smelly Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 for want of a Plan B. Or two of them, rather. In is undeniable that Lou is one, if not the, best GMS in all of sports. But to my mind, he played poker and lost not once, but twice, with this team. And in my opinion this has been one of his worst years atthe helm. First, the Holik imbroglio. Yes, it is now apparent that Bobby only wanted to spite Lou, and had no intention of resigning. But, like the prick or not, he brought size, strength, and attitude that this team is missing (not to mention someone to stand in front of the net on the PP). I'm not pissed that Bobby isn't here. Hell, his act was getting old, and I'm sure a lot of the team dosen't miss hearing him opine on everything all the time. But Lou knew what he meant -- why else woule he offer him more than 8 million dollars to stay? When Bobby left, Lou went in another direction, and left the size issue for another day. Second, deadline day. Lou knows that this team is structurally deficient. Skill wise, and payroll-wise, the team is defense-heavy. And there is only one first line talent on the team (and he hasn't even played like one for much of the year). Lou clearly planned to parlay some of that defsensive wealth into some more offense. But he bided his time, waiting for the perfect deal. But it never materilized. And now he, and we, are stuck with this team. I will still pull hard for this team. And I hope they do well. But Lou screwed up this year. And even though we can't win every year, this season is shaping up to be a potentially glorious opportunity wasted. I just have one question -- will Lou go for it next year, or will he call off the dogs until after the lockout? To me, the answer to this question will go a long way in determining whether Lou makes a serious pitch to keep Nieuwy around. And, if he does decide to go for it, I hope he learned his lesson, and doesn't sit on his ass waiting for the perfect time to improve the team, and only watch it fail to materialize. Lou has to address the lack of first line talent during the summer. He owes it to fans like me who spend many thousands of dollars each season on tickets, and the players who were banking on him to come through this past Tuesday, only to see him fail to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Lou still gets killed by many fans for "going for it" last season and trading Arnott for an older veteran center. Basically he is damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. If the team wins then he made the right move, if it loses then he is an idiot. Even when he wins some people aren't happy with him. Sometimes people get into no win situations(see Holik) and there isn't anything you can do to fix it. We don't know what went on at the trade deadline or what Lou is allowed to do with the payroll of the team, so I think killing him for not making a deal when we have no idea what kinda of deals Lou could make, is unfair. -Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarbingerOfSorrow Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Why not wait and see how the Devils do in the playoffs before passing judgement on Lou Lams? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 No, we must assume the worst, bash Lou for losing now, and then call ourselves realists for being the only truth-sayers. -Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smelly Posted March 14, 2003 Author Share Posted March 14, 2003 I don't doubt that Lou made the right decision last Tues. when he determined that the price was too high for what he was seeking. However, he still takes the blame because he hadn't done anything prior to Tues. to address the team's obvious deficiencies, and let it all ride on waiting until the deadline. By doing so, he put himself in a position where he might be held up by other GMs. That;s obviusly what happened -- end result? a no. 5 defenseman who plays approx 20 min per nite at 3.6 MM per. Not the best allocation of resources. That leads to my second point. I'm not saying Lou had an obligation to take on more payroll. In fact, even if we assume he couldn't increase it at all, he had to make a deal. You see, the Devs might have a relatively high payroll, but WAY too much of that payroll is tied up from the blue line in. Lou HAD to reallocate some of his payroll to balance out the defense and the forwards. Now we have musical chairs on the blueline, while Columbus' former fourth line wing skates on the Devs' second line. Lou talks about an orchestra -- well this orchestra has about seventeen basses and two cheap violins. That doesn't make for an enjoyable night at the symphony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarbingerOfSorrow Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Heh. Heh. All this orchestra talk makes the HOS long for some sweet chin music. As in Stevens on Lindros. (clean hit of course!) And as luck would have it, the Rangers play the Devils on Saturday. Goody goody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-Devil Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Well what if Lou traded Gomez to bring back two great rental players from San Jose? Great! We don't quite win the Stanley Cup and both players walk away free agents at the end of the season. Now we are just the same team minus Gomez who goes on three years later to rack up 80 assists and 25 goals while we have nothing. I'm sure Lou made the right decision on draft day, if he could find a decent deal I am sure he would have gone through with it. Hey, being a GM isn't easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smelly Posted March 14, 2003 Author Share Posted March 14, 2003 I'm not saying he should have made that trade. But don't you think Sami Kapenen might have helped? How about Radim Vrbata? Chris Gratton? Stu Barnes? Even Sergei Berezin? Come on. Lou sat on the sidelines until it was too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smelly Posted March 14, 2003 Author Share Posted March 14, 2003 Or Steve Thomas? http://www.tsn.ca/news_stories/33457.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-Devil Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Smell, eck, bad names you listed there, I could go on a rant on each of them. The way it seemed is that Lou made some small trades for some larger one that probably fell through. Who knows what happened on draft day, Lou might have felt that that team wasn't worth trading youth to have a legitimate shot at winning the Stanley Cup. It might however be a busy off-season for us as key players are nearing retirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellOnICE Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 We didn't give up anything. So if we don't win this year, we still have good draft picks this season, some salary movements with Stevens, Daneyko, newy etc. Who knows, what can happen? A free agent may pop up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aylbert Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Last night was a promising game... It shows that Marshall works... Smehlik did some good things, did some bad... but is still better than playing Albelin/Giroux... This team seems to be on the rebound... As opposed to when they were going through games just barely surviving... We were down 4-1.... and the team could have been out of it, but instead we bounced to 4-3 but couldnt find the equalizer... and that was missing our top line center, causing their line to be adjusted around... We'll get by the 1st round, especially when the JJJ line plays good and the Elias-Gomez-Marshall plays like they did last night... and hopefully by then, Brylin is set to go... and Brylin can be added to the checking line I imagine....or the 4th.