You take your silly facts and get out of here. Clearly Larsson is poop
- Kaymondel

I just don't understand this guys logic. Everyone is different, it doesn't matter if the scouts say a player is ready to play after his draft. poop look how long Greene took.

This was Larsson's fifth pro season. Wasn't he suppose to be NHL ready when drafted?

Why did the Devils keep Larsson down in AHL when they could have sent Merrill down? (JM was waiver exempt.) Heck, NJD played Merrill with a face shield over Larsson.
- ChuckNJ

Being NHL ready is something the team should evaluate. Judging by how you think Larsson turned out, wouldn't you say they made a mistake assuming that he was?

This was Larsson's fifth pro season. Wasn't he suppose to be NHL ready when drafted?

Why did the Devils keep Larsson down in AHL when they could have sent Merrill down? (JM was waiver exempt.) Heck, NJD played Merrill with a face shield over Larsson.
- ChuckNJ

I forgot, does each player have the same type of development curve? Is everyone supposed to hit the ground running? Players develop differently. Look at Hedmen from TB as a prime example.

I forgot, does each player have the same type of development curve? Is everyone supposed to hit the ground running? Players develop differently. Look at Hedmen from TB as a prime example.
- Kaymondel

No of course not. Has Larsson been mismanaged, no. Has he played well over last 3 years, no.

BTW, Hedman was a full time started at age of 20. It is not a valid comparison.

How did you feel about victor hedmen until last season? Oh what about Marc staal?
- shvingter88

Hedman was a full time starter at 20.

I'm not really ready to judge Larsson until I see him in the line-up consistently, like for 30 games in a row or something.

At the way beginning of his career he was looking great, I remember him being a legitimate factor in the east semis against Philly in 2012. I think a big part of that was having Larry Robinson still on the bench, but still he was looking great for a 19 year old then. I'm still a little peeved that he got no playing time against the Rangers or Kings that year.

Since then, when has Larsson been given a chance to really stick in the lineup for a long period of time? He comes in and if he has a bad game in his first 5 he's benched or sent back to Albany. This year, he legitimately was playing very well for a few weeks with Gelinas, the two were the Devils' best pairing, Larsson gets injured, and for whatever reason is never given the chance to play again until the last couple weeks of the season. I want to see this kid play without the constant threat of getting benched before I say he's a bust at 21...

No of course not. Has Larsson been mismanaged, no. Has he played well over last 3 years, no.

BTW, Hedman was a full time started at age of 20. It is not a valid comparison.
- ChuckNJ

But but I thought top 5 D-men picks should produce ~40 points right out the gate and not have a - +/-.

McD hadn't even played an NHL season at this point in his career. Subban played 2 nhl games at this point in his career. Hedman was facing much of the same criticisms at this point in his career that Larsson faces now, look how that turned out. And yes, there were defensman better than him, but no ones career path is the same. And unless you are bobby orr or better, there will always be someone that was better than you. As far as Merrill goes, I think he was more consistent. I think Larsson has had stretches, like with Gelinas or at the start of his career, that was better than we've seen from Merrill yet. Merrill just doesn't have the ups and downs which goes back to my first point, not everyone's career path is the same.
- rmdevil313

Subban scored 14 goals, 38 pts and 77 games when he was 21

Hedman 3/23/79 at 20.

Jones 6/25/77 at 19

Hedman was a full time starter at 20.
- ChuckNJ

Yes but ultimately that's a coaching/management decision. That's what people talk about when they say he's been mis-managed. The last two years he's gotten barely any opportunity to stick in the line-up. Instead guys like Volchenkov, Salvador, Harrold, and Tallinder who have always played somewhere between mediocre and terrible get all the minutes they want. Even if you don't think Larsson's been phenomenal, he's certainly on average played better than two of the four of those guys at any given time, and it's frustrating to see the coaching staff refuse to give him a good chance to play over these over paid over-the-hump veterans.

