metallidevils Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Forwards: Zubrus, Shanahan, Pandalfo, Rupp, Holik, Clarkson, Rolston Defensemen: Salvador, Greene, Leach All of the players listed above, IMO, are essentially dead weight. This is half of the team. The 3 defenseman not listed here are solid, but out of the forwards not listed here, Parise is probably the only one who doesn't go through periods of looking like an AHLer. In all seriousness, how did the team get to so many wins? From the beginning of the season I thought the team would be playing like this. Parise, Elias, White, Martin, and Oduya carried the team this year. Langs, Zajac, and Gionta are OK, but not enough to carry the team when more than two of the first 5 guys are out of the lineup or slumping. Having Zubrus and Rolston eating up tons of cap space for the next few years is going to be a disaster, and if more than 1 or 2 of the 'dead weight' listed above besides those 2 are still here next year, I don't really see how we can be considered serious contenders for the cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 taking action in this thread about the first round. i mean the devils have to be 2 to 1 against right now to win in the first round, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theamazingtiny Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Pretenders pretend. Then reality hits like a ton of bricks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallidevils Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 Pretenders pretend. Then reality hits like a ton of bricks. Then how did they 'pretend' so well, and why/how did it stop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArthurBosskarelli Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 They've mastered the whole pre-trade deadline "Look Lou! We're good enough to win the cup! Please don't make any trades", post-trade deadline "Psyche!!" thing. I wonder how long before Sutter receives a couple of sympathy kegs of 100% pure alcohol from Robinson and Julien, if he hasn't already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Then how did they 'pretend' so well, and why/how did it stop? because they weren't pretending. the reality is that right now the devils still have a +34 goal differential. they're sliding - tonight they caught every single break against them, and got outplayed to boot. this easily could've been a 4-2 penguins win, or a 4-3 shootout win for new jersey, or some such. now i don't know what is wrong with travis zajac and why he has suddenly become awful. that i can't explain. i can say that rolston and zubrus were the only devils who were a + tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theamazingtiny Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Then how did they 'pretend' so well, and why/how did it stop? Because the real hockey has started and now they can't hack it. Saying they arn't getting breaks or the refs are calling lousy games are lame excuses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallidevils Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 I think the 'reality' is that every forward listed has <40 points and is fairly terribly offensively, and every defenseman listed is pretty terrible defensively. No matter how you want to put it, half of the team is terrible at what they do, and considering Langs, Zajac, Madden, and Gio have long stretches of awfulness, there really are very few players on the team that can actually be counted on. The team was severely overachieving all season, again making Lou look like a genius, masking the fact that we've had the same essential problem every year since we last won the cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I think the 'reality' is that every forward listed has <40 points and is fairly terribly offensively, and every defenseman listed is pretty terrible defensively. No matter how you want to put it, half of the team is terrible at what they do, and considering Langs, Zajac, Madden, and Gio have long stretches of awfulness, there really are very few players on the team that can actually be counted on. The team was severely overachieving all season, again making Lou look like a genius, masking the fact that we've had the same essential problem every year since we last won the cup. bet me please. you are a fool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 taking action in this thread about the first round. i mean the devils have to be 2 to 1 against right now to win in the first round, right? I'm seriously considering taking you up on this since it is win-win for me..... I'd gladly give up $20 for the Devils to win the first round.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallidevils Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 Putting money on things out of your control...who's the fool? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theamazingtiny Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 bet me please. you are a fool. You are still confident Triumph? What has to happen for you to have your confidence shaken? