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Comprehensive Free Agent Signing Thread


njdevil26

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I don't know, if three years is what it takes to get him here instead of Minnesota or New York, then I think you gotta give him the third year. I really think he's the type of player that will fit in well around here, which isn't something you see in many free agents.

A front-loaded three year deal wouldn't kill us, and who knows, maybe he retires after the second year if his salary's declining in the third anyway.

Ya know, I was thinking the same thing, but maybe this is where Lou's "It will be status quo to see where our budget is" comment comes from. Front-loaded contracts are well and good from a salary cap standpoint, but Vanderbeek needs the dough to dish out early on.

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You know much better than me, but how in the world do you know that? 2011-2012? I mean, isn't that a little too far in the future to count the playoffs out? What if Tedenby works out really well? Like, Parise-well?

all things are possible, but the devils are really in cap trouble for that year. people are talking about 2010-11, but what if there is no respite from the bad economy in 2011-12 and the salary cap is still down around 50-53 million dollars? the devils have 29 million committed to 8 players, none of whom are parise or martin or zajac. throw those guys in, and we've got at least 44 million to 11 players.

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i know you haven't been around much lately, but it's a really, really weak centers market. however, i do agree with this philosophy - the devils can wait until august and then sign a guy like todd marchant. they should take advantage of the falling prices of certain veteran players even if they risk losing out on that player by doing so.

Don't disagree, although perhaps I should have said "value" instead of "quality". Besides Marchant, some of Moore, Malhotra, Peca, Morrison and maybe Comrie and Lang will be twisting in the wind in a week or so (and some even longer). I'd pay top dollar for a Benz, but if I need some kind of car I'd rather pay a fair price for a Hyundai than pay through the nose for a Chevy (or an Acura, for that matter). And yes, I haven't posted much lately, but I still lurk, and since I attend nearly every game I still know what's going on around the league.

Edited by smelly
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yea we need to bust a nut lou, you're killin us here. i need the relief of holy sh!t i can't believe we got ____

I don't know about you, but I felt little to no relief when I said "Holy sh!t I can't believe we got . . .Pikkarainen."

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never EVER say we should go the islanders way. god forbid.

its hockeybuzz......

(if you're new here, you should know its wrong 99.99% of the time)

Єklund (2.3% accurate) (2.3% accurate) has been 100% so far this signing.

i know they are usually full of sh!t, he's just on fire this time.

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never EVER say we should go the islanders way. god forbid.

Єklund (2.3% accurate) (2.3% accurate) has been 100% so far this signing.

what signing? Koivu hasn't signed anywhere yet :lol:

wait until there is a tsn report of him signing..

Edited by nmigliore
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Don't disagree, although perhaps I should have said "value" instead of "quality". Besides Marchant, some of Moore, Malhotra, Peca, Morrison and maybe Comrie and Lang will be twisting in the wind in a week or so (and some even longer). I'd pay top dollar for a Benz, but if I need some kind of car I'd rather pay a fair price for a Hyundai than pay through the nose for a Chevy (or an Acura, for that matter). And yes, I haven't posted much lately, but I still lurk, and since I attend nearly every game I still know what's going on around the league.

taking your last point first, i don't doubt you still know your stuff.

also i think lang's career is over. his injury was brutal and i'd be incredibly hesitant to sign him.

obviously the best free agent signings are almost always the ones made on the quiet. which is why lou tried his hand at the low-rent signings of rachunek, vishnevsky, and asham, although those did not really work out. the problem with malhotra and moore is that both are young guys and both probably want 3 or 4 year deals at least - not sure the devils can hand those out. and the problem with the other guys is that they might all be finished, besides comrie, who i just can't imagine ends up a devil, not after the way lou has talked. (and same with tyler arnason too). i am glad that lou avoided the morass that was the pahlsson deal and avoided johnny madden as well - i am a little worried that he signs no one at all to play center, which leaves the team in the lurch if anyone gets hurt.

Edited by Triumph
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Yeah, look where that got them.

Because the Islanders had a Brodeur or a Parise..or an Elias...or a Martin or an Oduya...

