BlueSkirt Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 I can only really echo what has already been said. Atlantic Division Champs ! and swept the Rangers in the playoffs !! Next year will be a new Coach, several old faces gone to be replaced by more youth, and even more exciting hockey from this club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsdude530 Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 I think I'm going to buy an Division Champs shirt tomorrow out of appreciation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RolandNJD Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 (edited) Hi. I haven't posted here for a really long time. Anyway I'm depressed but still proud. I just wanted to make a few points. 19 points out of the division title in January. Having to hear the stupid cop-outs from color-commentary like "No Stevens. No Niedermayer", it might be true, but how many times have you heard THAT this year. And how sick of it I was. Yet the came back and did extremely well. Nobody picked them until the bandwagon started. I'm a proud fan and I enjoyed the run. It's always an exciting time of year. Thanks to the team (and the fans) for a great year. Edited May 15, 2006 by RolandNJD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYGDevils32 Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Considering where we were in December, this team far exceeded my expectations.Thank you Devils. I agree. The Devils looked like the worst team in hockey in December, but as soon as 2006 started, this was a BRAND new team. Thanks for winning the Atlantic Coast Conference and sweeping the Rags int he first round. Forever... LETS GO DEVILS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msweet Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 As I said before this team is a success. We'll be better, hungrier and angrier next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
American_Psycho Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Thanks to the '05-06 Devils...had some great memories at the arena this season along with just watching our guys battle through some apparent adversity. I never saw this team winning the Atlantic and sweeping the Rangers (a commonality, obviously) and I'm proud of them for that. Of course, it was not successful as we did not have a chance to win the cup, but whatever, I'm optimistic for next year. Thanks guys..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devils26 Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Thank you Devils, for giving me a lot to be happy about all the nights that you won. After seeing this team in the Fall, I was wondering where we would end up and I would have never guessed that we would make it this far. We are still the 5-8 best team of of 30 in the NHL, so I am, and will be until next season, very proud of that. LETS GO DEVILS NEVER GIVE UP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOTCB Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 I know many of you are going to want to kill me for this...but this game is over really. They came out strong, scored the first goal, had chances to put them away (5 straight powerplays!) and that was it. One stupid penalty by Hale was all it took, and Carolina swarmed like madmen around out tired team late in the 2nd. Still, it was one heck of a run by everybody, this team was a machine the last month of the season. As old ghosts fade away (Rangers) new one's crop up (Carolina in OT). They accomplished more than anybody imagined this year. They willed a great season out of nothing. For that I say thank you. Great post '7' and this post shows why you are a top-notch hockey poster and top-notch Devils fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellacious_D Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 (edited) All in all, as much as the way it ended hurt, this truly was a great season for the Devils. But let's face it, any year that doesn't end in a championship hurts when it's over. The Devils came into the season dead in the water missing their two top leaders and short their top scorer. Back in November and December, many of us had written them off with lines like "sooner or later they were gonna need to rebuild" or "the losses are too much to overcome but they should bounce back next season." While the team still lacks the indentity it has had for the last 9-11 years, and was clearly strugling this season to form a new one this season, I truly believe they gave everything they had. From looking back at the way they've played since the first of the year, how can you not think they gave it there all. A 9-game winning streak and a 15-game winning streak that included wiping the floor with Rangers in 4 quick and unquestionably dominant games is all the proof needed for this point. The only thing unsettling about this season is the uncertainty in what 2006-07 may bring. With this same team and few minor adustments - like building a sturdier defense and shedding some players like Kozlov, Marshall and possibly Rasmussen - this team is the same contender, if not a bigger contender, that it was rolling into the playoffs this year. The worst is in having no idea what the story will be with Patty Elias... ... reading the final posts of the Game 5 thread, everyone's in such a sh!t mood that they're forecasting the departure of players that are still under contract or will definitely be under contract next season, like Gomez. The bottom line is that if Elias does sign in the off-season, and it's for at leat 3 years, the important players like Gomez, Gionta, Madden, Pandolfo and Langenbrunner (though I'm sure plenty of you would like to see him gone) will all fall into line behind renewed faith that the Devils are still committed to winning Cups and that they will be competing for titles for at least the next 3 or 4 years... ... but of course, it all starts with Elias. The defense is a complete mess, as well. The leaders on the defense are supposed to be White and Rafalski, and while I think White did a good job filling the role for most of the season, Rafalski really did not. Rafalski got the deal he did last summer for the sole reason that the Devils had no other choice but to sign him after Neidermayer left. And I'm not saying that the Devils should move Rafalski, but he's gotta earn that contract and be better than he was this year. Paul Martin looked good at times this season, but overall I think he proved mostly that he's still adjusting to certain aspects of the NHL game. He's often caught off guard on defense and making poor decisions on break out passes. He's greatest asset is supposed to be his offense from the blue line, but he rarely displayed that talent at all this season. I was most surprised with David Hale, having been called up to help stop the bleeding caused by Malakov and