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Are the Devils trying to join a 35 and older beer league or what?

yave1964

By yave1964
in New Jersey Devils

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yave1964 Mentor

yave1964

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  Scott Gomez is making a comeback with the Devils, having tried out for the team during camp and not quite making it, he hung around in case someone got injured or what not, and he just got resigned to a contract with the Devils proving you can come home again. As a matter of a fact, he just assisted on a goal by Jagr.

 

 The Devils are sitting at 10-13-4 and kind of sort of in the Race for the 3rd playoff spot in the Metropolitan. So they hav went out and added every senior citizen who can still stand on skates to go along with their own list of over thirties already there. The list includes:

 

Jagr      42

Gomez  34

Havlat   33

Zidlicky   37

Salvador  38

Elias  38

Ryder  34

Ruutu    31

Tootoo   31

Zubrus  36

Clemmenson 37

Clowe   32

Greene 32

Harrold 32

Cammaleri  32

Gionta  32

 

  Sixteen players over 30 who play either regularly or in the case o Clemmenson and Tootoo irregular minutes. Most of these guys are past their prime, not by a little but a lot, they shouldn't be playing theback nine, the should be in the clubhouse enjoying a nice cold Metamucil.

 

  Damian Brunner was released the other day to sign Gomez. I guess Brunner just was not old enough.

 

 The prospects in the organization are a bit thin at the top right now, maybe if the Devils slip out of contention they can deal many of these old guys for picks or prospects. Because by the time te Devils are going to be serious contenders again, most of this bunch will be retired anyway. They have helped create the illusion of semi-respectability.

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MadDevil Newbie

MadDevil

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Brunner was waived because he has the hockey sense of a fencepost.

The rest is what happens when you struggle at drafting forwards for the better part of a decade. And the best forward they've drafted since probably Elias is playing in Minnesota. Add to that Kovalchuk bolting to Russia and they've had to try to fill huge holes via free agency. Tedenby turning out to be a bust and Josefson turning out to be a run of the mill bottom six forward certainly doesn't help. All they can really do is draft more forwards, use stopgaps for the next couple years, and hope their picks pan out. Or move one of the kids on defense for a young forward. Or maybe a little of both. It's as close to a rebuild as they've had in the last 20 years.

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TropicalFruitGirl26 Grand Master

TropicalFruitGirl26

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Hah...NJ could certainly use a nice infusion of youth on those front lines.

 

I think a combination of losing a bunch of good vets after their last Stanley Cup Finals appearance and suitable replacements simply not being as readily available has lead NJ to try to 'patch work' their lineup with the older re-treads they current have.

 

It's an interesting, if not particularly successful dynamic in NJ: a defense that is probably way to green (if you remove Zlidlicky and Salvador), and a forwards group that is most likely way too old (save for a few good young players like Adam Henrique) to sustain success long term.

Then you have a goaltender in Cory Schneider who is neither green nor long in the tooth....goalie in his prime having extremes at both ends playing in front of him.

Crazy stuff.

 

All cracks about 'aged players' aside, gotta give props to Jaromir Jagr still.

On any other team with a balanced roster in terms of skill and age, Jagr would most likely be an EXCELLENT 3rd liner, maybe a good 2nd PP unit guy, playing decent minutes, and helping to add unbelievable depth to the team.

 

On NJ, he is almost forced to play more minutes than he probably should have to at this stage of his career (and still doing an admirable job at that!), due to the fact that NJ is just imbalanced on their roster...plus the injuries they have had to deal with to guys like Mike Cammaleri who were expected to help come in and stabilize things.

 

Now they get Scott Gomez back...a guy who everyone in the NHL, including the fans, had written off with good reason.

He had two assists in the game tonight against the Canes....sure, just one game for him, and it IS against Carolina who are relative bottom dwellers right now, but still...imagine if he can somehow resurrect himself again in NJ, Jagr continuing to do what he is doing....Cammalleri and Henrique come back strong, and guys like Zajac and Elias can show they still have a bit left in their respective tanks....NJ could cause some problems for other teams within their own division.

 

Long term though, they have a TON of UFA contracts coming up.

And if I were NJ, I'd start planning NOW, who will be kept on board, but more importantly, what young guys they have in their system, or that they can get via trade or free agency that can help lower the overall mean age on the team.

 

Otherwise, they just may have to do what they have done the last two seasons including this one: That is continuing to sign 'beer league' players to contracts and try to keep trying to catch lightning in a bottle!   :P

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yave1964 Mentor

yave1964

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@MadDevil

 

I have loved your Brunner comments, when he was with the Wings he was terrible, just absolutely wretched without the puck. Possibly the worst forward i have ever seen in all my years of watching Hockey playing without the puck. No idea where to go, when t be there, or what to do when he got there. He cost us a game out in Calgary once, the Wings were doing a line change, Brunner jumped off with his mates rather than play the puck, by doing so the Flames wound up with a two on zero and scored, Jimmy Howard slammed him stick so hard it broke, and the next time Brunner was on the ice, HE DID THE SAME THING AGAIN! I really thought Howard was going to kill him. At the next stoppage Howard could be seen ripping him up one side, down the other, an Brunner nodding and then two nights later against Edmonton, similar situation Brunner took two steps toward the bench, hesitated, then stayed on and the Wings were called for too many men on the ice. They did not show Howard which was probably good, I am sure he nearly had a heart attack. So yes, I get it with Brunner having ZERO sense. The comment about releasing Brunner for being too young was ironic humor. Sorry.

