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MadDevil

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Everything posted by MadDevil

  1. I'd easily bring back that Ducks logo, but with their current colors. The webbed D might be the dumbest logo currently in the league. Something like this...
  2. They should have put blue shoulders on the home jersey. At least then it wouldn't look quite so plain.
  3. Ottawa had it right the first time, but they've gotten worse every time they change jerseys. Sometimes simpler is better. Well, except for the Devils new one, which looks like they half-assed it. But at least they didn't mess with the logo. If they did the Prudential Center may have been burned down by Devils fans (all 13 of us).
  4. Not sure why they needed to do away with the stripes on the body of the Devils jersey. This new one looks so...plain. Although it could be worse, they could have Nashville's jersey. Seriously, did Adidas just forget about them and at the last minute just threw that together? I do like the Avs going back to the old design though, and that Buffalo jersey looks so much better without that stupid piping.
  5. I'm not sure Markov is that guy anymore though. I think part of him and Subban working well together was Subban's ability to skate it out of the zone. Markov/Weber could be a pairing that gets stuck in their own end and struggles against quicker teams. Barberio could be an option, but if you're playing Weber 20+ minutes a night against the opposition's best, do you want Barberio out there that much?
  6. It'll be interesting to see how Weber does without somebody like Suter or Josi who can skate the puck out of trouble and have really good first passes. Do they have anybody that's good at skating/moving the puck they could pair with Weber?
  7. I think within 3-4 years (if not sooner) that Weber contract is going to be the worst in the league. The game is more and more about speed, and Weber has never been the quickest guy around. Now, if Montreal wins a Cup in the next few years, it's probably worth it to them. But I think with the way the game is played now Subban is a much more valuable player. I think he'll be great for Nashville.
  8. They've been trending down for a while now. 5 wins in their last 14 games, and the last two losses by a combined score of 10-1. With Cammalleri likely done for the year, I don't think they had enough left to really make a push.
  9. Gelinas has the hockey IQ of a potato and his offensive production has dropped off considerably since his rookie year. He's frustratingly inconsistent and basically three different coaching staffs have given up on him. Maybe he can still put it together somewhere else, but I doubt it. Matteau has never really shown much, but then he hasn't played much either. Guys like Farnham, Ruutu, and AHL callups were all playing over him. It doesn't help that he's waiver eligible either. He should probably be down in the AHL, but to send him down he'd have to clear waivers and they'd probably lose him for nothing. So by trading him at least they're getting something for him. Lou not forfeiting that pick is looking worse all the time.
  10. I like what Shero did today. Stempniak for a 2nd and 4th. Gelinas for a 3rd. Matteau for Smith-Pelly. Got rid of two guys (Matteau and Gelinas) who clearly weren't part of the long term plan, and got a decent return for Stempniak, who by all accounts liked playing for the Devils and could come back next year anyway. The team just ran out of gas the last 10-15 games, which I kind of expected.
  11. On the Vezina, Cory Schneider currently has a better GAA and Save % than Holtby and plays on the second lowest scoring team in the league. If they make the playoffs I think he deserves serious Hart consideration.
  12. Yeah, the Norris has always been a tough one for me. I almost feel like it's become the most valuable defenseman instead of the best defenseman, if that makes any sense. I mean, I get how valuable a guy like Karlsson or even Letang (maybe bot necessarily this season) are to their teams because of their offense, but to me the Norris should be about who the best all-around defenseman is. And a lot of those guys just don't put up the "sexy" point totals that the Karlssons and Letangs of the league do. Burns maybe being the exception this year. I almost feel like they need two awards for defensemen.
  13. I would imagine it depends on how the Pens do this year as well. If Johnston does a good job and has a good run, they can keep him. If not they can dump him and go hard after Babcock. I'm sure there will be plenty of teams interested in him.
  14. That was my first thought as well. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they're in on Babcock.
  15. Defense is important, but so is possessing the puck, keeping it out of your own end, and scoring goals. Subban can help do all of that. Is he Scott Stevens or Nick Lidstrom in his own end? No. But this isn't that era. In today's game you need players like Subban who can skate, move the puck, and contribute offensively. And he's still only 25. He likely hasn't even hit his full potential yet.
  16. I really don't see anything wrong with the contract. Yeah it's a lot of money, but considering they're buying UFA years, the cap is going up, and defensemen get money thrown at them, I think it's reasonable. Anybody who doesn't think he would have gotten that on the open market is delusional. And the next lockout is coming, regardless of whether or not this contract was signed. Why wouldn't there be one? The NHL has become more profitable than ever after missing a season and a half of games in the last decade. The fans have come back like crack addicts needing their fix. What negative consequences have the owners actually suffered after the last two lockouts?
  17. 5 years, 5 million per. Glad to see him locked up. He's a vital part of the blueline, especially with all the kids back there in the coming years. I think it's a bargain considering the money that was thrown at other defensemen this summer.
  18. Considering how mediocre the division is as a whole, I don't see any reason the Flyers couldn't make the playoffs. I think both the Pens and Rangers took a step back. The Flyers, Jackets, Caps, and Devils are all kind of in the same boat. Even the Islanders aren't that far back from that second group. The Canes are probably the worst team in the division, but I wouldn't even be shocked if they were sniffing around that 3-5 range in the division. It's pretty wide open this year.
