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Lots of Devils talk in the TSN mailbag...


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According to TSN.ca:

Scott, I have a old friend who is playing in Albany, Adrian Foster, I grew up playing hockey with him for many years and we have just drifted apart only seeing each other around the holidays and the summer months when we both head home. I have noticed that he has only played 2 games for them this year after having a strong Devils camp, any news on him? I know he has had a past of getting hurt but nothing on the RiverRats website say that he's injured, whats the deal? He was always the best player growing up and that's including the likes of K. Kolanos, and D. Heatley, just wish he could get back to his old was. Thanks. BVC from Calgary

BVC, Foster has been bothered by an abdominal injury this year, apparently the same thing that plagued him last year, when he played a career-high 51 games (and yes, that includes junior) so injuries have been the predominant theme in his career. - SC

Hi there Mr. Cullen. Huge Devils fan here. I was just wondering what your take on the Devils would be this year? With Larry Robinson stepping down, and Malakhov retiring. Dan McGillis who had been on waivers will take Malakhov's place. After Elias returns, if the Devils still can't win, do you think any big trades could come to skake things up? Especially on the blue line? Do you think there is any hope for the Devils within the next year or two? Thanks. Jared, New Jersey

Jared, I would expect the Devils to wait and see how well they can play with Elias before making any more major moves. However, if the Devils can't get going once Elias returns, I'd expect them to explore a move to upgrade. Viktor Kozlov and Scott Gomez have been rumoured to be on the move at various times recently, so either one could bring an upgrade on the blueline. - SC

Hey Scott, I have been curious what penalties there are for a team going over the cap? Are they just not allowed to play if they are over the cap? The main reason I'm asking comes from when Elias comes back with New Jersey. If they have not cleared enough room, will the NHL just not allow him to be activated? Thanks, Ryan, Guelph Ontario

Ryan, My understanding is that a team is not allowed to make a move that would put them over the salary cap so the Devils have been trying to clear cap room (waiving Dan McGillis, quickly accepting Vladimir Malakhov's retirement) in order to have enough room to activate Elias when he returns, perhaps as soon as the next couple of days. - SC

Hi Scott, Although I am not a New Jersey fan, what has been happening with Martin Brodeur this season? He hasn't adjusted as well to the changes for goaltenders, and it appears that New Jersey as a team is struggling. Will he be able to pick things up or is he not going to get any better? I always considered him a big quality goaltender, what's up with that? Thank you, Gerry Teigrob

Gerry, Losing defensive stalwarts Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer has obviously affected Brodeur and he has faced 28.3 shots per game this year compared to 24.6 per game in 2003-2004. That increase alone, though, does not justify his goals against average jumping from 2.03 to 2.94. Before Saturday night's loss to Toronto, in which he surrendered six goals, Brodeur had been playing better, with a goals against under 2.50 in his last dozen games, so it's possible that he is getting over any issues from his early season knee injury and any rust that accumulated during the lockout. That being the case, I do expect Brodeur to put up better numbers in the second half of the season, if only because he's been so consistently good for so many years that I'm not ready to write him off at 33 years-old. - SC

Hi Scott, I was wondering how the finances work when a player retires with time left on their contract. For example, Vladimir Malakhov just retired, and he was due to be paid $3.6 Million this season by the Devils. Ditto with Brett Hull and his $1.69 Million contract with the Coyotes. Are these players usually paid the balance of their contracts when they retire, do they forfeit the funds, are they bought out, or do they have to buy out? Also, what about signing bonuses for players who retire before the end of their respective contracts - do they have to pay any of it back? Thanks, JB, Halifax, Nova Scotia

