Rafalski's Numbers

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

I was most concerned about keeping Gomez this off season or replacing him UNTILL i saw Rafalski's stats for the season just past.

A lot of people have been saying he has to go, or there not worried about him leaving, and i wasnt to worried about losing him, untill i looked at his regular season stats.

Team GP G A P PIM +/- SH PP GW OT S S% Sft/G TOI/G

NJD 82 8 47 55 34 4 1 3 4 0 148 5.4 28.8 25:29

The reason i was supprised was when i compared them to Niedermayer:

Team GP G A P PIM +/- SH PP GW OT S S% Sft/G TOI/G

ANA 79 15 54 69 86 6 0 9 3 1 172 8.7 27.4 27:30

There isnt much difference between the two, Niedermayer scored more, but apart from that the stats remain resonably close (Rafalski took over half as many PIM).

Considering Nieds is on a team with Pronger, who will take away some of the pressure on Nieds to preform and run the defence, it says a lot about Rafalski.

We really need to keep him in NJ, he is pretty much the top D man on the FA market.

Lou should offer him a $15 million/3year deal to stay at jersey.

IMO that would be a bargin.

[Jas0nMacIsaac]

Anyone who watched both play know Niedermayer is the much better player. Rafalski is simply not good defensivly, if Brodeur isn't in nets he is a -10 or worse.

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

Anyone who watched both play know Niedermayer is the much better player. Rafalski is simply not good defensivly, if Brodeur isn't in nets he is a -10 or worse.

Im not saying Nieds isnt a better player im just saying Rafalski is the closest thing to him in terms of D man in the NHL.

And is our best option.

[Diabolical]

Statistically Raffy is great.

But, the intangibles such as turnovers, being able to effectively handle the puck in the neutral zone and protecting the point in PP.

I am sorry to say in these areas he has lost quite a bit.

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

Statistically Raffy is great.

But, the intangibles such as turnovers, being able to effectively handle the puck in the neutral zone and protecting the point in PP.

I am sorry to say in these areas he has lost quite a bit.

I agree with the turnovers, he was awfull this year.

He showed moments of brilliance in the neutral zone this year but was awfull at times.

But his abillity to hold the puck up at the point on the PP is excelent, as is his abillity to keep the puck in the offensive zone.

If rafalski's shot was better, i dont think people would complain half as much about his game.

[Triumph]

scott niedermayer had an off-year, rafalski had one of his best. he did have an off-year, too - just look at the PIMs and +/-.

rafalski is not a defensive liability, but i suspect he wore down this season with his constant use.

[ddubs11]

Statistically Rafalski was decent but there is more to it than that, especially when you are talking your #1 D-man....

[MantaRay]

scott niedermayer had an off-year, rafalski had one of his best. he did have an off-year, too - just look at the PIMs and +/-.

rafalski is not a defensive liability, but i suspect he wore down this season with his constant use.

I agree with you Tri, Rafi was one of the only healthy D-Men we had for the whole season. Early on he was asked to play too many minutes because of all our injuries.

[TravisZajac]

I would lock Ralfaski for 4.5millions.

[Diabolical]

I agree with you Tri, Rafi was one of the only healthy D-Men we had for the whole season. Early on he was asked to play too many minutes because of all our injuries.

I am only speaking on what I had seen as a whole on the entire season.

We can make all the excuses we want but he simply didn't hold up. If was a result of playing too much well that is something only he can comment on. Besides that logging a lot of minutes throughout the season is what the Devils and most teams require of their #1 D man.

I am not saying he is done by any means I like having him on the team but if it means devoting a lot to a guy to a guy who is set to be 34 at the beginning of the season and seems to be slowing down a step or two in his play it just doesn't make sense in this new age of the salary cap. We know where that has cost the team in the recent past.

[peteyvegas]

Rafalski is killing us. I dont give a S**t about the numbers. Just watch the game. Watch the friggin' game!! He has instituted a culture of freezing the puck behind our own goal. As the senior D man on our squad, he is looked up to and therefore the other guys look to him as the guy to emulate. Unless we get THE GUY (whoever it may be) back there, this team will continue to be a one and out team in the playoffs. He is a second to third tier defenseman playing as a number one.