  19. The offsides/icing thing is a slippery slope. Can you challenge any offsides/icing? What happens if the questionable offsides/icing call happens, then another couple minutes go by on the ice before a stoppage? Can you challenge immediately after the questionable call, stopping the play dead? Or would you have to wait until the next stoppage? I think offsides/icing that lead to a goal could be reviewed, but again how far back do you go? If a questionable offsides/icing took place two minutes before a goal is scored, can you review it? Not all blown offsides/icing calls immediately lead to a goal.
  20. Greene - Solid all-around defenseman who can log a lot of minutes. Not overly physical, but his positioning is excellent. One of the most underrated D-men in the league IMO. The fact that he didn't even get a call for the Olympic team was surprising, especially considering they took that pylon Orpik. His contract is up at the end of 2014-15, so getting him locked up is definitely a priority for the Devils. Losing him would be a huge blow to the blueline. Zidlicky - Pretty much the definition of a high risk/high reward offensive defenseman. He's the best on the team at skating the puck up the ice. He's basically an extra forward at times. Takes some boneheaded penalties about once every 2-3 games (usually a hooking penalty after he gets caught pinching). He's getting up there in age, so I'm not sure how much he's got left in the tank. He's basically there until Gelinas takes over in the same role. Salvador - Pylon. Dude is a warrior, but he's just old, slow, and basically useless out there now. He's a defensive defenseman who isn't even good at defending anymore. He's still living off a career playoff run in 2012 when he was somehow putting up points. Merrill - He's basically a bigger, younger, and possibly better version of Greene, or at least he will be someday. He's not there yet. Definitely had some growing pains this last season (including getting his face destroyed going into the boards his first game in the NHL), but seems to learn from his mistakes pretty quickly. I really, really like this kid. Larsson - To be honest, I have no idea what to expect from him. He looked great the first half of his rookie year, then got destroyed by Subban and wasn't the same for a long time. He started to show some signs last year when paired with Gelinas, but then got injured and sent back to the AHL. The logjam of NHL defensemen basically kept him down there the rest of the year. His skating is still kind of questionable. He's a good straight line skater, but struggles at pivoting and lateral movement at times, and still gets caught flatfooted. He's a good passer and has a pretty good shot, but rarely uses it. He basically spent most of 2012-13 focusing on his defensive play, so his offensive game has suffered a bit. It's going to be a big season for him, especially with the departures of Fayne and Volchenkov. Gelinas - Much like Zidlicky he's a high risk/high reward offensive defenseman. The combination of size, mobility, and the absolute cannon he has from the point is very intriquing. He started off looking pretty good, but his defensive play got worse over the course of the season. In fact down the stretch he was playing limited minutes (actually playing forward for a handful of games). If he can clean up his game and become even average defensively he'll be a guy to keep an eye on. Harrold - Pretty much the definition of a depth defenseman. Decent skater, can move the puck reasonably well, and isn't a complete disaster in his own end. But he's a smaller guy and tends to get pushed around pretty easily. Has at times been overused the last couple seasons because he's earned the trust of the coaching staff (he has the nickname Pete Jr. for a reason). This season is definitely going to be an interesting one for the Devils defense. The loss of Fayne will definitely be felt. He was one of those guys that did a lot of little things well, and logged a lot of key minutes. He and Volchenkov, along with Greene and Salvador, logged most of the PK time. So a couple of guys are going to have to step up into those roles. Zidlicky and Gelinas aren't exactly the most reliable in their own end, which basically leaves Merrill and Larsson. If Merrill continues his development and Larsson takes a step forward, they'll probably be okay there. But I fully expect there to be some growing pains with three young defensemen in the lineup. It's actually kind of funny. Devils fans have been complaining for two years about the logjam on defense, and now that it's been cleared we're worried about what happens if the kids falter. I like Harrold as an extra defenseman, but he's not really much of a safety blanket.
  21. For the Devils... Cammalleri - Zajac - Jagr Elias - Henrique - Havlat I think the top line is pretty obvious, given that Zajac and Jagr play well together but need somebody on the left side who can put the puck in the net. The second line is where it could get interesting. Elias and Henrique work well together, so it's natural to keep them together. I'm penciling Havlat in now simply based on the familiarity he has with his buddy Elias. If Havlat can stay healthy, I think that could be a pretty good line. If he can't, or the chemistry doesn't work, I could see Ryder or Brunner being given some time on that line. The other thing to keep in mind with the top six is that Elias and Henrique have both played center and wing. So if Cammalleri doesn't work on the top line, they could move one of them up and put Cammalleri with the other on the second line. The Devils really only have 5 legitimate top six forwards. Havlat is questionable because of his health, Ryder was utterly invisible the last 30+ games of the season, and Brunner is incredibly streaky. Clowe is kind of a wild card. He's a guy who can play with top six forwards, but he's just as injury prone as Havlat and moves at a glacial pace. Ruutu and Zubrus are third liners, but both spent some time with Zajac and Jagr last year, so if they run into injuries or everything goes to hell I suppose they could find themselves there again.
  22. Isn't the maximum fine they can give a player $5,000? Does anybody really think that's going to stop players from diving? They need to hit players where it really counts, and that's being able to play. Fine them the first time as a warning and then start handing down game misconducts and suspensions. Enough with the slap on the wrist BS.
  23. John Scott and Scott Hannan, the cornerstones of any rebuild.
  24. Hasn't Markstrom been one of the up-and-coming goalies in this league for the last 3-4 years? I'm starting to wonder if the kid will ever make it.
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