JB, While Malakhov's status seems to be up in the air (his agents, not surprisingly, have been quick to recant his retirement request), a player who retires and signs retirement papers, is not paid the remaining money on their contract. In a case like Hull's, where he retired very early in the season, the Coyotes suddenly had extra cap room because most of Hull's $1.69-million salary was wiped off the books. In the case of signing bonuses, it often depends on how vigorous the team wants to be in trying to recoup that money. It's been established in other sports (most notably with Barry Sanders and Ricky Williams) that teams can get signing bonus money returned if a player suddenly retires, but it would likely have to be a fairly large sum for a team to go through that exercise. - SC

Hello Scott. I was wondering if you could tell me who you think the 10 best players in the NHL are right now - that weren't drafted. I ask this because one of my favorite Oilers this season is Marc-Andre Bergeron. I've liked him ever since that playoff game against Dallas where he threw out that wicked hip-check against - I think - Lethinen. Anywho, he was passed over in the draft twice, and signed by the Oilers, and I think he's just doing awesome. Playing with Pronger has totally help him develop, and I think he could be a real powerplay threat with his incredible shot. So yeah, I don't know if he'd make your list - 'cause frankly I don't know who else out there is playing in the league with that same background. Thanks a lot. Suneil

Suneil, here's my unoffical list of top 10 undrafted players right now:

Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay

Curtis Joseph, Phoenix

Dan Boyle, Tampa Bay Lightning

Brian Rafalski, New Jersey

Jason Blake, New York Islanders

Marc-Andre Bergeron, Edmonton

Mike Johnson, Phoenix

Jason Williams, Detroit

Steve Reinprecht, Calgary

Dwayne Roloson, Minnesota

As you can see, Bergeron is in good company, but I do like him as a player. His offensive upside makes him quite valuable, in my opinion, and I'd expect him to enjoy a long and fruitful career as a top-four defenceman. - SC

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A little Jeff for red:

OK Scott,I need this answer PLEASE! My friend and I have been wondering why this trade would NOT make sense for the Sharks: Let's say a third or fourth round pick for the local legend Jeff Friesen? He does not seem happy with the Caps And I know for a fact Shark fans would go nuts to have him back. A little veteran leadership would be nice up front as well....Jeff Moser, downtown San Jose

Jeff, I'm sure Friesen would leap at the chance to return to a competitive franchise, though the Caps might want more than a draft picks for him. Perhaps one of the Sharks' blueline prospects would be enough to add bring the veteran back into the fold for a playoff push. Of course, this all presumes that his groin injury heals and Friesen can play effectively in the second half of the season. - SC

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=149088&hubname=nhl

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on the whole Friesen thing...isn't it a sports hernia? Or is sports hernia just the new term for groin injury kinda like you don't say "I stabbed him in the face with a pen cuz he wouldn't stop F**%!@ with me" you have to say "it was self defense" :D

anyway interesting stuff...a lot of questions that Matt and the Maven have answered during Devils pregame....and besides Marty was only "off" before his injury...he's the only one keeping us from losing 6-1 EVERY night!!

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on the whole Friesen thing...isn't it a sports hernia? Or is sports hernia just the new term for groin injury kinda like you don't say "I stabbed him in the face with a pen cuz he wouldn't stop F**%!@ with me" you have to say "it was self defense" :D

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They thought it was groin, but then he had surgery for sports hernia, so TSN is surprisingly behind the times on that one.

I think it's pretty interesting how much Devils talk there is. I don't know who it shows that there are a ton of us out here ... but it shows someone!

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Actually there are more and more Devils fans all the time...

I was walking down Spring Garden Road (one of the main shopping areas of Halifax) on Saturday and this guy came running up behind me yelling for me to stop. He catches up to me and asks where I bought my Devils jacket. I informed him that I bought it on the Internet from the Devils Den and he was disappointed because he thought I got it somewhere in town. He then proceeded to pull up his pant legs. He had a Devils logo on one calf and a devil with a hockey stick (it looked like the devil that used to be in the Richie Rich comic books).

This is a common thing really... to be out and about and Devils fans stop me to chat. However, from the mid-80s thru early-90s.... *crickets*.

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People cant believe how much we suck, that's why.  :P

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is so brutal around here.

