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Are the Devils breaking an old tradition?


Daniel

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I think the no numbers above 30 was somewhat symbolic for Marty after a while.

 

 

which goes against the team first thing and play for the front logo thing

 

 

The only problem with that theory is that plenty of people wore numbers over 30 while Marty was playing here. It was usually #35 that Lou stopped at with occasional goalies wearing 40, so it had nothing to do with Marty. 

 

Only 4 players have worn over 40 in the Lou era while roughly 26 have worn #'s 31-40. It's just one of Lou's old school things that will be gone in the next couple of years. 

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While i love how it's keeping an "oldschool feel" to the organisation, the only problem i have about all those "rules" Lou has is that it's really unnecessary and it's pushing it a little and it could rub players the wrong way sometimes. He's not doing it cause it's bringing positives, he's just doing it cause he's stubborn and it has to work his way. They are professionals and while it's not a big deal, why not let them feel more free, they can only be happier at the end of the day. 

 

What's wrong with having a beard... having a high number... not taping the top of your stick super tick....tweeting... having more interaction with fans... etc etc

Most of those rules have close to no negative consequences on their play which is what should be important.

 

To Lou's credit, he traded his "regime" to his players with success. So of course they buy it and stick with it happily. I could see it changing when the team is not doing well though cause 1- you're not happy you're not winning. 2- you see your friends on other teams having success while being more free without all those rules. It "could" be yet another thing that makes you consider other options when you have a chance. 

 

but anyway, hopefully we'll be winning now and simply went through a rough patch so this is all irrelevant 

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it doesnt make much sense at all as far as the interaction with fans and social media thing goes, i can understand lou not wantingg any of his players to say something that may embaress themselves or the organization or giving away information, but theyre supposed to be professionals, that shouldnt be a concern. I would only have to think that having more interaction from the players would help to grow the fan base, even last season during the tv show leading up to the stadium series all of the other teams got to see some cool behind the scenes footage and we got nothing, that sucked a little bit.

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it doesnt make much sense at all as far as the interaction with fans and social media thing goes, i can understand lou not wantingg any of his players to say something that may embaress themselves or the organization or giving away information, but theyre supposed to be professionals, that shouldnt be a concern. I would only have to think that having more interaction from the players would help to grow the fan base, even last season during the tv show leading up to the stadium series all of the other teams got to see some cool behind the scenes footage and we got nothing, that sucked a little bit.

 

That's not true.  We got to see Marty slopping down meatballs at a restaurant in Montreal shortly before embarassing himself at the SS game.

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it doesnt make much sense at all as far as the interaction with fans and social media thing goes, i can understand lou not wantingg any of his players to say something that may embaress themselves or the organization or giving away information, but theyre supposed to be professionals, that shouldnt be a concern. I would only have to think that having more interaction from the players would help to grow the fan base, even last season during the tv show leading up to the stadium series all of the other teams got to see some cool behind the scenes footage and we got nothing, that sucked a little bit.

 

it absolutely should be a concern because we've seen it happen all over.  Even McKenna gave away the fact that someone was injured.

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it absolutely should be a concern because we've seen it happen all over.  Even McKenna gave away the fact that someone was injured.

well than if someone leaks out information that isnt supposed to be public that should be handled on the side. If more player interaction and fan involvement is going to help grow this fan base why wouldnt new ownership want that?
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well than if someone leaks out information that isnt supposed to be public that should be handled on the side. If more player interaction and fan involvement is going to help grow this fan base why wouldnt new ownership want that?

 

im with you on that one. It's like taking an approach of not letting your kids play outside AT ALL cause they may get hit by a car. Instead of simply teaching them to pay attention and not play close to the street. I mean yeah. OF COURSE it's gonna work but you know.

 

It's always better when both parties have an understanding of what's the line not to cross than one side being completely forbidden of something in fear that something bad happen. That's not freedom.

 

 

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im with you on that one. It's like taking an approach of not letting your kids play outside AT ALL cause they may get hit by a car. Instead of simply teaching them to pay attention and not play close to the street. I mean yeah. OF COURSE it's gonna work but you know.

 

It's always better when both parties have an understanding of what's the line not to cross than one side being completely forbidden of something in fear that something bad happen. That's not freedom.

 

When players sign the contract, they know exactly what they are getting into.  They have the freedom not to sign with the Devils.

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I never thought the driving force with limited uniform numbers was about being team oriented verse individual, but was more of a homage to hockey's original six days when players predominantly wore numbers between 1 and 35.    I know Gordie Howe said the lower the number you had the better the berth on the train, which was important since the trips lasted so miserably long.  I am not sure but I thought the cost of the jersey had something to do with it back then as well.  Lou definitely takes a 1950's approach to his job and I bet his personal life mimics it as well. 

