Todd Cordell: New Jersey Devils: On The Top Line & Looking For Duos

I also really like the havlat Elias duo but IMO you got to have henrique as the third man on that line instead of zubs but I think everyone knows that already. I just don't think zubs has anything to offer offensively anymore and because of that he needs to be a big part of shutting players down and being on the lower lines as a defensive forward. Have Zajac on with jagr and cammy is enough defense to balance that line out and having both Elias and henrique out there with havlat is a great two way line who can also chip in offensively. Also I actually don't mind the idea of Gomez centring clowe and Ryder or Brunner or zubZ . I'm not sure how much speed Gomez has anymore so clowe will be able to keep up and Gomez can still distribute the puck to clowe down low or Brunner or Ryder in the areas that they can get a shot off. I'd like to see a fourth line of carter jj and tootoo

I also really like the havlat Elias duo but IMO you got to have henrique as the third man on that line instead of zubs but I think everyone knows that already. I just don't think zubs has anything to offer offensively anymore and because of that he needs to be a big part of shutting players down and being on the lower lines as a defensive forward. Have Zajac on with jagr and cammy is enough defense to balance that line out and having both Elias and henrique out there with havlat is a great two way line who can also chip in offensively. Also I actually don't mind the idea of Gomez centring clowe and Ryder or Brunner or zubZ . I'm not sure how much speed Gomez has anymore so clowe will be able to keep up and Gomez can still distribute the puck to clowe down low or Brunner or Ryder in the areas that they can get a shot off. I'd like to see a fourth line of carter jj and tootoo
- blizzzard

Gomez is old and washed up. I don't think he has much to offer at this point.

Gomez is old and washed up. I don't think he has much to offer at this point.
- rmdevil313

I don't think centering the third line is asking much ? He still has pretty decent possession skills and I wouldn't be surprised if he was better on the dot then jj and gio but I wouldn't mind if he played fourth line center and jj get regular shifts on the third with likely the most talented players he has ever played with which isn't saying much lmao. To be honest I don't think bernier or gio are better then Gomez or Feds the problem is we don't have spots for all these guys even though they might be upgrades and I don't mean they are miles better but slight upgrades on two- three guys who are career fourth liners. I also won't be mad if none of these guys make it just thinking those two have the best chance and I said tootoo because if clowe isn't in the line up I would rather tootoo be the guy to keep the other teams I. Line then Janssen from a skill perspective

I don't think centering the third line is asking much ? He still has pretty decent possession skills and I wouldn't be surprised if he was better on the dot then jj and gio but I wouldn't mind if he played fourth line center and jj get regular shifts on the third with likely the most talented players he has ever played with which isn't saying much lmao. To be honest I don't think bernier or gio are better then Gomez or Feds the problem is we don't have spots for all these guys even though they might be upgrades and I don't mean they are miles better but slight upgrades on two- three guys who are career fourth liners. I also won't be mad if none of these guys make it just thinking those two have the best chance and I said tootoo because if clowe isn't in the line up I would rather tootoo be the guy to keep the other teams I. Line then Janssen from a skill perspective
- blizzzard

Didn't Gomez fail at centering the Panthers' 4th line? And the Sharks' before that?

Todd Cordell: New Jersey Devils: On The Top Line & Looking For Duos
- Todd.Cordell

Henrique and Elias have chemistry!!!!!!

Didn't Gomez fail at centering the Panthers' 4th line? And the Sharks' before that?
- rangerdanger94

I don't know but if he was centering the panthers fourth line and the sharks traded for him they must of saw something and the panthers have done nothing but draft centres for the last decade so they might of wanted to make room for one I don't know but I think he could be an upgrade to josefson and gionta and give us a better fourth line. To me bernier and gionta shouldn't be playing. Carter should have bernier spot on the fourth and Gomez plays for either gionta and josefson and I also don't mind keeping tootoo around he likely fills in better then camjam if we need to dress a guy like that because clowe will miss thirty games this year

Didn't Gomez fail at centering the Panthers' 4th line? And the Sharks' before that?
- rangerdanger94

Yes lol

I don't know but if he was centering the panthers fourth line and the sharks traded for him they must of saw something and the panthers have done nothing but draft centres for the last decade so they might of wanted to make room for one I don't know but I think he could be an upgrade to josefson and gionta and give us a better fourth line. To me bernier and gionta shouldn't be playing. Carter should have bernier spot on the fourth and Gomez plays for either gionta and josefson and I also don't mind keeping tootoo around he likely fills in better then camjam if we need to dress a guy like that because clowe will miss thirty games this year
- blizzzard

I would rather Lou extend a tryout offer to rob niedermayer

I'd rather give Josefson a third line opportunity than Gomez. JJ at least has a set of skills he might capitalize on one of these years given time and opportunity.

