If I was Larsson i be pissed too. Sent to the press box watch guys older then you make countless mistakes and have nothing happen to them at all. Just doesn't make sense. Larsson should make mistakes everyone else shouldn't be making as many as they do. Zid takes a lazy penalty every game didn't sit once.

If I was Larsson i be pissed too. Sent to the press box watch guys older then you make countless mistakes and have nothing happen to them at all. Just doesn't make sense. Larsson should make mistakes everyone else shouldn't be making as many as they do. Zid takes a lazy penalty every game didn't sit once.
- NickA

I am just hoping Pete learned his lesson. I like his coaching style for the most part but not if he is going to be stubborn. Being stubborn only works when you are a gm when you are a coach you can really mess things up fast.

I am just hoping Pete learned his lesson. I like his coaching style for the most part but not if he is going to be stubborn. Being stubborn only works when you are a gm when you are a coach you can really mess things up fast.
- blizzzard

I like his style of play and even his cool as a cucumber attitude. But they way he's handle the young guys has irked me a bit. They seem to have no room for error while vets have an unlimited leash to make mistake after mistake. The accountability was almost nonexistent last year.

I like his style of play and even his cool as a cucumber attitude. But they way he's handle the young guys has irked me a bit. They seem to have no room for error while vets have an unlimited leash to make mistake after mistake. The accountability was almost nonexistent last year.
- NickA

Hopefully he proves last year as a mistake because there will be even more turn over in the next few years from young to old and you want him to be using them properly and ensuring their confidence stays up while still knowing what they are doing wrong and need to improve on which is kind of where I think he needs to improve this season.

Hopefully he proves last year as a mistake because there will be even more turn over in the next few years from young to old and you want him to be using them properly and ensuring their confidence stays up while still knowing what they are doing wrong and need to improve on which is kind of where I think he needs to improve this season.
- blizzzard

This is where we desperately miss Larry and Jacques...

You do realize there is a substantial difference in the amount of leverage a UFA and RFA have, right?
- rmdevil313

of course, but when you have a guy that has done it in the playoffs dont fool yourself, you are looking at 5 per with term for sure

of course, but when you have a guy that has done it in the playoffs dont fool yourself, you are looking at 5 per with term for sure
- French-Connection

Highly debateable.

of course, but when you have a guy that has done it in the playoffs dont fool yourself, you are looking at 5 per with term for sure
- French-Connection

Maybe if we offer him 7 years he deserves 5 per, but only because we'd be buying UFA years and paying for potential. Otherwise on a short deal he's not getting close to 5. He's played 2 years and has a career high of 51 points. He has no arbitration rights. There is no leverage.

This is where we desperately miss Larry and Jacques...
- NickA

I am hoping Stevens has patience with the kids I could totally see it since he never went looking for hits he was patient and they came to him. I mean obviously you cant compare Stevens to Robinson or Jacques but he has only a half season as defensive coach under his belt. He did work with kids at camp though before he got the job so I think he has a talent as a coach.

Maybe if we offer him 7 years he deserves 5 per, but only because we'd be buying UFA years and paying for potential. Otherwise on a short deal he's not getting close to 5. He's played 2 years and has a career high of 51 points. He has no arbitration rights. There is no leverage.
- rmdevil313

You know how many fans would be laughing at us if we gave him 7 years right now? I could see it already worst contract in history What I am wondering though he still has how many years left as a rfa? what if instead of a 2-3 bridge deal he got a 1 year deal at like 1.5 then we have room do fool around later in the season and if he shows this season he is a top player on this team he gets a big deal? does that make sense or does that effect his rfa status or arbitration rights or anything?

I am hoping Stevens has patience with the kids I could totally see it since he never went looking for hits he was patient and they came to him. I mean obviously you cant compare Stevens to Robinson or Jacques but he has only a half season as defensive coach under his belt. He did work with kids at camp though before he got the job so I think he has a talent as a coach.
- blizzzard

I am slightly concerned with Scotty and his coaching abilities. He seems to be helping Larsson I will say that as he is are only defensemen to step up before the blue line and throw hits. But last year i noticed way too much the defense would always abandon the front of the net. It never really seem to change and just got worse as the season went on. I don' t know if they just weren't listening or what but it happened way too much if you ask me.

