Lou Lams

[Z-Man]

We all could see that the Kovy signing was not Lou's doing. VBK was obviously the driving force in his signing.

However, the problems with the roster are COMPLETELY his fault. He was going to show the NHL that even after the Kovy saga, the cap wouldn't cause him to lose any players due to the new contract. And where does that leave the Devils now? With a shorthanded roster, going into Pittsburgh, still looking for win #1. With 15 skaters.

I'm sure some might point out that 4th liners may not mean much in the grand scheme of things. So what if Tim Sestito or Patrick Davis aren't here to get 4-5 shifts? Ask the top lines how they'll feel after logging 28-30 minutes a game after a month or two.

ONE player played all 82 games last year for NJ - Travis Zajac. It's shortsighted to leave your team so undermanned because you can't/won't make the necessary moves to allow some roster flexibility.

Is David Conte ready to be GM already?

Just my 2 cents.

[Daniel]

We all could see that the Kovy signing was not Lou's doing. VBK was obviously the driving force in his signing.

However, the problems with the roster are COMPLETELY his fault. He was going to show the NHL that even after the Kovy saga, the cap wouldn't cause him to lose any players due to the new contract. And where does that leave the Devils now? With a shorthanded roster, going into Pittsburgh, still looking for win #1. With 15 skaters.

I'm sure some might point out that 4th liners may not mean much in the grand scheme of things. So what if Tim Sestito or Patrick Davis aren't here to get 4-5 shifts? Ask the top lines how they'll feel after logging 28-30 minutes a game after a month or two.

ONE player played all 82 games last year for NJ - Travis Zajac. It's shortsighted to leave your team so undermanned because you can't/won't make the necessary moves to allow some roster flexibility.

Is David Conte ready to be GM already?

Just my 2 cents.

So let me get this straight, you're saying VBK is responsible for the Kovy signing, which is what is causing our cap problems right now, but somehow Lou has intentionally engineered a cap nightmare for spite. Wow.

Also, Conte isn't any great shakes. He's had about as many misses as hits over the years, and has really never found that diamond in the rough, like Lidstrom, Lundqvist (yes, him) and Zetterberg.

[DevsMan84]

Also, Conte isn't any great shakes. He's had about as many misses as hits over the years, and has really never found that diamond in the rough, like Lidstrom, Lundqvist (yes, him) and Zetterberg.

Could not agree more with this.

[SatansDevils]

It was not all Vanderbeek's doing. Lou was a big part of re-signing Kovalchuk.

GM Lou Lamoriello, not owner, calling shots for Devils

http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/2010/10/gm_lou_lamoriello_not_owner_ca.html

Before NHL commissioner Gary Bettman flexed his muscles this summer and rejected Ilya Kovalchuk’s 17-year contract with the Devils, the talk had already begun circulating that it was solely owner Jeff Vanderbeek’s signing.

The tweeters, bloggers, columnists and talk radio know-it-alls claimed general manager Lou Lamoriello wouldn’t have done it willingly. Not without being pushed by Vanderbeek, who is tired of seeing his team knocked out of the playoffs in the first round the past three years and wanted to make a splash by keeping a marquee player.

It was a plausible theory. Few could envision Lamoriello giving out a $100 million contract that impacted the team’s entire salary structure and will continue to do so as he tries to keep dynamic forward Zach Parise. It appeared the GM’s power had diminished and Vanderbeek, whose background is the mega-deals of boom time Wall Street, was now making the big decisions.

In reality, that is not the case at all.

The team the Devils put on the ice for Friday night’s season opener against the Dallas Stars at the Prudential Center will be Lamoriello’s team. And the only way he would not have signed Kovalchuk to what ultimately became a 15-year, $100 million deal would have been a flat-out refusal by Vanderbeek to part with the money.