A smart man wrote this:

To sum it up, next season the Devils have 13 players under contract at a combined $41 million plus. That leaves around $10 million if the cap goes down to around $51 million or so the way many - including Lou himself - project it will. That $10 million needs to be used for eight or nine roster spots including Martin, who will take up a good chunk of that money himself. Add in more money for RFA’s like Zajac and Clarkson and whatever long-term deal Parise gets and you can see where I’m going. For the Devils to accomplish all of this, they had to let Gionta walk and not give out any long-term deals to free agents this year.

Unfortunately fans don’t understand this because many aren’t looking ahead to ’10-11. Fact is, we don’t have expiring contracts next year and can’t shed payroll except maybe Pando if you wanted to be cruel and hide him in Lowell. Of course if you want to say good-bye to Martin next year or make some other desperate last-minute trade to get under the cap when a lot of teams won’t have either cap space or budget to take on a big deal, by all means play that game of Russian Roulette. I refuse to.

For those who want to rip Lou still, obviously you can debate the merits of a couple of the above contracts or even a few if you want, but facts are facts. This is the situation we’re in now. Two wrongs rarely make a right, spending insane money now will only put us in more of a crunch next offseason and Lou understands this.

Edited by devilsrule33
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taking your last point first, i don't doubt you still know your stuff.

also i think lang's career is over. his injury was brutal and i'd be incredibly hesitant to sign him.

obviously the best free agent signings are almost always the ones made on the quiet. which is why lou tried his hand at the low-rent signings of rachunek, vishnevsky, and asham, although those did not really work out. the problem with malhotra and moore is that both are young guys and both probably want 3 or 4 year deals at least - not sure the devils can hand those out. and the problem with the other guys is that they might all be finished, besides comrie, who i just can't imagine ends up a devil, not after the way lou has talked. (and same with tyler arnason too).

I agree - but I'm willing to bet that when the music stops one of those guys will be left without a chair, and will have to settle for something much less than the 3-4 year deals they might believe they deserve. Beggars can't be choosers, as the saying goes. As for Lang, healthy or not I've personally never understood the fascination. He always seemed like a passenger to me, and benefited from whom he played with throughout his career (MTL excepted). And I've never liked Comrie -- he always struck me as a spoiled prima donna who whines when he doesn't get what he wants.

Edited by smelly
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Because the Islanders had a Brodeur or a Parise..or an Elias...or a Martin or an Oduya...

A smart man wrote this:

I wasn't so much commenting on the "one year deals" thing he said as much as his suggestion to do anything the Islanders have done in the last 15 years. You see, I don't consider the Islanders an elite franchise; I have my reasons. :rolleyes:

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A smart man wrote this:

I know it won't quote what was there...but on top of all of that the Devils will be one of those teams able to add massive salary at the trade deadline this season, if they make no other moves. They'll be able to add like 2 max contracts at the current salary levels, I think.

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I know it won't quote what was there...but on top of all of that the Devils will be one of those teams able to add massive salary at the trade deadline this season, if they make no other moves. They'll be able to add like 2 max contracts at the current salary levels, I think.

Not so sure about "massive", but as it stands now the Devs will have some cap flexibility this year, and it would be consistent with Lou's track record to play the kids and thn fill in the holes at the deadline (he might even have the assets (i.e., cheap, NHL-ready prospects) to do something this year) -- I agree with that approach so long as the new deals we'd pick up expire at the end of this coming season.

Edited by smelly
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I know it won't quote what was there...but on top of all of that the Devils will be one of those teams able to add massive salary at the trade deadline this season, if they make no other moves. They'll be able to add like 2 max contracts at the current salary levels, I think.

That's a pretty good idea. The thing is, there'll be no need to add massive salary at the trade deadline if we're not in a position to contend for a playoff spot. I know I might be overreacting here but we can't take making the playoffs for granted. Everyone around has gotten better while we're stuck reminiscing about the glory days of Stanley Cups, Scott Stevens, and Scott Niedermayer. Heck, I watched the Elias special tonight because I wanted the feeling of winning a series again.

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