 

As for the story of how Gordie choose his jersey number"In 1946, teams traveled by rail and players were assigned sweater numbers that corresponded to their berths in the sleeper cars of trains. The lower berths were bigger, so larger players were assigned to them, thus defensemen and goaltenders wore the lowest numbers. Howe, a six-foot, 200-pound forward, first wore 17, but later succeeded in claiming 9, and a more comfortable bunk, when future Hall of Famer Roy Conacher was traded to Chicago in November 1947"http://stevenlebron.com/post/12329414271/mr-hockey

 

Wasn't there some Devil's prospect back in the day that asked for 99 in camp?

Edited by hystyk28
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im with you on that one. It's like taking an approach of not letting your kids play outside AT ALL cause they may get hit by a car. Instead of simply teaching them to pay attention and not play close to the street. I mean yeah. OF COURSE it's gonna work but you know.

 

It's always better when both parties have an understanding of what's the line not to cross than one side being completely forbidden of something in fear that something bad happen. That's not freedom.

 

Freedom isn't the issue here. They are employees who are paid very, very well by the Devils. If one of us got hired to a company that asked us to shave our beards and suspend our Twitter accounts, we would do it if we felt the job was good enough.

 

Personally, I don't mind high numbers or beards, and I think Twitter and other social media need to be embraced nowadays. The team should give education on what should not be public knowledge of course.

 

Lou employs an old school, team first philosophy. It's clearly becoming more and more outdated. While most of us don't agree with it and think it's too strict, it does give the team a different feel and some mystique. I think older players who have settled down in life appreciate it. But regardless, it will change in the next few years. I think Lou is gone sooner rather than later, within the next 2 off seasons.

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Freedom isn't the issue here. They are employees who are paid very, very well by the Devils. If one of us got hired to a company that asked us to shave our beards and suspend our Twitter accounts, we would do it if we felt the job was good enough.

Personally, I don't mind high numbers or beards, and I think Twitter and other social media need to be embraced nowadays. The team should give education on what should not be public knowledge of course.

Lou employs an old school, team first philosophy. It's clearly becoming more and more outdated. While most of us don't agree with it and think it's too strict, it does give the team a different feel and some mystique. I think older players who have settled down in life appreciate it. But regardless, it will change in the next few years. I think Lou is gone sooner rather than later, within the next 2 off seasons.

I think he's gone soon too. Not to mention he's gonna be 72 in a month. . You would think at some point he might just want to enjoy some retirement. Edited by Satans Hockey
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I like the idea of not being gimicky with numbers, or at the very least taking the position that you have to have done a lot to earn it.  Leave giving some decent player an unusual number to teams like the Rangers.  I also like that the Devils have not done a third jersey, and I really hope the new owners stick to that policy.  Cammalleri getting 13 wouldn't bother me though.  He hasn't had the career of someone like Gilmour or Jagr, but the number evidently has some meaning to him besides just wanting to stand out.

 

What would be interesting if Lou is around if the Devils have a chance to draft a player like McDavid, who usually have the look-at-me numbers in junior.  Does he just say, here's number 9, enjoy, or does he realize that maybe even some unproven players get advantages that others don't. 

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I like the idea of not being gimicky with numbers, or at the very least taking the position that you have to have done a lot to earn it.  Leave giving some decent player an unusual number to teams like the Rangers.  I also like that the Devils have not done a third jersey, and I really hope the new owners stick to that policy.  Cammalleri getting 13 wouldn't bother me though.  He hasn't had the career of someone like Gilmour or Jagr, but the number evidently has some meaning to him besides just wanting to stand out.

 

What would be interesting if Lou is around if the Devils have a chance to draft a player like McDavid, who usually have the look-at-me numbers in junior.  Does he just say, here's number 9, enjoy, or does he realize that maybe even some unproven players get advantages that others don't. 

 

The no 3rd jersey stuff is silly. There are ways of doing it right and ways of doing it wrong. Coming up with a new one every year or two is BS, but showcasing something different is pretty cool too. It just seem that some fans have taken to being different and not having a 3rd jersey, but seeing how excited many were to get the old school one, I'm sure many would enjoy a new jersey to wear.

 

Once Lou leaves, the owners should be welcome to make some money and create a third jersey. Of course some fans will complain saying their greed is ruining a team tradition (a tradition set by Lou of not helping the owners make some extra revenue), but all the changes will be for the better.

 

The key thing is just getting the right jersey that doesn't embarrass the fans and the players. There's been no shortage of bad regular and 3rd jerseys out there. I think Ottawa is the perfect example of a team that has gotten it wrong so many times, but finally figured it out with sick 3rd jerseys.