“I know there has been a lot of speculation,” Vanderbeek told The Star-Ledger, “but I would just say this: As far as signing Kovalchuk, (Anton) Volchenkov, (Henrik) Tallinder and (Johan) Hedberg, we go through the same process. ... And Lou is the hockey guy. I would be out of my mind (not to defer). There is nobody better than Lou to make these decisions. ...

Edited October 11, 2010 by SatansDevils

[sundstrom]

Also, Conte isn't any great shakes. He's had about as many misses as hits over the years, and has really never found that diamond in the rough, like Lidstrom, Lundqvist (yes, him) and Zetterberg.

clarkson, madden, rafalski and oduya say hello. of course they're not on the same magnitude but the wins for conte come from undrafted guys usually.

[Triumph]

So let me get this straight, you're saying VBK is responsible for the Kovy signing, which is what is causing our cap problems right now, but somehow Lou has intentionally engineered a cap nightmare for spite. Wow.

Also, Conte isn't any great shakes. He's had about as many misses as hits over the years, and has really never found that diamond in the rough, like Lidstrom, Lundqvist (yes, him) and Zetterberg.

these are mostly the product of good luck. the rangers thought so highly of lundqvist in 2004 that they drafted a goalie in the top 10.

[MantaRay]

We all could see that the Kovy signing was not Lou's doing. VBK was obviously the driving force in his signing.

However, the problems with the roster are COMPLETELY his fault. He was going to show the NHL that even after the Kovy saga, the cap wouldn't cause him to lose any players due to the new contract. And where does that leave the Devils now? With a shorthanded roster, going into Pittsburgh, still looking for win #1. With 15 skaters.

I'm sure some might point out that 4th liners may not mean much in the grand scheme of things. So what if Tim Sestito or Patrick Davis aren't here to get 4-5 shifts? Ask the top lines how they'll feel after logging 28-30 minutes a game after a month or two.

ONE player played all 82 games last year for NJ - Travis Zajac. It's shortsighted to leave your team so undermanned because you can't/won't make the necessary moves to allow some roster flexibility.

Is David Conte ready to be GM already?

Just my 2 cents.

I don't doubt that the Kovy mistake was VBK, but blaming Lou for the cap problems as a result of this signing are a little much. Lou's hands are tied.

[Jerrydevil]

The criticism of Lamoriello is fair, but I expect Lamoriello to do what's necessary to give this team more flexibility ... soon.

[mrthemike]

We all could see that the Kovy signing was not Lou's doing. VBK was obviously the driving force in his signing.

However, the problems with the roster are COMPLETELY his fault. He was going to show the NHL that even after the Kovy saga, the cap wouldn't cause him to lose any players due to the new contract. And where does that leave the Devils now? With a shorthanded roster, going into Pittsburgh, still looking for win #1. With 15 skaters.

I'm sure some might point out that 4th liners may not mean much in the grand scheme of things. So what if Tim Sestito or Patrick Davis aren't here to get 4-5 shifts? Ask the top lines how they'll feel after logging 28-30 minutes a game after a month or two.

ONE player played all 82 games last year for NJ - Travis Zajac. It's shortsighted to leave your team so undermanned because you can't/won't make the necessary moves to allow some roster flexibility.

Is David Conte ready to be GM already?

Just my 2 cents.

[Amberite]

28-30 minutes a game? Really? I guarantee you that even if we stay with 20 players (which we won't), no player will play any greater than 30 seconds more than he did last year.

[Devilsfan118]

...wow. Thanks for your 2cents, but you'll have to forgive me if i don't put too much consideration into them.

So the fact that lou couldn't find a trade that would really help the devils is irrelevant. It's totally an EGO thing? You tell me this, would you be happier right now if we had simply shipped off zubrus for a 5th round pick? We'd have cap space to replace a suspended 4th liner, thank goodness...

You're assumptions about how everything went down this past summer have not only been publicly declared false but are just..unbacked.

There's a nice thread entitled 'DOOOOMMMEDD' you should check out. Try and keep the melt-down posts like these in there, instead of making a new thread.