I don't know but if he was centering the panthers fourth line and the sharks traded for him they must of saw something and the panthers have done nothing but draft centres for the last decade so they might of wanted to make room for one I don't know but I think he could be an upgrade to josefson and gionta and give us a better fourth line. To me bernier and gionta shouldn't be playing. Carter should have bernier spot on the fourth and Gomez plays for either gionta and josefson and I also don't mind keeping tootoo around he likely fills in better then camjam if we need to dress a guy like that because clowe will miss thirty games this year
- blizzzard

Gomez is done man. He doesn't play a bottom 6 game and can't produce in a top 6 role. He belongs in the ECHL.

I would rather Lou extend a tryout offer to rob niedermayer
- shvingter88

Lol I have faith man and it's not like I have even set a number but Gomez doesn't even need to score 20 pts he could still put up 10 and be an upgrade this is a system and place he is familiar with and hopefully that motivates him. I hope konisareks gets signed for 700k and we buy out or somehow trade sal it's a lateral move that sheds cap and gives us a guy who plays the exact same game as sal but is a lot stronger and hopefully brings the crease clearing presence. I know a lot of things get perceived about these guys they get stereotyped and then no one thinks they can fit in anywhere. Yea it's a funny joke how hard and fast Gomez fell but no one is expecting him to return to that form and no one is expecting him to come in and help score goals he can play a game that likely fits well and is a veteran no one ever complained about his room presence in all the stops he made after jersey the only complaint was the dollars the guy was making in willing to give him a serious look and same with a few of these other guys. I have a group of players that I think don't deserve to be in the nhl based if last year and I'm hoping a guy or two can come in and make sure they don't play in jersey next season. Ultimately I think some upgrades are here at camp but they aren't drastic so I won't be upset if none of the try out guys don't make it as I don't think it will make a difference of ten points on the season but maybe 2-4 extra points. One of the only things we didn't address as a need from last year was how poorly we where on face offs if Gomez is an upgrade in the dot and equal in every other aspect to gionta and jj then Gomez should be here we need to have and start off with the puck more instead of chasing it after every draw

I don't think centering the third line is asking much ? He still has pretty decent possession skills and I wouldn't be surprised if he was better on the dot then jj and gio but I wouldn't mind if he played fourth line center and jj get regular shifts on the third with likely the most talented players he has ever played with which isn't saying much lmao. To be honest I don't think bernier or gio are better then Gomez or Feds the problem is we don't have spots for all these guys even though they might be upgrades and I don't mean they are miles better but slight upgrades on two- three guys who are career fourth liners. I also won't be mad if none of these guys make it just thinking those two have the best chance and I said tootoo because if clowe isn't in the line up I would rather tootoo be the guy to keep the other teams I. Line then Janssen from a skill perspective
- blizzzard

JJ has to show he can crack the lineup before we start penciling him in on the third line.

And as far as the tryout players go, I don't see many upgrades. A few players are better than bernier but that doesn't say much.

Lol I have faith man and it's not like I have even set a number but Gomez doesn't even need to score 20 pts he could still put up 10 and be an upgrade this is a system and place he is familiar with and hopefully that motivates him. I hope konisareks gets signed for 700k and we buy out or somehow trade sal it's a lateral move that sheds cap and gives us a guy who plays the exact same game as sal but is a lot stronger and hopefully brings the crease clearing presence. I know a lot of things get perceived about these guys they get stereotyped and then no one thinks they can fit in anywhere. Yea it's a funny joke how hard and fast Gomez fell but no one is expecting him to return to that form and no one is expecting him to come in and help score goals he can play a game that likely fits well and is a veteran no one ever complained about his room presence in all the stops he made after jersey the only complaint was the dollars the guy was making in willing to give him a serious look and same with a few of these other guys. I have a group of players that I think don't deserve to be in the nhl based if last year and I'm hoping a guy or two can come in and make sure they don't play in jersey next season. Ultimately I think some upgrades are here at camp but they aren't drastic so I won't be upset if none of the try out guys don't make it as I don't think it will make a difference of ten points on the season but maybe 2-4 extra points. One of the only things we didn't address as a need from last year was how poorly we where on face offs if Gomez is an upgrade in the dot and equal in every other aspect to gionta and jj then Gomez should be here we need to have and start off with the puck more instead of chasing it after every draw
- blizzzard

Be an upgrade to who? Gionta also put up more than 10 points while being faster, more aggressive, and a better defensive player.