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) because they weren't pretending. the reality is that right now the devils still have a +34 goal differential. they're sliding - tonight they caught every single break against them, and got outplayed to boot. this easily could've been a 4-2 penguins win, or a 4-3 shootout win for new jersey, or some such. And I thought Sutter's tirade was funny. Please Tri, the Devils haven't even been competitive in most of these games and should have lost the other night by more than 3-0. And to the op, Zubrus isn't dead weight - as much as I think he gets overrated he was one of the few people to actually show up the last two games. Clarkson isn't dead weight either, just dead in the head sometimes And Greene and Leach don't even play so they can't count as dead weight. Edited April 2, 2009 by Hasan4978 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Putting money on things out of your control...who's the fool? out of my control? you don't know anything about gambling. how do you think sports books make money? by setting profitable lines. so if you're so confident about the devils being terrible and them losing in the first round, surely they must be 2 to 1 dogs to their first round opponent - i mean clearly, look at the play tonight! and on monday night - i mean this team is finished, gassed, they played way over their heads, they're terrible, lou was wrong about everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallidevils Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 You are still confident Triumph? What has to happen for you to have your confidence shaken? If he can blame a 6-1 game on bad bounces, probably nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 You are still confident Triumph? What has to happen for you to have your confidence shaken? the devils' goal differential to slip under 0. admittedly i am not as confident about this team as a cup contender as i was 2 weeks ago - who would be? - i still think this team has plenty of potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallidevils Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) out of my control? you don't know anything about gambling. how do you think sports books make money? by setting profitable lines. so if you're so confident about the devils being terrible and them losing in the first round, surely they must be 2 to 1 dogs to their first round opponent - i mean clearly, look at the play tonight! and on monday night - i mean this team is finished, gassed, they played way over their heads, they're terrible, lou was wrong about everything. I don't think the team is that good; I never said I was sure they weren't going to get past the first round and I have no reason to believe that I should bet money on it one way or another. I'm still not a fan of Lou and I'm sorry that breaks your heart. I wonder in two years when Rolston and Zubrus are eating up how much salary and combine for 60 points what you'll be thinking of him, too. Edited April 2, 2009 by metallidevils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I don't think the team is that good; I never said I was sure they weren't going to get past the first round and I have no reason to believe that I should bet money on it one way or another. I'm still not a fan of Lou and I'm sorry that breaks your heart. it breaks my heart that you have no balls and aren't willing to bet on anything but instead make absurd claims about dead weight and playing over their heads like they are at all true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallidevils Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) Guys, I have a confession to make....I do not have a gambling problem. I don't bet, I don't play the stock market, I guess I have no balls. Can we get back to the topic at hand instead of you frothing at the mouth and getting on your high horse like you always do? Edited April 2, 2009 by metallidevils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeford Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) What in the hell does the fact that we ran it up to the tune of 8 goals on the Rags in like November have to do with right now? The goal differential? This is your "never fear" ace in the hole reason for thinking they will turn it around? They're playing like fvckin dogs and the majority of the team is old... they aren't likely to get a 2nd wind in April. I'm all for being optimistic but your reasoning is ridiculous. Edited April 2, 2009 by mikeford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallidevils Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 I'm sick of the whole shtick about putting people down who don't share the same opinion as you, and people take it as gospel because you have like 16000 posts here and spout out sabermetrics and probabilities and stuff. If you don't like my opinion then you can tell me why you think I'm wrong without acting like an arrogant jerk and talking about betting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theamazingtiny Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I don't really buy the "we're old and tired" arguement. Isn't Detroit the oldest team in the league? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeford Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Oh yeah, and by the way, since the first half of the season absolutely does not matter for the sake of this discussion, since the ASG, heres the real goal differential 83 GF 77 GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsrule33 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I don't really buy the "we're old and tired" arguement. Isn't Detroit the oldest team in the league? The Devils median age on the team is 32 and the mean is probably close to that. They have 3 forwards under the age of 30. The Wings are no longer an old team. Chelios, Draper and Maltby are all pretty much irrelevant pieces. They have a pretty young core of forwards up front and besides Rafalski and Lidstrom, they are fairly young on defense. But one could argue that age was a problem for the Wings when they were getting knocked out early in past seasons with a much older team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devils26 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I don't really buy the "we're old and tired" arguement. Isn't Detroit the oldest team in the league? At the beginning of this year, the Ducks and the Red Wings were both on average older than the Devils, yet they have records of 8-2-0 and 6-3-1 in their last 10 respectively. So I'd have to agree with you that age doesn't play as much a factor as everyone think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.