McGills. He played very much the part that everyone was expecting him to play in being a steady defenseman that did not take many chances and made the play to avoid bad turnovers. Interesting, if only because Paul Martin is supposed to have more potential. Matvichuck started the season awfully slow and looked like he couldn't find his place within the Devils' system. But like most everyone else on the team, his game turned around with the return of Elias. He's obviously injury prone, but I'm mostly interested in the fact that he was benched for Game 4 and 5. He was a liability for the first three games of the series against the Canes. Matvichuck is a solid defenseman and should serve the Devils well for the last 2 (or one?) years of his contract... ...a lot of people saw him as the replacement for Scott Stevens, but that kind of responsibility is unfair. And if you couldn't tell by the sudden boosts in morale and play following a Stevens pep talk, there is no replacing a player and leader like Scott Stevens. Brad Lukowich sounded like a great idea at the time the Devils acquired him, but he's gotta go. While he had a few bright sparks as a Devils - namely assisting every goal against the Rangers in Game 3 - he made bad decisions with the puck and was usually beaten in every corner battle for it. He has one year remaining on his contract, but Lou might move him for a draft pick this summer in order to get a little breathing room under the cap. While the popular calls will be for the Devils to sign either Wade Redden or Zdeno Chara iin the offseason, the Devils have never made a big splash in signing other team's free agents and I wouldn't expect them to start... the most important signing of the offseason will be Patrick Elias. Edited May 15, 2006 by Hellacious_D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 I think I'm going to buy an Division Champs shirt tomorrow out of appreciation. Good call. I don't buy division champs shirts, but this was by far the sweetest division title we've won. I might pick one up too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brylin18 Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 (edited) thank you 2005-2006 devils for humiliating the rangers this season was a success imo Edited May 15, 2006 by brylin18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek21 Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Congrats to the fans who supported their team to the bitter end. You showed true loyalty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brylin18 Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 if you were to give me a hypothetical situation at the beginning of this season that went as follows: the devils lose stevens, lose niedermayer, lose burns, look completely knocked out of any playoff contention let alone contending for the cup at midseason, come back on a ridiculous winning streak to snatch the division from the rangers and then go on to beat the rangers in 4 straight.............i take that scenario any day and there wouldn't even be a doubt in my mind that, given the circumstances, this team played to its uppermost capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 (edited) Everything has been said already in here but thank you Devils for coming out flying in game 4 and for not getting swept by the joke of a team that is the Carolina Hurricanes. Edited May 15, 2006 by Satans Child Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landofvanilla Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Thank you devils. It was the most emotional season I can remember in my 11 years as a fan. Without the losses, the wins wouldn't be as sweet. But still, what a rush in 2006 to go out on. The stage is set for an awesome cup run, sometime down the road. And mini thanks to the sabres for making the rest of the playoffs watchable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA03 Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Thank you Devils for a season with many ups and downs. I've been a fan since birth practically and I am proud to be a fan of this team. (Even if today I was really frustrated w/the lack of offensive opportunities...it's time to look forward.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tretyak 20 Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Thank you Devils!!! Even through all the ups and downs, no one can say this team didn't work hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEVILER Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 thanks, Devils. especially Brodeur. i'll be pulling for Anaheim or Buffalo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 if you were to give me a hypothetical situation at the beginning of this season that went as follows: the devils lose stevens, lose niedermayer, lose burns, look completely knocked out of any playoff contention let alone contending for the cup at midseason, come back on a ridiculous winning streak to snatch the division from the rangers and then go on to beat the rangers in 4 straight.............i take that scenario any day and there wouldn't even be a doubt in my mind that, given the circumstances, this team played to its uppermost capacity. I was thinking much the same lines myself. I would have done anything if someone said we were to get knocked out of the semi finals by Carolina at the beginning of the season. The team have proved that even though we have lost some influential team players they can still play with all their heart and soul and make their fans so proud of them. What an awesome year, thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emptynet Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 I can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizDevil30 Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 (edited) moved comment to Elias free agent thread, where it belongs. Edited May 15, 2006 by LizDevil30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sickman Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Getting bounced from the playoffs stinks no matter what. I would be lying if I said I wasnt depressed today. This Devil team may have not been the most taleneted or skilled team but nobody can deny that they had a ton of heart. As bad as things got during certain points of the season, the Devils found a way to get the job done even though they could have just given up. Im really proud of them for that. I dont know, I really thought that they had a shot to win the Cup this year. Either way though, there were so many great memories this season. Just an incredible year but a real shame that it had to end so soon. This might have not been one of the "great" Devils teams, but Im really gonna miss this group. October cant come soon enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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