I am slightly concerned with Scotty and his coaching abilities. He seems to be helping Larsson I will say that as he is are only defensemen to step up before the blue line and throw hits. But last year i noticed way too much the defense would always abandon the front of the net. It never really seem to change and just got worse as the season went on. I don' t know if they just weren't listening or what but it happened way too much if you ask me.
- NickA

Yea I'm kinda nervous about that too. Hope it isn't another "keep it in the family" hire who isn't really the best person for the job. But I don't know enough about what he's done with the guys to comment one way or the other. Just being a nervous nelly.

Yea I'm kinda nervous about that too. Hope it isn't another "keep it in the family" hire who isn't really the best person for the job. But I don't know enough about what he's done with the guys to comment one way or the other. Just being a nervous nelly.
- TheJerseyDevil1

I wouldn't be shocked I think all of us just really hope Scotty can be a great coach because he was likely all of our favourite player at some point or another. MOst great players aren't that great at teaching but because we love the guy we think he can be one of the exceptions and I fall hard into that category. I still think we haven't seen a large enough sample size from him yet though decide

I agree still have to wait and see. Only had a half a year and it was his first time ever behind the bench. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, also think if he had some better horses he could teach them more. Kind of hard to teach A-train, Sal, Fayne, and Harrold to step up and throw hits when they are all pretty bad skaters. A-train and Sal can bang in the corners but both have a lot of trouble stepping up nowadays. Obviously we all are worried about goals as we couldn't score last year and now lost a top sniper. But i feel strongly a lot of the reason we don't score is because our defense is so bad with the puck. They are no threat to do much of anything when our forwards start working the cycle and pass it back to them. It allows teams to really collapse and make it tough to find quality shots. Biggest problem was all our shots last year came from the perimeter and bad angles. Would love it if 2 young Dmen could push some Vets out of the lineup this year. Help add a dimension to our game thats been lacking for years.

Like who for example? Larsson I wouldn't count because he came in right away (except the benchwarming). Henrique has "graduated" but we've obviously have some differences on what his value is. Josefon & Tedenby? Those guys may end up being career AHL'ers. But for prospects, a lot of people forget these guys are prospects. Some of you are already penciling them in as our starting 6 on defense for the future.

One scout rates a guy completely different than another. But what prospects justify a better rating? Boucher, Merrill....that's about it in my book. Urbom is walking the line, Gelinas is in the same boat. As far as forwards go I'd say it's Boucher & Pietila, the rest are complete gambles. Matteau? He'll probably be a 3rd liner, does that count? I don't think it should since he was a 1st round pick & should've been the pick to forfeit.

Not picking on NJ's scouts or any other scout in particular, but NJ's prospects up front seem slim. Will one or two of those guys end up being a 20G/40P guy? Maybe. Will one or two end up being 20-30G/60P+ guys? Outside of Boucher you'd have to convince me one of the other guys will. So in my book that's 1 great FW prospect, 1 good prospect. Rest are avg-below avg. When you're taken 3rd round or later it's hard to consider you a good prospect unless you were a unanimous 1st rounder & then some off-ice issues knocked you down a few pegs.

Obviously guys break molds all the time, but even the supposed defensive prospect depth NJ supposedly boasts is arguable. Merrill looks like a possible top-pair guy, but I wouldn't peg anyone else above a 4-6 guy. One or two of them might crack 2nd pair, but other than that the rest could presumably be 3rd pair/7th d-men candidates. NJ has usually had guys who'd be 3rd pair on any other team excel in NJ with more minutes, but with the change in philosophy recently as far as system play, that's been exposed the last couple years.

In my honest opinion the only guys who should get top-pair minutes right now on this roster are Greene & Larsson because the sad fact is Larsson>Sal,A-Train, Zidlicky, Fayne, and Harrold. He's also arguably our best puckmover outside of Greene & Brodeur (which people often overlook). Zids is poop outside 4-5 games a year, I don't care what anyone says.

NJ's organizational ranking is right where it should be in my opinion. Most NJ fans seem high on guys (especially defensemen) that look like stretches to make a pro roster outside of NJ. Not trying to be a Richard, but they're prospects for a reason, and they're late picks for a reason. If Gelinas, Severson, Scarlett , and Helgeson become productive NHL'ers I'd be surprised. Even Urbom has had chances and has yet to crack the roster.

Even though I obviously have little faith in these guys all panning out like some of you do, I hope Lou just throws them all in the fire, moves Salvador, Volchenkov, Zidlicky & lets them grow & learn in the NHL. Obviously that's not realistic, but i've grown tired of this overrated D-corps (overrated amongst Devils fans).

