Three Things We No Longer Have To Worry About

[Triumph]

I was against the Lemaire hire initially, but came around once I heard what Lemaire had to say. This is a man who understands hockey, not someone who just came up with a wrinkle and was now going through the motions trying to get that now-outmoded wrinkle to work.

1. Zach Parise's career as an elite NHL player is not over

Where Lemaire got the reputation as a star-killer, I'm not sure - perhaps from Steve Thomas, Bill Guerin, Stephane Richer, and Doug Gilmour from his Devils days. Certainly Marian Gaborik was not held back by Lemaire, as he dominated (when healthy) after the lockout. Parise has followed suit, as he's played 24 games, he has 30 points, and his SOG/G is 4.54, whereas last year it was 4.44.

2. Niclas Bergfors (and David Clarkson) have adequately replaced Brian Gionta

There was some hemming and hawing about losing Gionta - Bergfors is in some ways a very similar player. He is on pace for a 55 point season - something which I doubt he will reach even if he stays healthy - but clearly the Devils are not missing much by letting the 5'5", $5 million dollar man walk. The Devils still have a below-average offense, but it's not (yet) the disaster that some predicted.

3. The Devils have played extremely disciplined hockey and there is no reason to think this won't continue

The Devils never draw more penalties than the NHL average, so it was a concern to see how close to the NHL average the Devils were in power plays against last season; the Devils had 17 more penalty kills than power plays. The Devils are obviously getting a little lucky with penalties - many players are well below their career averages - but so far this season they have 19 more power plays than penalty kills. I wouldn't be surprised if this number levels out, as it is difficult to have (Power Plays - Penalty Kills) above 40. Only Carolina (73) and Phoenix (50) managed this feat last season.

[DevilNurn]

2. Niclas Bergfors (and David Clarkson) have adequately replaced Brian Gionta

Yeah, I was very worried about this after the lack of a #2 RW that was a pure right wing, and I was very glad to see Bergfors blossom into the player he has. I've been worried because of his injuries and his "off-seasons" that he would disappear into the depth charts and never really make it, but it looks like he's a legitimate NHL player, and playing with Zach and Travis no less. It's also nice to have a successful rookie, since we never really got one last year.

3. The Devils have played extremely disciplined hockey and there is no reason to think this won't continue

Yeah, this has been the most notable thing about the Devils start. If they're still playing well regardless of injuries, it really says something about the coach and the organization. They're playing a system and they're sticking to it. The "bikes" have been much less necessary this year. Even the games they've lost have been, for the most part, understandable and close. I'm not sure how to feel yet about the playoffs or anything, but it looks like we're in for another quality regular season, especially once everyone gets healthy again.

[devilsrule33]

Maybe he got the reputation because Gaborik never put up ridiculous numbers because of injury, and some lazy people only looked at the points total without the GP total. I don't think I was ever worried that Lemaire would hurt Zach's production, rather that Zach set the bar a little too high last year and wasn't going to be able too match it. I certainly don't think that's the case anymore. I don't think anyone on the team is suffering because of Lemaire and his style. Everyone's production seems higher. Zach's actually getting more TOI and is more responsible defensively.

Bergfors has been great, and Jacques is doing such a good job with him. He's not letting him off the hook for anything (even a 3 point night) and that can only be good for a rookie.

As for the penalties...it helps that Holik is gone and Zubrus is out right now. But Langenbrunner is starting to take his stupid penalties. And there is a certain defenseman (we won't name names) who is known for taking stupid penalties but only has two minors so far.

Edited November 30, 2009 by devilsrule33

[HellOnICE]

One thing I've noticed too, is the lack of last second/minute goals being scored on against the Devils. It seems in recent years, the defensive play was lacking towards the end of games and often blew leads. At least it seemed that way.

Tri is right about the below average offense, but nothing is definitive yet. We haven't seen a full roster, with defense complimenting forwards in full form so it's hard to say if things won't pick up once the new year rolls around.

[Devs4LIFE]

I wish we could add injuries to the list.