I'll see you guys around. Try to enjoy yourselves.

(Ain't just you Petey. I just don't feel like reading digs about the team ... about security guards ... about the attendance all the time. So why do it right? Not really forced to be here.)

I'll talk to you guys next year when it's time for Kards for Kids or something... take care.

Edited by Elias Sports Bureau
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It is so brutal around here.

I'll see you guys around. Try to enjoy yourselves.

(Ain't just you Petey. I just don't feel like reading digs about the team ... about security guards ... about the attendance all the time. So why do it right? Not really forced to be here.)

I'll talk to you guys next year when it's time for Kards for Kids or something... take care.

I don't know what's wrong with the running joke about the security guard. Although he has never been right (his original tip was that the lockout was going to end January 1st, only 3 months into the lockout).

Otherwise, yeah, I have trouble with all the negativity around here. So I figured if I can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I had a number of threads that touched on this recently. First was the difference between Leaf fans and Canadiens fans. I lean towards being a Leafs type fan. But only lean.

Sorta like Saturday night when I put the Devils game first over the Canada game - but I ASSUMED before the game that the Leafs would get up by three goals sometime in the second period.

Devils are still my #1 team and I'll watch (at least the beginning) of every game and I've spent buckets of money on Devils gear this year (mostly for little Alex, but some for myself as well). But I know they are not very good and I'm not going to pretend that they are.

BTW - I joined at the beginning of the 2003-2004 season, but I'm willing to wager that there were more than enough chicken littles in the previous years. Negativity comes with sports boards and misery loves company. People tie the essance of their being to a sports team and so when things go wrong with the sports team, their own self-worth is diminished. Which leads to angst and negative threads/comments on sports boards.

BTW - I agree with Peteyvegas. I think there are a lot of people in the sports world that are shocked at how abysmal the Devils are playing. Just because we've been a good team for so very long. Which is a good thing to say about the Devils. If people are surprised when we are doing poorly, that insinuates that they are used to us being one of the better teams in the league.

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True enough. But what I'm saying is also true. People are astonished with how quickly we've fallen. That's why there is so much talk about us everywhere. I still watch every game just like before. In fact, I'm enjoying it at least as much now because every game is a mystery. I'm at the end of my seat throughout every shift because I still think we can come back, every game. And knowing that we have the ability to blow games up by 2 or so goals is mind blowing. So anyone who wants to leave because of negativity can go, but it still doesn't change the adventure that we call "OUR" team--every game. My need to win is not as fantastic as my need to watch MY team.

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Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone. Well good, bad or ugly Devils, I'm glad I have the board to laugh and cry with. I enjoy all the posts, whether or not I agree with them (politics forum included :evil: ). Tomato, to ma to, whatever. ;) And I still say it's Torino. :P and Munchen for that matter. ;)

It's funny though, it's okay for us to bash the team, it's out of frustration and we say it all with the deepest love and loyalty anyway, but ever notice that when a troll wanders in, its us against them?

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It's funny though, it's okay for us to bash the team, it's out of frustration and we say it all with the deepest love and loyalty anyway, but ever notice that when a troll wanders in, its us against them?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Daaadouuuudaaaaa We're all a Family :boogie::dance:

You're all my Uncle from far far far away...

On this subject... You are skinflints ! No gift for my christmas... what kind of Uncle are you ! All of you ! :whistling:

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They thought it was groin, but then he had surgery for sports hernia, so TSN is surprisingly behind the times on that one.

I think it's pretty interesting how much Devils talk there is. I don't know who it shows that there are a ton of us out here ... but it shows someone!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Here's the scoop per my wife (who just finished her general surgery rotations):

a "sports hernia" isn't a hernia at all. what it means is that the muscle is torn and has pushed through the upper fibers of the muscle (just like the muscle pokes through the intestines in a true hernia). Thus, whether you say sports hernia or torn groin, you are correctly describing Friesen's injury.

Edited by smelly
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