[thefiestygoat]

Re-signing Rafalski is the number 1 thing I want the Devils to do this offseason. Is he a true number one defenseman? No, but he is a great role player. I think he is a solid player and his problem turning over pucks was really a result of him playing nearly 30 minutes a game during parts of the season.

[sundstrom]

He has instituted a culture of freezing the puck behind our own goal.

if you're referring to holding the puck behind the net during what in europe is called the "mutually agreed upon line change", i'd give that credit to the euro infusion into the league and less to rafalski. that play is all over the nhl

[Vinnie]

Despite his deficiencies, I don't want to see this team lose another top pairing defenceman without a replacement.

[MantaRay]

It cracks me up reading the comments about Rafi, "not being a #1 defensemen", or "bad defensivley" or "poor passer", blah, blah, blah.

These are the same comments people applied to Nieds a few years back. I guess it just takes players to leave before we can appreciate what we have.

[NJDevs4978]

Well I think Nieds was getting praised for his play the year before he went out the door but generally you're right, he was ragged on left and right till Burns completed his transformation into an elite defenseman in '03. And then people got on him in '04 only because they were convinced he was going to leave, same as they did with Gomez this year.

With Raf, as someone said on another site - people forget he was on the All-Star team THIS year. I would rather have him playing 22 1/2 minutes instead of 25+, and I'd sign him at 4.5 for 2 or 3 years.

Raf-Nieds is a fair comparison to start the thread, since part of the reason people get on Raf is that he suffers from 'not' being Stevens or 'not' being Nieds.

Edited May 18, 2007 by Hasan4978

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

Rafalski is killing us. I dont give a S**t about the numbers. Just watch the game. Watch the friggin' game!! He has instituted a culture of freezing the puck behind our own goal. As the senior D man on our squad, he is looked up to and therefore the other guys look to him as the guy to emulate. Unless we get THE GUY (whoever it may be) back there, this team will continue to be a one and out team in the playoffs. He is a second to third tier defenseman playing as a number one.

[Jas0nMacIsaac]

It cracks me up reading the comments about Rafi, "not being a #1 defensemen", or "bad defensivley" or "poor passer", blah, blah, blah.

These are the same comments people applied to Nieds a few years back. I guess it just takes players to leave before we can appreciate what we have.

[devils26]

I think Rafi is a good D-man who when can be sound defensively when he really commits himself to always making the smart play. Also, he is good at jumping in the rush to help us get some offense going. However, some of the horrible turnovers and bad breakout passes are hard to forget, and I think that is why some people don't care if he leaves. If he can make smart passes a little bit more of the time then I really hope he stays.

[Diabolical]

I hope he stays also.

Being honest and objective is all I am trying to be. He is one of the better D-men in the league and since he is home grown so to speak his value with the Devils in my opinion is greater than someone with similar skills.

However if his price tag becomes something that hampers the Devils as a whole to produce a more balanced Defensive Corps or team as a whole. I would set aside my personal affinities and welcome other alternatives. I am not trying to pretend to be a GM. I am just stating my opinions as a fan based on watching 95% of the games the past few seasons.

My question is Do you all think he deserves 5 mil or more per year in a some sort of multi year deal? Taking into consideration having to resign others annually, adding others to compliment him and/ or the team and the Cap.

Edited May 18, 2007 by Diabolical

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

My question is Do you all think he deserves 5 mil or more per year in a some sort of multi year deal? Taking into consideration having to resign others annually, adding others to compliment him and/ or the team and the Cap.

[halfsharkalligatorhalfman]

he's going to be 34 next year. anything more than 3 years is insane.

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

he's going to be 34 next year. anything more than 3 years is insane.

[NYGDevils32]

Raffy had a great season; he was our best defensemen by far. He has been one of my favorite Devils ever since he came to NJ because he is always under the radar. I believe he made 2 of the USA Olympic Hockey teams, and he was a part of the 2000 and 2003 Stanley Cup teams. He showed this year that he is turning into a shooting defenseman because he shot the puck much more this year and for about a week he was the hottest shooter on the Devils as a defensemen. So I really hope Raffy stays in New Jersey.

[peteyvegas]

Offer him $550,000.