I'm not really ready to judge Larsson until I see him in the line-up consistently, like for 30 games in a row or something.

At the way beginning of his career he was looking great, I remember him being a legitimate factor in the east semis against Philly in 2012. I think a big part of that was having Larry Robinson still on the bench, but still he was looking great for a 19 year old then. I'm still a little peeved that he got no playing time against the Rangers or Kings that year.

Since then, when has Larsson been given a chance to really stick in the lineup for a long period of time? He comes in and if he has a bad game in his first 5 he's benched or sent back to Albany. This year, he legitimately was playing very well for a few weeks with Gelinas, the two were the Devils' best pairing, Larsson gets injured, and for whatever reason is never given the chance to play again until the last couple weeks of the season. I want to see this kid play without the constant threat of getting benched before I say he's a bust at 21...
- MannySilvers

Bingo. I don't see what Merril did to deserve so many games in a row compared to the way Larsson has been treated. Both guys make there fair share of inexperienced mistakes but the positives from both far outweigh the negatives. Somehow Merril though is doing something way better than him?

Bingo. I don't see what Merril did to deserve so many games in a row compared to the way Larsson has been treated. Both guys make there fair share of inexperienced mistakes but the positives from both far outweigh the negatives. Somehow Merril though is doing something way better than him?
- NickA

He's a good ole 'merican boy.

Subban scored 14 goals, 38 pts and 77 games when he was 21

Hedman 3/23/79 at 20.

Jones 6/25/77 at 19
- ChuckNJ

Draft eligibility goes by a players birthdate. 3 years after he was drafted Subban played two games in the NHL. Hedman was facing much of the same criticism that Larsson did, he just didn't have 7 one way contracts to compete with. And good for Jones. This doesn't change the fact that every defensman, every player develops differently.

This guy is a moron

Subban scored 14 goals, 38 pts and 77 games when he was 21

Hedman 3/23/79 at 20.

Jones 6/25/77 at 19
- ChuckNJ

Hedman and Jones both could have gone 1st overall in their draft years... Larson was never viewed that way.

Draft eligibility goes by a players birthdate. 3 years after he was drafted Subban played two games in the NHL. Hedman was facing much of the same criticism that Larsson did, he just didn't have 7 one way contracts to compete with. And good for Jones. This doesn't change the fact that every defensman, every player develops differently.
- rmdevil313

Dang look at that Subban, developing in the minors. Man I wish NJ would do that with Larsson... oh wait.

This guy is a moron
- shvingter88

Rielly was a -14 this year.

I'm scared!

Yes but ultimately that's a coaching/management decision. That's what people talk about when they say he's been mis-managed. The last two years he's gotten barely any opportunity to stick in the line-up. Instead guys like Volchenkov, Salvador, Harrold, and Tallinder who have always played somewhere between mediocre and terrible get all the minutes they want. Even if you don't think Larsson's been phenomenal, he's certainly on average played better than two of the four of those guys at any given time, and it's frustrating to see the coaching staff refuse to give him a good chance to play over these over paid over-the-hump veterans.
- MannySilvers

When the Devils were in the playoff hunt last yr, Merrill and Gelinas were in the lineup and Larsson was not. Salvador was hurt and obviously Tallinder was not on the team. That says something.

Larsson has played 128 NHL and 192 total (NHL and AHL) games and at some point he has to earn his playing time.

He is still young and players develop at different stages, but at this point I don't see him as anything more than a 4-6 D Man. I hope I am wrong.

Dang look at that Subban, developing in the minors. Man I wish NJ would do that with Larsson... oh wait.
- Kaymondel

are you suggesting Larsson was developed in the minors?

Because looks to me like he was brought into the NHL right away, then played in the minors because of the lockout, and then split time.

That looks like a team that rushed a d-man, but didn't want to put up with the inevitable speedbumps young players run into. Kind of like the Leafs with Schenn(except they just benched him/cut his minutes, rather than sending him down)

When the Devils were in the playoff hunt last yr, Merrill and Gelinas were in the lineup and Larsson was not. Salvador was hurt and obviously Tallinder was not on the team. That says something.