[Daniel]

clarkson, madden, rafalski and oduya say hello. of course they're not on the same magnitude but the wins for conte come from undrafted guys usually.

Clarkson and Madden are/were nice players, but really, you could throw darts at those press scouting lists and find a few nice players in the later rounds over a period of 10 years. Oduya was a Caps draft pick, and really isn't anything better than a second pairing defenseman.

Really Rafalski was the big steal, although from what I've heard he was on other teams' radars when the Devils signed him.

[msweet]

let's wait until dec 15th to have this discussion

[Z-Man]

Wow, lots of black and red colored glasses here. This isn't about a two game losing streak. It's not allowing your team to be prepared for the long haul.

What happens if two more players get hurt today? Are we going with 13 skaters?

Lou's hands are not tied, he had ample time to make the necessary moves so that this team could be prepared for the inevitable game-to-game injuries.

There's a reason most teams use all 23 roster spots.

And it's not just a "suspended fourth liner" as one of the geniuses stated. Let's just keep playing hurt/injured players like Rolston and Volchenkov instead of having the luxury to sit them for a game or two to heal.

And yes, I'm SURE VBK was going to come right out and say "Kovy was all my idea," rather than defer to Lou. He spent 20+ years building a perfect hockey model, both on the ice and financially. Now he's going to change and give out $100 million contracts???? Gimme a break.

Edited October 11, 2010 by Z-Man

[Triumph]

Clarkson and Madden are/were nice players, but really, you could throw darts at those press scouting lists and find a few nice players in the later rounds over a period of 10 years. Oduya was a Caps draft pick, and really isn't anything better than a second pairing defenseman.

Really Rafalski was the big steal, although from what I've heard he was on other teams' radars when the Devils signed him.

no, you can't. that isn't the point, anyway. the devils have been the best team in the league at finding undrafted talent. there's also much less chance in signing undrafted free agents because there's more information about them.

[newarkdev01]

Honestly I didn't think we could have panic threads after only two games but whatev. Bottom line is the D stinks, making mistakes all over the place but mainly in their own zone and it feels like this problem has existed for a while, it's just especially bad this year.

[halfsharkalligatorhalfman]

The only decision Lou has made which has hurt the team in camp is not waiving Salvador before he got hurt, which is impossible to foresee.

Since we don't know what trades were available in camp, the OP's criticism is unfounded. Any players Lou could have waived before the season he can waive now (cept for Salvador). How exactly did Lou's arrogance hurt the team? Other than Mair not playing this is the best roster the Devils have, and any moves made to get Mair to the team (like waiving Zubrus) would make the team worse.

He's done the best he could with the options in place, baring some unseen trade option he refused for whatever reason, that's the only possible conclusion an observer could make.

Edited October 11, 2010 by halfsharkalligatorhalfman

[Triumph]

Wow, lots of black and red colored glasses here. This isn't about a two game losing streak. It's not allowing your team to be prepared for the long haul.

What happens if two more players get hurt today? Are we going with 13 skaters?

so lou has to be prepared for 4 injuries. do you know how many other teams in the league are prepared for that? well i can name some that are - atlanta, the islanders, colorado, florida... there's a lot of teams that would be playing short if that happened. it's part of being competitive in the NHL today.

Lou's hands are not tied, he had ample time to make the necessary moves so that this team could be prepared for the inevitable game-to-game injuries.

what if the moves weren't there?

There's a reason most teams use all 23 roster spots.

yes, there is a reason, it's because teams sign too many one-way contracts and don't like burying them. a 23 man roster is totally unneeded. even if lou cleared enough space, i wouldn't want him to use one.

And it's not just a "suspended fourth liner" as one of the geniuses stated. Let's just keep playing hurt/injured players like Rolston and Volchenkov instead of having the luxury to sit them for a game or two to heal.

the devils could sit both of them if they wanted.