[DevilMinder]

One thing I've noticed too, is the lack of last second/minute goals being scored on against the Devils. It seems in recent years, the defensive play was lacking towards the end of games and often blew leads. At least it seemed that way.

Tri is right about the below average offense, but nothing is definitive yet. We haven't seen a full roster, with defense complimenting forwards in full form so it's hard to say if things won't pick up once the new year rolls around.

I agree on this one completely it seemed you had to watch till the end of the game to know the true outcome. The Devils are doing a lot better than the middle of the pack I thought they would be at.

[CRASHER]

One thing I've noticed too, is the lack of last second/minute goals being scored on against the Devils. It seems in recent years, the defensive play was lacking towards the end of games and often blew leads. At least it seemed that way.

That problem seemed to be sent packing to Calgary also this year :whistling:

[Jerrydevil]

I never was worried about Parise, and I'm surprised Tri listed that as if it were a concern among a lot of fans. I must not have been reading those threads.

Replacing Gionta, yeah, I was worried about that.

[adavid]

I wish we could add injuries to the list.

And Rolston - though for the first time, I am hopeful there.

[Triumph]

As for the penalties...it helps that Holik is gone and Zubrus is out right now. But Langenbrunner is starting to take his stupid penalties. And there is a certain defenseman (we won't name names) who is known for taking stupid penalties but only has two minors so far.

i assume we're talking about colin white, and that reputation is just grossly undeserved at this point. White had 13 minors in 57 games in 08, 23 minors in 71 games last season. that's really not awful - the 23 minors ranked 66th among defensemen last season.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I was against the Lemaire hire initially, but came around once I heard what Lemaire had to say. This is a man who understands hockey, not someone who just came up with a wrinkle and was now going through the motions trying to get that now-outmoded wrinkle to work.

I thought anyone who felt this way about Lemaire was being unfair. I thought his track record at least earned him an open mind approach on behalf of the fans.

1. Zach Parise's career as an elite NHL player is not over

Where Lemaire got the reputation as a star-killer, I'm not sure - perhaps from Steve Thomas, Bill Guerin, Stephane Richer, and Doug Gilmour from his Devils days. Certainly Marian Gaborik was not held back by Lemaire, as he dominated (when healthy) after the lockout. Parise has followed suit, as he's played 24 games, he has 30 points, and his SOG/G is 4.54, whereas last year it was 4.44.

I wasn't worried about #1 at all, though I did think that last season could very well be Parise's career year...having said that, I wasn't expecting a Gionta-type dropoff for Zach (I was thinking 75-85 points a season going forward, with a low-90 season or two sprinkled in). If those players are the guys Lemaire detractors point to to make their cases, then Guerin, Richer and Gilmour are flawed (Guerin was still developing, Richer's first two seasons under Lemaire were actually quite good, and Gilmour was declining)...Thomas' point-per-game total in his last 10 seasons was .621. In his three seasons with the Devils it was .616. In only one of those 10 seasons did he put up a significantly better PPG number: .935, in his first season with the Maple Leafs in '98-'99. He also had a hot streak with Anaheim where he put up 10 goals in 12 GP after being acquired from the Blackhawks (10 G in 12 GP), but he did that with an absurdly high 37.0 shooting%.

2. Niclas Bergfors (and David Clarkson) have adequately replaced Brian Gionta

There was some hemming and hawing about losing Gionta - Bergfors is in some ways a very similar player. He is on pace for a 55 point season - something which I doubt he will reach even if he stays healthy - but clearly the Devils are not missing much by letting the 5'5", $5 million dollar man walk. The Devils still have a below-average offense, but it's not (yet) the disaster that some predicted.

I can't understand why anyone would hem and haw about losing Gio. His numbers were headed the wrong way (four staight seasons of declining goal totals), and at what Montreal was offering Lou would have been out of his mind to keep what is basically a slightly (VERY slightly) above-average player who had one fluke season. Don't forget Rolston in this equation, inconsistent as he may be...he suddenly has a very respectable 8 goals (2nd on the team) in 23 GP...that pro-rates to 28 goals. But yeah, Bergfors/Clarkson/Rolston have definitely offset Gio leaving.