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The no 3rd jersey stuff is silly. There are ways of doing it right and ways of doing it wrong. Coming up with a new one every year or two is BS, but showcasing something different is pretty cool too. It just seem that some fans have taken to being different and not having a 3rd jersey, but seeing how excited many were to get the old school one, I'm sure many would enjoy a new jersey to wear.

 

Once Lou leaves, the owners should be welcome to make some money and create a third jersey. Of course some fans will complain saying their greed is ruining a team tradition (a tradition set by Lou of not helping the owners make some extra revenue), but all the changes will be for the better.

 

The key thing is just getting the right jersey that doesn't embarrass the fans and the players. There's been no shortage of bad regular and 3rd jerseys out there. I think Ottawa is the perfect example of a team that has gotten it wrong so many times, but finally figured it out with sick 3rd jerseys.

 

That's the thing.  For every Rangers Liberty jersey there is the Wild Wing, Burger King, Salmon Vancouver, the unreleased trumpet Blues, Islanders Fishsticks, Buffaslug, Buffalo Motocross, etc. jersey.  Odds are the 3rd jersey either be lame or embarassing.

 

Honestly the Devils should just wear the normal jerseys for every game in the year with 2 retro nights.  One where they wear the red retro and one with the white retro and just do that.  Also make sure the authenic Edge 2.0 versions are available for retail as well as premier replicas instead of forcing fans into the CCM Team Classics or Vintage line.

Edited by DevsMan84
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The no 3rd jersey stuff is silly. There are ways of doing it right and ways of doing it wrong. Coming up with a new one every year or two is BS, but showcasing something different is pretty cool too. It just seem that some fans have taken to being different and not having a 3rd jersey, but seeing how excited many were to get the old school one, I'm sure many would enjoy a new jersey to wear.

 

Once Lou leaves, the owners should be welcome to make some money and create a third jersey. Of course some fans will complain saying their greed is ruining a team tradition (a tradition set by Lou of not helping the owners make some extra revenue), but all the changes will be for the better.

 

The key thing is just getting the right jersey that doesn't embarrass the fans and the players. There's been no shortage of bad regular and 3rd jerseys out there. I think Ottawa is the perfect example of a team that has gotten it wrong so many times, but finally figured it out with sick 3rd jerseys.

 

I guess the thing is that being named the Devils lends itself to doing something real over the top or almost tacky.  The Devils jerseys are straightforward, and almost classic, or at least as classic as a NJ based team that's only been around for about 30 years can be.  All that's really left is changing the color scheme which would be unnecessary.

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the numbers thing aggravates me because guys don't always get to stick with a number (as has been discussed before like josefson pinballing between 16 and 9). that they stay low - i'm fine with it. special players have been able to get special numbers so there's no real issue there.

 

the retro jersey really is the defacto 3rd. Would I be ok if they came up with another 3rd jersey every 5 years or so? Absolutely.

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Freedom isn't the issue here. They are employees who are paid very, very well by the Devils. If one of us got hired to a company that asked us to shave our beards and suspend our Twitter accounts, we would do it if we felt the job was good enough.

 

Personally, I don't mind high numbers or beards, and I think Twitter and other social media need to be embraced nowadays. The team should give education on what should not be public knowledge of course.

 

Lou employs an old school, team first philosophy. It's clearly becoming more and more outdated. While most of us don't agree with it and think it's too strict, it does give the team a different feel and some mystique. I think older players who have settled down in life appreciate it. But regardless, it will change in the next few years. I think Lou is gone sooner rather than later, within the next 2 off seasons.

 

Yeah of course they are employees but if there was 30 companies out there who's interested in you and would all offer you around the same amount of money. And that one of them has all those strict rules and the others doesnt, would you pick that one? 

 

We also don't offer the same.... "benefits" like we used to either. Guys would come here cause they knew they'd be contenders for sure. Now people seem to come here to prove themselves or to get more ice time or more money.

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Yeah of course they are employees but if there was 30 companies out there who's interested in you and would all offer you around the same amount of money. And that one of them has all those strict rules and the others doesnt, would you pick that one? 

 

We also don't offer the same.... "benefits" like we used to either. Guys would come here cause they knew they'd be contenders for sure. Now people seem to come here to prove themselves or to get more ice time or more money.

 

First off, there's rarely 30 teams fighting over a guy. That is in extreme cases. I hear what you're saying, but in the real scheme of things, these are very small, Players are more worried about money, ice time, and uprooting their family.

 

The idea goes like this...