 

  I wrote elsewhere that a veteran bunch of players could win a cup or make a deep run, knowing that this was the last bullet in their gun. Teams that have nobody believing in them that make the playoffs sometimes do shock. So making it in, that is the key and then anything is possible.

 

  But Gomez? Really? On purpose?? He defines the word bust. I cannot believe they have no better options.

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SpikeDDS Contributor

SpikeDDS

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@yave1964

Man! That looks even worse than our Wings did a year or two ago. Very astute observation about their age. I hadn't noticed.

And your comment about Brunner is SPOT ON yave. Definitely flashes of brilliance with the puck, but SUCH a liability without it! A player like that can be so darn frustrating. You keep hoping he'll finally get it and come around, but Brunner just doesn't! It's a shame, really. Dude coulda been a real player if he'd just learn some off-puck responsibility. But his downside is just too great, and the Devils have figured that out.

The Wings got off easy. They were quite tempted to pay too much for him and keep him, and WE would be the ones continuing to feel the pain. Holland really is a smart man.

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MadDevil Newbie

MadDevil

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The sad thing is Gomez has been one of the their best forwards since he signed. He can still carry the puck into the zone pretty well, and zone entry is a big problem for the Devils. He and Jagr have actually worked pretty well together. Jagr was joking after the win against Carolina that he had to become a sniper again since playing with Gomez.

I understand now why the Wings let Brunner walk. He's just so damn stupid most of the time. Here, let me try to dangle three guys. What, I turned the puck over and now it's going the other way? Oops. Guess I better float back towards my own end and then stand around doing nothing. The thing that frustrates the hell out of me is he's got some pretty good skills. He's fast, he's got good hands and a good shot. He just has no idea how to use them. Maybe it works over in Europe. But it doesn't in the NHL.

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yave1964 Mentor

yave1964

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The sad thing is Gomez has been one of the their best forwards since he signed. He can still carry the puck into the zone pretty well, and zone entry is a big problem for the Devils. He and Jagr have actually worked pretty well together. Jagr was joking after the win against Carolina that he had to become a sniper again since playing with Gomez.

I understand now why the Wings let Brunner walk. He's just so damn stupid most of the time. Here, let me try to dangle three guys. What, I turned the puck over and now it's going the other way? Oops. Guess I better float back towards my own end and then stand around doing nothing. The thing that frustrates the hell out of me is he's got some pretty good skills. He's fast, he's got good hands and a good shot. He just has no idea how to use them. Maybe it works over in Europe. But it doesn't in the NHL.

Damian Brunner, a poor mans Ville Leino.

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TropicalFruitGirl26 Grand Master

TropicalFruitGirl26

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The Devils top line is now Havlat-Gomez-Jagr.

 

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

 

Well, if it were me, I'd weep....just a little...

 

That line there would make a pretty decent 3rd line on most teams, but when it's forced to be your number one, then yea, there are some issues in the forward ranks.

Taking nothing away from any of those three players as they certainly are trying their best to do what they do...particularly Jagr.

 

But injury prone Havlat, less-than-AHL competent Gomez (at least that's what he has shown before he resurfaced in NJ), and the age old Jagr.....those three at this point in all their careers shouldn't be a top line on ANY team.

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J0e Th0rnton Veteran

J0e Th0rnton

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Just think...if NJ can get ahold of Dan Boyle from the Rangers and add Brad Stuart from the Avs, they could have a complete 5-man top unit. :D

A unit with a Sharky flavor to it..

Ill even throw in Burish, our PK specialist, free. if only to give some of the old men a rest during PK's :)

 

Seriously, our PK has been at 87% since we waived him lol

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MadDevil Newbie

MadDevil

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What's happened to Lou is his best offensive players have left the team in the last three years, and there's nobody in the system to replace them. Parise leaving wasn't really a huge surprise. Lou had to figure he at least had Kovalchuk to build around up front yet. Then he up and quits to Russia, leaving two gaping holes in their forward lineup. Lou's been trying to replace their production through free agency to stay afloat, but most of the guys he's brought in are second/third line types who are being asked to play above their heads. It's just bad timing between losses of key forwards and a failure to draft/develop NHL forwards over recent years. The good thing is they've got Cory in goal and a young, mobile defense to build on. They just need to draft/develop forwards over the next few years, or trade one of the young defensemen for a young forward, or maybe a combination of both. It's going to be at least a 2-3 year process though. They're trying to rebuild without being a basement team for a few years. Although the way it's going so far they're going to be anyway.

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JK55 Newbie

JK55

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He is correct. The loss of Parise hurt this team (one player I will never forgive) and Kovalchuk going to the KHL really hurt our PP. Clarkson leaving was big because he was a quality player for the Devils but obviously in Toronto it's a different story. Plugging holes with FA's is nice if they are quality, but most of these guys are past their primes now.

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