3. The Devils have played extremely disciplined hockey and there is no reason to think this won't continue

The Devils never draw more penalties than the NHL average, so it was a concern to see how close to the NHL average the Devils were in power plays against last season; the Devils had 17 more penalty kills than power plays. The Devils are obviously getting a little lucky with penalties - many players are well below their career averages - but so far this season they have 19 more power plays than penalty kills. I wouldn't be surprised if this number levels out, as it is difficult to have (Power Plays - Penalty Kills) above 40. Only Carolina (73) and Phoenix (50) managed this feat last season.

How did they fare under Lemaire previously? It might not mean all that much considering that the rosters are almost 100% different, but Lemaire is known for disciplined teams.

Kind of funny how Carolina led in this category last season...you'd think with all the whining their fans and players do every time the 'Canes are whistled for ANYTHING that couldn't be possible.

[Jerrydevil]

I can't understand why anyone would hem and haw about losing Gio. His numbers were headed the wrong way (four staight seasons of declining goal totals), and at what Montreal was offering Lou would have been out of his mind to keep what is basically a slightly (VERY slightly) above-average player who had one fluke season.

It's not that I disagreed with the decision to pass on Gionta. (I still can't believe he got that big a contract. It only takes one team, though.) I was just concerned about an unproven Bergfors' ability to replace Gionta on a top line. As a worst-case scenario, I was worried that he would fizzle like rookies sometimes do.

[peteyvegas]

I'm happy to see that our break out is better than the last few years. Considering that we have so many rookies and mixed pairings on defense, Lemaire must have shown them something different. We haven't been pinned down nearly as often as in past years (the first 2 minutes of the Isles game notwithstanding).

[msweet]

It was Rolston's job to replace Gionta, not Bergfors or Clarkson.

It is hard to measure how we will do next year when we have played with such a depleted roster.

[Prucenterrules]

I wish we could add injuries to the list.

+1. Great topic in my opinion because I too was against Lemaire but now I couldn't be happier with his hiring.

[CRASHER]

It was Rolston's job to replace Gionta, not Bergfors or Clarkson.

It is hard to measure how we will do next year when we have played with such a depleted roster.

Does it really matter who does as long as the role was filled???

(you're nitpicking a bit...)

And 8g, 5a (6g, 3 a in the month too)... is about what we'd expect from Gio too.....

[Jerrydevil]

It was Rolston's job to replace Gionta, not Bergfors or Clarkson.

It is hard to measure how we will do next year when we have played with such a depleted roster.

I suppose it made more sense to look at it that way. As it turns out, however, Bergfors is pretty effective and he just might get 20 to 25 goals if he isn't the next Devil to go on IR.

[Triumph]

It was Rolston's job to replace Gionta, not Bergfors or Clarkson.

It is hard to measure how we will do next year when we have played with such a depleted roster.

no? brian rolston played on the devils last year. i understand what you're thinking, but ultimately someone has to play in gionta's spot.

[MantaRay]

I was against the Lemaire hire initially, but came around once I heard what Lemaire had to say. This is a man who understands hockey, not someone who just came up with a wrinkle and was now going through the motions trying to get that now-outmoded wrinkle to work.

1. Zach Parise's career as an elite NHL player is not over

Where Lemaire got the reputation as a star-killer, I'm not sure - perhaps from Steve Thomas, Bill Guerin, Stephane Richer, and Doug Gilmour from his Devils days. Certainly Marian Gaborik was not held back by Lemaire, as he dominated (when healthy) after the lockout. Parise has followed suit, as he's played 24 games, he has 30 points, and his SOG/G is 4.54, whereas last year it was 4.44.

2. Niclas Bergfors (and David Clarkson) have adequately replaced Brian Gionta

There was some hemming and hawing about losing Gionta - Bergfors is in some ways a very similar player. He is on pace for a 55 point season - something which I doubt he will reach even if he stays healthy - but clearly the Devils are not missing much by letting the 5'5", $5 million dollar man walk. The Devils still have a below-average offense, but it's not (yet) the disaster that some predicted.