Wedgewood & Clermont? NJ just shipped a 1st round pick for Schneider (not that I disagree with that move), but what does that say about how this organization feels about those prospects that supposedly a lot NJ fans felt solved the post-Brodeur issue in net? Now they may be backups or trade bait? Where did all the NJ fans who thought Wedgewood was going to be a Vezina candidate go to? Just saying.
- FLdevilsFAN

Here what's hockeysfuture says about our D:

Merrill: Merrill’s maturity has come into to question at times in his young career, but he has the multi-purpose skill set to eventually evolve into a top-pairing defenseman that can play in all situations. He has 40-50 point upside. Ryan Suter is a good comparable at the NHL level. Merrill will return to the Wolverines this fall for his junior season.

Severson: Severson doesn't project as a first pairing defender long-term, but he does possess the requisite skills and all-around game to flourish as an all-weather, second pairing rearguard who can contribute on special teams. He’ll return to the Rockets for his third season of junior this fall.

Urbom: Urbom is an above-average, two-way defense prospect at doesn’t appear to need much more minor league seasoning and could push for NHL duty as soon as this season. He’s a potential second-pairing defenseman who plays a style similar to that of fellow Swede and current Devils defenseman Henrik Tallinder.

Gelinas: Though not a finished product just yet, Gelinas made a seamless and somewhat surprisingly easy transition to the AHL last year. He put up some impressive offensive numbers as a first year pro. He could be in line for a cup-of-coffee at the NHL level as early as this season, but will likely spend most of the 2012-13 in the AHL with an eye towards pushing for a full-time NHL job in 2013-14. Gelinas has second-pairing upside and the skills to contribute on the power-play.

This also does not include Santini. My thought is, yeah, they're all prospects and you don't know what they're going to become. But the projections do appear promising.

^^ Yeah, I'm usually the first one to be pessimistic but I feel pretty good about a lot of these guys. I think there's a strong chance most of them make solid NHL careers for themselves. Only one I see as a dud is Burlon. Never saw him as anything special.

^^ Yeah, I'm usually the first one to be pessimistic but I feel pretty good about a lot of these guys. I think there's a strong chance most of them make solid NHL careers for themselves. Only one I see as a dud is Burlon. Never saw him as anything special.
- TheJerseyDevil1

If we can get 3 of em to be solid NHLer's i'll be ecstatic. ( Excluding Larsson) I'd say it seems Severson and Merril are almost locks at least from what Lou has said. Even Urbom still gets a lot praise from everyone in the organization. He's the oldest now too I believe...the future of our D is bright.

If we can get 3 of em to be solid NHLer's i'll be ecstatic. ( Excluding Larsson) I'd say it seems Severson and Merril are almost locks at least from what Lou has said. Even Urbom still gets a lot praise from everyone in the organization. He's the oldest now too I believe...the future of our D is bright.
- NickA

Maybe I should calirify, I don't know if we'll ahve room for some of them, but I think whether here or elsewhere, they have a good chance of panning out.

Breaking: Zidlicky signs 8 year extension for $56 million

Maybe I should calirify, I don't know if we'll ahve room for some of them, but I think whether here or elsewhere, they have a good chance of panning out.

Breaking: Zidlicky signs 8 year extension for $56 million
- TheJerseyDevil1

I understood what your saying. I'm just saying if we can get at least 3 of them on our team some day including Larsson we are in great shape.

Kinda pissed Hockey's Future has us ranked 28th in the league in organizational strength. I think considering a lot of the guys we've recently graduated, we still have a decent amount of kids coming up with promise.

Even when you just look around from team to team on that site, it looks like we have move 7.0 and 7.5 guys than a lot of teams. And that is before this year's draft class has even been added. Not to mention most of our guys are already at the pro level, its not like they are just starting juniors.

...conspiracy!
- TheJerseyDevil1

Not trolling but 28th is pretty generous

Not trolling but 28th is pretty generous
- mighty13duck

That's trolling

Not trolling but 28th is pretty generous
- mighty13duck

Definitely way too high. We should be more like 29th or 30th. I can't believe we can't do more with all those top-10 picks we've had in the last 20 years.

Not trolling but 28th is pretty generous
- mighty13duck

What do you know anyway? If you're not talking about an Islander, you never have anything good to say.

Not trolling but 28th is pretty generous
- mighty13duck

How many teams are looking to add you as their director of scouting? Must be half the league at least.

What do you know anyway? If you're not talking about an Islander, you never have anything good to say.
- Pete V

Not true, I will always talk good of ducks players....