And yes, I'm SURE VBK was going to come right out and say "Kovy was all my idea," rather than defer to Lou. He spent 20+ years building a perfect hockey model, both on the ice and financially. Now he's going to change and give out $100 million contracts???? Gimme a break.

yes, i'm sure a player having to play 2 more minutes in a game is a reason not to sign a monumentally talented scoring winger, the sort of player who would not be available to the devils again in lou's tenure as GM. there's some cracks in that perfect hockey model given that the devils haven't been competitive in the second round in 7 years.

Edited October 11, 2010 by Triumph

[Neb00rs]

let's wait until dec 15th to have this discussion

[Pepperkorn]

I have no idea what's going through Lou's mind. I know that when I get to this sort of spot -- which isn't so bad I personally feel, it's more like.... I don't want to make a move --

Admittedly he IS making choices that might lead one to believe he can't really see the game board. He wants to be thinking 2 moves ahead but -- other people, GMs are not behaving logically enough. He's gotten to be a little too dependent on the other guy since the lockout.

The CBA is ... I dont know --- it's useless and illogical and ties everyone's hands -- breeds greed, impetuosity, disloyalty -- it's worse than before somehow. It seems like it shouldn't have been that way but it is.

I dont think Lou doesn't know what he's doing in a intellectual way -- it's more like the geography is too kinetic - and I'm not sure why it's all the way it is.

I guess thing of it is -- nothing could be worse than what the Devils had -- but it looks like at this rate they will INDEED be playing with NOTHING...

Edited October 11, 2010 by Pepperkorn

[El Diablo]

as a huge lou detractor I cannot back this thread .. we got arguably the best offensive player in the history of the franchise for many years to come.

. eggs will get broken when you make omeletts...it is the nature of things...

[DevilinLA]

as a huge lou detractor I cannot back this thread .. we got arguably the best offensive player in the history of the franchise for many years to come.

. eggs will get broken when you make omeletts...it is the nature of things...

This is huge for Diablo. My respect for you just shot up tons.

After reading years of Lou-criticism every off-season with his moves and non-moves you stepped up to give props to a ballsy-Lou move The kind this team really needed.

I am now convinced that you are not just one of those pessimistic, damned-if-he-does-damned-if-he-doesn't folks here on this board.

Made my day.

[Daniel]

no, you can't. that isn't the point, anyway. the devils have been the best team in the league at finding undrafted talent. there's also much less chance in signing undrafted free agents because there's more information about them.

Again, besides Rafalski there aren't any undrafted free agents or later round picks who are/were anything other than nice players. And while I'm not going to take the time to go through every team's late round picks over the years, I'd bet that the Devils are at the middle of the pack when it comes to finding "nice players" or better.

This isn't a Conte sucks thing, it's just that I can't see him being anything other than a so-so GM, at least based on his scouting.

[Devilsfan118]

Forgive me if this comes across as uninformed, but is it the GM's job to scout players? Or rather, is scouting ability an important quality when considering potential GM skill?

[Triumph]

Again, besides Rafalski there aren't any undrafted free agents or later round picks who are/were anything other than nice players. And while I'm not going to take the time to go through every team's late round picks over the years, I'd bet that the Devils are at the middle of the pack when it comes to finding "nice players" or better.

'i'm not going to look, but i happen to be wrong, i just don't want to check'. okay, that's fair. the devils have more undrafted free agents on their team than anyone else, and it's not close. right now the devils have clarkson, greene, pelley, taormina, and salmela. yes, most of these players are 'nothing special', but finding something special is largely chance.

This isn't a Conte sucks thing, it's just that I can't see him being anything other than a so-so GM, at least based on his scouting.

i'm not sure conte wants to be a general manager, but how many other scouts around the league do you know? what about the guy that found sidney crosby? that guy can really identify talent. same with the guy who found alex ovechkin - there's a sharp eye.