 

If some prima donna won't sign here because he can't show the world the chicken parm he had for lunch, do we really want him here? What other things will he demand if he won't be willing to sacrifice the number 38 or his mustache? It's an outdated mindset, but still, in the end it's about playing hockey. I don't think free agents will be flocking here once instagram is ok'd any differently than they are now. And again, it's not like it won't be changing soon anyway.

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First off, there's rarely 30 teams fighting over a guy. That is in extreme cases. I hear what you're saying, but in the real scheme of things, these are very small, Players are more worried about money, ice time, and uprooting their family.

 

The idea goes like this...

 

If some prima donna won't sign here because he can't show the world the chicken parm he had for lunch, do we really want him here? What other things will he demand if he won't be willing to sacrifice the number 38 or his mustache? It's an outdated mindset, but still, in the end it's about playing hockey. I don't think free agents will be flocking here once instagram is ok'd any differently than they are now. And again, it's not like it won't be changing soon anyway.

 

like i said im not incredibly against it or anything. I just really think it's a rule that is there for nothing else than Lou's stubborness. It's not bringing anything extra.

 

And while what you're saying is right, it works the other way around, if we'd lose a player that we'd really need because of it, would you be happy to say our GM passed on a guy who could have helped our team just cause he wouldnt let him grow a beard? Who's the prima donna in that case?

Edited by SterioDesign
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All the people who have an issue with Devil players not being allowed on Twitter will be the first ones complaining the minute someone tweets something contreversial/dopey - which WILL happen.  I don't understand what the issue is, one less avenue of personalized interaction?  That ain't exactly going to help matters when dopes start sending hate tweets cause a guy had a bad game.  Frankly more sports teams should outlaw public Twitter/social media, there are so many ways issues can crop up.

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All the people who have an issue with Devil players not being allowed on Twitter will be the first ones complaining the minute someone tweets something contreversial/dopey - which WILL happen.  I don't understand what the issue is, one less avenue of personalized interaction?  That ain't exactly going to help matters when dopes start sending hate tweets cause a guy had a bad game.  Frankly more sports teams should outlaw public Twitter/social media, there are so many ways issues can crop up.

 

I mean, I suppose that having players on twitter might help make connections with a handful of younger fans that might not have otherwise joined up, but player tweets are either like watching a car crash or they're incredibly boring.  There's really no in between there.

 

I might be old fashioned, and maybe I'm sounding a little hipster-ironic, but the no-twitter policy might actually bring more attention to the team as kind of unique attribute. 

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like i said im not incredibly against it or anything. I just really think it's a rule that is there for nothing else than Lou's stubborness. It's not bringing anything extra.

And while what you're saying is right, it works the other way around, if we'd lose a player that we'd really need because of it, would you be happy to say our GM passed on a guy who could have helped our team just cause he wouldnt let him grow a beard? Who's the prima donna in that case?

The player who leaves over a beard is still the prima donna in that case. It's selfish and childish. Like I said, it is not too uncommon for an employer to have such rules. It's part of the territory. Those are the rules. If a guy is petty enough to leave like that then he probably has plenty of poor attributes that you don't want in a locker room.

In these cases a lot of times the rules are there just to see who will make a big deal out of them. They are small concessions that shouldn't be a problem to offer up.

For example, if you ask a rookie during the pre-draft interviews if he'd shave his beard and delete his twitter of you draft him and he says no, it raises questions. Maybe he doesn't have the maturity to be in the NHL. Maybe he won't be willing to put in the extra work, or accept a demotion to the AHL if necessary, or maybe he can't handle a benching. At the end of the day, are they here to win a cup or are they here to be placated?

I think the attitude here is "what will you do to play here?" as opposed to " what can we do to get you here?" It was considered an honor to be wanted on a team, and I think that is the attitude Lou is going for, and I'm sure he isn't the only GM who is.

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SD, I swear, some of the stuff you come up with...sometimes you sound like someone who's roughly half the age you claim to be (early 30s I believe).

 

Just accept that a 72-year-old who's used to doing things a certain way for a long time and who had considerable success doing things that way probably isn't going to have the epiphany that you seem to be wishing for and suddenly do things the SD way (whatever way that is).  The good news for you is that the LL era is in its waning years...he's can only fight off the inevitability of nature for so long, and like I've said in previous posts, I don't think this ownership is as firmly in his corner as prior owners were.  I wouldn't be all that surprised if he's out if the Devils don't make the playoffs again this season...it will be presented amicably and as painlessly as possible (with Lou resigning or stepping down), but I can't say I would be shocked to see it happen.  And I do think the post-LL Devils will be much different...not necessarily better or worse, but most definitely different.

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