Larsson has played 128 NHL and 192 total (NHL and AHL) games and at some point he has to earn his playing time.

He is still young and players develop at different stages, but at this point I don't see him as anything more than a 4-6 D Man. I hope I am wrong.
- ChuckNJ

Ultimately in sounds like what your saying is you believe the coaches weren't playing him because they felt that he was a worse option than the other available D-men. That's fine, I'm just saying that my, and I'm sure others, opinions based on watching the team play is that Larsson had been playing better than a lot of those guys, and to us it's frustrating to see him get benched instead of veterans who in our opinion are playing worse.

Anyone that wants to sit there and compare offensive numbers doesn't have a concept of what parts of Larsson's game the Devils are trying to develop.

Goals, assists, and points have nothing to do with what's been going on the last few years.

Larsson has been an excellent passer since day 1.

I'll just let Larsson speak for himself this year.

I have a feeling he'll have a really good one.

Anyone that wants to sit there and compare offensive numbers doesn't have a concept of what parts of Larsson's game the Devils are trying to develop.

Goals, assists, and points have nothing to do with what's been going on the last few years.

Larsson has been an excellent passer since day 1.
- njdevils350

Correct.

I'll just let Larsson speak for himself this year.

I have a feeling he'll have a really good one.
- archromat

That's just it. Everybody arguing on here about it is silly. Nobody knows if he'll have a great year or a terrible one, its all on him. Overanalyzing everything he's done since he was a teenager has no bearing on that.

@ChuckNJ

Here's some stats comparing Larsson and Subban, including TOI and PP TOI. By the way, you mentioned Seth Jones, but he was a -23 last year bud. I'll do this with every other player you mentioned Ekman-Larsson, McDonagh, Brodin, Hedman, if I have to to prove that they all get more PP TOI than Larsson which leads to more production overall, thus inflating theirs stats.

Games Played/Goals/Assist/Points Powerplay Goals (PPG), Evenstrength Points (ESP) Powerplay Points (PPP)

Larsson: Total 128 GP, Career -4

2011-2012 65/2/16/18, -7, 0PPG, 13ESP, 4PPP
2012-2013 37/0/6/6, 4, 0PPG, 6ESP, 0PPP
2013-2014 26/1/2/3, -1, 0PPG, 3ESP, 0PPP

TOI Per Game
2011-2012 20:37
2012-2013 18:06
2013-2014 17:47

PP TOI
2011-2012 1:38
2012-2013 0:09
2013-2014 0:28

ES TOI
2011-2012 18:32
2012-2013 16:47
2013-2014 16:24

Subban: Total 284 GP, Career +10

2009-2010 2/0/2/2
2010- 2011 77/14/24/38, -8, 9PPG, 20 ESP, 18PPP
2011-2012 81/7/29/36, 9, 5PPG, 21 ESP, 14PPP
2012-2013 42/11/27/38, 12, 7PPG, 12ESP, 26PPP
2013-2014 82/10/43/53, -4, 4PPG, 30ESP, 23PPP

Time on Ice Per Game
2010-2011 22:16
2011-2012 24:18
2012-2013 23:14
2013-2014 24:36

PP TOI
2010-2011 3:04
2011-2012 3:29
2012-2013 4:42
2013-2014 4:39

Evenstrength TOI
2010-2011 16:38
2011-2012 18:11
2012-2013 17:05
2013-2014 19:17

Anyone that wants to sit there and compare offensive numbers doesn't have a concept of what parts of Larsson's game the Devils are trying to develop.

Goals, assists, and points have nothing to do with what's been going on the last few years.

Larsson has been an excellent passer since day 1.
- njdevils350

I remember Lou and Pete saying they wanted him to focus on his defensive game first. And if you look at it, Larsson didn't have big offensive numbers in Sweden and Merrill didn't have big number in Michigan either, so they are similar players.