on the PP. More than half the time he was on the right side where he couldn't get the one timer. The powerplay was trash last year cause we lack players with creativity, and Kovy was one of the few that could make slick passes. Unless Lou gets another player or 2 next years PP is going to be even more brutal to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Before we make any trades or free agent signings we have to be very realistic about our chances to win the cup this year. If we don't think we're contenders than Jagr for one year makes no sense. Grabovski for a few years could be a good idea I just don't think we should make any major moves until we know what this team is capable of. Personally I don't think we'll make it very far if we make it to the playoffs so might as well give the kids a year to develop. Losing a low pick is going to suck either way but it wasn't going to be ours anyway. A "successful" season is making it to the playoffs. Once you get there, anything can happen. It's tough enough to predict whether a short term free agent signing gets you there, much less whether a particular player will perform well in April and May. Making moves based on playoff performance is one of the worst things you can do . . . see Salvador, Bryce. Also, I'm against "giving the kids a year to develop" for its own sake. They're either better than what you can put together otherwise, or they aren't. In the meantime, you lose an RFA year, and the development might actually be stunted by getting minimal icetime in the NHL as opposed to the AHL or Junior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Kovy was not the focus last year on the PP. More than half the time he was on the right side where he couldn't get the one timer. The powerplay was trash last year cause we lack players with creativity, and Kovy was one of the few that could make slick passes. Unless Lou gets another player or 2 next years PP is going to be even more brutal to watch. The PP sample size was small enough to begin wtih, and that's before you account for Kovalchuk being hurt. Then you factor in virtually no training camp to speak of, a key part of the powerplay gone, and a new power play coach, it was to be expected that it would take some time for it to get off the ground if it ever did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 we fancied ourselves contenders before kovy's announcement. he was an integral part of the team for sure but where he helped most was PK and PP. I'm not convinced that he was the engine that made the PK go and the PP was never great with him. While I don't subscribe to the idea that he was not a good 5 on 5 player, there's enough evidence to suggest he wasn't as great as his name made you think. this team has a 12-13 senators feel to it, i think. nothing outstanding (karlsson aside), but a bunch of good players and good goaltending. the devils could mirror that. i think jagr would be a terrific fit for one year. his presence on the PP totally changes its dynamic and he's a really good ES player. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas0nMacIsaac Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 NJ pp averaged 48.8 s/60 minutes last year, good for 10th in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerzey Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 A "successful" season is making it to the playoffs. Once you get there, anything can happen. It's tough enough to predict whether a short term free agent signing gets you there, much less whether a particular player will perform well in April and May. Making moves based on playoff performance is one of the worst things you can do . . . see Salvador, Bryce. Also, I'm against "giving the kids a year to develop" for its own sake. They're either better than what you can put together otherwise, or they aren't. In the meantime, you lose an RFA year, and the development might actually be stunted by getting minimal icetime in the NHL as opposed to the AHL or Junior. When I said kids I meant Larsson, Josefson, Matteau, Henrique, Tedenby, etc. We won't lose any RFA years with any of them. The other side of that is if we don't think we're contenders than it's a good idea to keep Gelinas, Urbom, Merrill, and Boucher away this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarpathianForest Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 If we're going to hold up on bringing in the kids then we need to have some good veteran mentors to be a bridge. Clowe, Ryder, Elias and Zubrus signing is a good start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 NJ pp averaged 48.8 s/60 minutes last year, good for 10th in the league. Well it was a powerplay that was designed to get as many shots on goal as possible at the cost of shot quality, so I'm not sure what powerplay shot totals from last year really tells us so far as the bottom line is concerned. We also lost the guy that accounted for a lot of those shots, either by taking them himself, or drawing defenders away from the guy who ended up shooting. Anyway, I'd be curious to see if someone has looked at offensive zone powerplay possession as an indicator of powerplay effectiveness. From watching the game anyway, you would think that the more time you're spending not chasing after cleared pucks, the better your chances of scoring. (Yes, I realize the same principle ought to apply at even strength, but perhaps the effect is more pronounced on the powerplay). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njd3b1ink Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 The PP sample size was small enough to begin wtih, and that's before you account for Kovalchuk being hurt. Then you factor in virtually no training camp to speak of, a key part of the powerplay gone, and a new power play coach, it was to be expected that it would take some time for it to get off the ground if it ever did. Then you would think with such little time and all that against them that they would try to do what worked for them the previous season under Oates, and Kovy was the focus on that PP. But all season Kovy was not the focus this year. Putting him on the right side completely eliminated his biggest threat on the PP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devs4LIFE Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 I still say we make a move for Stastny, I know we already have a decent amount of pivots but Stastny would give us our first 1st line center since Arnott was on the team. As far as the wings go I'd rather have Jagr over Vanek who usually starts the season off hot and then cools down, Jagr can't still play the puck possession game and I think that at this point in his career Jagr isn't a ME ME ME type player, he's more willing to buy into a team system, otherwise he wouldn't have been successful on Boston. Henrique-Stastny-Ryder Elias-Zajac-Jagr Clowe-Loktionov-Zubrus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 I don't think the Devils don't have the assets to trade for anyone like Paul Stastny. It's whatever teams are willing to dump off, or the free agent market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devs4LIFE Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 I don't think the Devils don't have the assets to trade for anyone like Paul Stastny. It's whatever teams are willing to dump off, or the free agent market. What do you think it will take? They need an upgrade on D so we can send them Volchenkov, the rights to Josefson to plug in the hole at center left by Stastny's departure and a prospect defenseman like Urbom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nessus Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 How do you guys feel about Peter Mueller? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 What do you think it will take? They need an upgrade on D so we can send them Volchenkov, the rights to Josefson to plug in the hole at center left by Stastny's departure and a prospect defenseman like Urbom. This feels like an attempt at a fleece-job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 What do you think it will take? They need an upgrade on D so we can send them Volchenkov, the rights to Josefson to plug in the hole at center left by Stastny's departure and a prospect defenseman like Urbom. This feels like an attempt at a fleece-job. Yeah I can't see Colorado having any interest in Volchenkov with his contract. They'd want someone like Fayne and/or one of the young D prospects in a Stastny deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibby89 Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Josefson was left out of that lineup. Take advantage of whatever hype possibly surrounding him if any. Volchenkov an josefson could be a more appealing package for Statsny. Just throwing it out there. I may be alone on thinking josefson may never get to that breakout season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarpathianForest Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Please take a look at next year's free agency class next season before making trade suggestions. I don't want to bring anyone on in a trade that will be a free agent after next season. 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.