3. The Devils have played extremely disciplined hockey and there is no reason to think this won't continue

The Devils never draw more penalties than the NHL average, so it was a concern to see how close to the NHL average the Devils were in power plays against last season; the Devils had 17 more penalty kills than power plays. The Devils are obviously getting a little lucky with penalties - many players are well below their career averages - but so far this season they have 19 more power plays than penalty kills. I wouldn't be surprised if this number levels out, as it is difficult to have (Power Plays - Penalty Kills) above 40. Only Carolina (73) and Phoenix (50) managed this feat last season.

I was in the same boat about Lemaire. I take it all back, he is doing a fantastic job, especially with the kids and teaching them.

[ZeroGravityFat]

i'm happy to see the devils are right where i would like to see them in december, leading the entire league on games played/wins ratio since we are always behind on games played until jan/feb, and we are barely noticed most of the time, except for the away record we were going for that stuck us out too much, now we are discarded once again to be underdog and should cruise to a top 4 in the east.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

It's not that I disagreed with the decision to pass on Gionta. (I still can't believe he got that big a contract. It only takes one team, though.) I was just concerned about an unproven Bergfors' ability to replace Gionta on a top line. As a worst-case scenario, I was worried that he would fizzle like rookies sometimes do.

It was time for Bergfors to get his shot. He had played four seasons in the AHL and was coming off his best. The Devils needed to find out what they had...he could still fizzle (like everyone I'm hoping he doesn't, and I like Lemaire's approach in handling him), but whatever happens with him, the Devils are getting needed answers either way. I went into the season hoping for 40-50 points...like Tri pointed out, that's very much a realistic possibility, even with a downturn.

Gio just wasn't contributing enough to warrant concern...I've pointed it out before, but the numbers post-lockout for Gio are very black-and-white: 55 goals in his first 90 GP, 60 goals in his last 217 GP as a Devil. Everything was aligned perfectly for Gio to leave: 1) Absurd contract offer for his level of production, 2) A necessary roster spot for Bergfors, 3) Expected increases in production for Zajac and Rolston...what Clarkson has done is terrific, but I don't know how much more could really be expected from him over last season's numbers...I consider what he's contributed offensively as more of a bonus.

[thiswontwork]

I think what is most encouraging is what I see in the younger players the devils have and the mixed blessing the injuries have provided. If nothing else, the devs now have trade bait from Lowell and have proven that they dont' really need a pandalfo and don't have to chase a contract on Martin (I may like him but we never overpay). I can't speak for anyone else but I had been concerned about how old the devs were getting so all the production thats gotten from the rooks is great for me.

[DevilinLA]

I think what is most encouraging is what I see in the younger players the devils have and the mixed blessing the injuries have provided. If nothing else, the devs now have trade bait from Lowell and have proven that they dont' really need a pandalfo and don't have to chase a contract on Martin (I may like him but we never overpay). I can't speak for anyone else but I had been concerned about how old the devs were getting so all the production thats gotten from the rooks is great for me.

No doubt the kids look good....but....

We still very much need to chase Martin, just to what dollar extent is the question.

No team other than CAR has won a cup w/o a stud #1 D man, and Paully is the closest thing to that.

The kids, Greene, Sally, Mottau and Co. can eat some minutes but can't sustain this level of minutes/vs./performance for any great length of time. Plus they lack the poise and experience Martin brings to the big games.

[Amberite]

No doubt the kids look good....but....

We still very much need to chase Martin, just to what dollar extent is the question.

No team other than CAR has won a cup w/o a stud #1 D man, and Paully is the closest thing to that.

The kids, Greene, Sally, Mottau and Co. can eat some minutes but can't sustain this level of minutes/vs./performance for any great length of time. Plus they lack the poise and experience Martin brings to the big games.

Honestly, how much more can Martin ask for? We're already paying him close to 4 million. $5.5 - 6 million is the upper limit of what he can ask for, imo. That's not as big of a deal as everyone makes it out to be.

[Deke]

As typical with most things with this team, with the Lemaire signing, we obviously missed something that Lou saw. Thats why we are in the stands and he's in the box.