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGoDevils Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 I'll save my judgement until after the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC Devs Fan Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Well said Smelly. Couldn't agree with you more. As far as waiting until after the playoffs to pass judgement on how Lou did this year, I'd rather state my opinion and hope that I am wrong. Will be real easy to look back after the playoffs and say he did a poor job. As far as us making the $ to sign FA's, that is laughable. Lou has no history of signing anything but castoffs and role players as FA's; haven't we learned anything about him yet? Lets enjoy what's left and know better days are ahead for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Its a bit early too be making these statements. The team is NOT playing well at all, but I take solice in the fact that in 2000 we just about stumbled into the playoffs and we saw what happens when other teams/press underestimate us. This group comes together. In 2001, we had probably the best Devils team ever assembled and lost due to overconfidence. We are best rising to the challenge. In regard to Holik, he was part of a winning system and NOT a $9 million dollar star--and yes, his act was wearing thin (I still blame him for the Carolina series last season with his stupid penalties). Things are not as grim, yea of little faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 free agents will not come. lou won't make offers to them. any additions/subtractions come through trades with this team. smelly- i agree with your assessment on the deadline issue, but letting holik walk was the right decision. the mistake was made with him 2 years ago playing hardball unnecessarily, however I don't miss his mouth at all. and for a 5th rounder, i wouldn't have minded having stumpy thomas back for the stretch run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Thomas? Berezin? Gratton? Kapanen? Come on, you've got to be joking, smelly. You're exhibiting the standard behavior on this board: change is always better than no change. That's never true, and especially not in the case of the Devils. As is standrd on this board, you go overboard with rhetoric.. Marshall was Columbus's 2nd line wing. I liken Marshall to Randy McKay in a lot of ways. And that's exactly what the Devils need for that 1st line, a guy like Randy McKay in his prime who could put a few pucks in, get to the forecheckers and hit them so they cough it up. It'd be great if he could shoot the puck, but it doesn't seem like he'll be able to do that. Oh well, such is life without the assets to deal for a power forward RW. His game fits better than Berezin, Kapanen, and maybe even Selanne.. we saw in 2001 what happens to all finesse lines in the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smelly Posted March 14, 2003 Author Share Posted March 14, 2003 I liken Langenbrunner to McKay. I liken Marshall to Stevenson. I think I'm more on the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'7' Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 I liken Marshall to Ben Hakinson, interchangeable and useless. Stick Rupp or Rheaume in there with Marshall, each have there strengths and weaknesses but none of them can score, and that's what we need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Well you're both incorrect, and thinking with your emotions. What Marshall provides is good physical presence with speed. This was what McKay delivered before he was put on scoring lines (and after, but he developed a touch around the net). Occasionally he would make adept offensive plays that would make Emrick wonder if he could handle higher line duties. Stevenson does not have the skating ability of Marshall. They have similar hands, but Marshall has better on-ice vision as evinced by his assist totals, and some of the plays he made last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'7' Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 you're fooling yourself if you think Marshall is a physical presence, he's not big at all and bounces off of everything he tries to hit. speed I guess he has, and he seems to be an ok passer, but he doesn't add the scoring depth of a Selanne or Satan, that's what this team truly needs. 0 goals in 56 playoff games, damn, even Dano does better than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aylbert Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 '7' you are by far have the most negative outlook on this board. I may be overly optomistic, but I don't think Im that afr extreme.... I think Im closer to center then you are when you look at it as: Pessimistic- Center- Optimistic This isnt a personal attack, it's prolly just that ugly girl that annoys me Anyways... Marshall is a lot better than Stevenson. I don't think its a coincidence that Elias and Gomez both scored last night. Marshall is more of a McKay. He has 30pts this season, and I think he will pay off in the playoffs getting the timely goals [edit: through assits and maybe pots one in himself]. Langs does not have the physical edge that McKay did... I was sad to see McKay leave... but unfortunately we didnt keep the loyalty for him. .. and the move to get Niewendyk/Langs was worth it. The Devs will come out of this slump... they have the tools. They wont be winning a scoring title... but they will be the Devs I love. A defensive squad that capitlizes on mistakes while not giving up to many pucks to turnovers... (the killer from last night) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'7' Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Elias and Gomez were coming out of the slump in Calgary, that was before Marshall got here. sorry if courteney bothers you, I'll admit it isn't the best pic, I'll find a better one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Marshall is a smaller player who plays big. He is an effective hitter, and THAT is what the Devils need. Not Selanne or Satan. What they really needed was someone like Erik Cole or Shane Doan, but that player was not coming, unfortunately. First, what they need is to get Gomez and Elias playing to their potential, and the way to do that was to add a physical presence. Been saying it all year. Finesse lines get destroyed in the playoffs. This line can get the puck if it has to be dumped in, and has the speed to convert on turnovers, etc. You'll see, ^7^, don't worry. I'll be here to call you and all the other negative people out all spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aylbert Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Elias and Gomez have been looking to get out of their slumps all season... they just were missing the spark... without it, they sputter a few goals and go back into hiding. We needed a physical scoring prescence. With the physical side being more important. I said we need the physical, another D, and a scoring threat. Lou got 2 of these... and I think when Lou couldnt get the Selanne package, there was nothing that was better... so now he has to put the pressure on Elias. We have a pure goal scorer when he thinks he is one. If Marshall can clear the room, maybe he'll show what we all know he is. He isn't a 2nd or 3rd line player... he needs to show it now, or Round1 of the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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