Jagr looking for an 8 year deal

I like the idea in general. We have about 2/3s of a legitimate hockey team, so pairing up 2 legitimate NHL players with 1 of the cullings would probably get us to 9-12 spot in the East. I'm excited to play out the season, watch some playoff hockey in other cities and land a whopper next april in that 10-15 draft spot. Bring on the regular season!

I like the idea in general. We have about 2/3s of a legitimate hockey team, so pairing up 2 legitimate NHL players with 1 of the cullings would probably get us to 9-12 spot in the East. I'm excited to play out the season, watch some playoff hockey in other cities and land a whopper next april in that 10-15 draft spot. Bring on the regular season!
- jackzack87

I know you are stupid but Cory Schneider alone will get the devils into the play offs

I know you are stupid but Cory Schneider alone will get the devils into the play offs
- blizzzard

Naaah

I like the idea in general. We have about 2/3s of a legitimate hockey team, so pairing up 2 legitimate NHL players with 1 of the cullings would probably get us to 9-12 spot in the East. I'm excited to play out the season, watch some playoff hockey in other cities and land a whopper next april in that 10-15 draft spot. Bring on the regular season!
- jackzack87

I know you are stupid but Cory Schneider alone will get the devils into the play offs
- blizzzard

Ah. The secret weapon argument. I'm a big CoSchnae fan, but one man in back and 6 up front does not make a team, friend. You're better off just livin' in the glory days of Marty than beating the drum that the goalie is all we need. You wouldn't say that about any other team, just the one you love.

Naaah
- rangerdanger94

I would bet money on it. Where do the rangers finish with Marty Broduer playing half the games ? I doubt they make the play offs so look at what a competent goalie can do for just about any team. The rangers with out a top 30 goalie which Broduer hasn't been the past three season. I question if they would make the playoffs at all with the same type of goaltending we have gotten from our starter the past 3 seasons

Ah. The secret weapon argument. I'm a big CoSchnae fan, but one man in back and 6 up front does not make a team, friend. You're better off just livin' in the glory days of Marty than beating the drum that the goalie is all we need. You wouldn't say that about any other team, just the one you love.
- jackzack87

I liked that last statement. Do Devils fans think Ryan Miller is enough by himself to get Vancouver into the playoffs? Or Rinne in Nashville? Or (a healthy) Ward in Carolina?

The Devils have been a dominant team for well over a decade until recently. Teams usually go in cycles and the Devils are currently about to enter the mediocrity stage of their cycle. Nothing to be ashamed about as it happens to every team not named Detroit eventually. If the Devils still had Parise and Kovalchuk, things would be very different but when you lose your 2 best offensive (and best in general) players 2 years in a row, you won't be getting back to the SCF until you replace both them. The Devils are a couple gamebreaking forwards, an elite defenseman, and a good 2nd line scorer away from competing again. A good defense, goalie, and system could get you in the playoffs but it's not a lock by any means.

Jagr looking for an 8 year deal
- robin_steele264

He did say he wanted to play until he was 50 yesterday. With the World Championship and Olympics last year he played in 97 games.

He scored 71 points in his last year as a Ranger in 2007-08. He scored 67 last year, so if he regresses by 4 points every 6 years or so he may retire when he is around 60.

Ah. The secret weapon argument. I'm a big CoSchnae fan, but one man in back and 6 up front does not make a team, friend. You're better off just livin' in the glory days of Marty than beating the drum that the goalie is all we need. You wouldn't say that about any other team, just the one you love.
- jackzack87

You do realize that if Schneider played 60 last year the Devils would have likely made the playoffs, right?

I would bet money on it. Where do the rangers finish with Marty Broduer playing half the games ? I doubt they make the play offs so look at what a competent goalie can do for just about any team. The rangers with out a top 30 goalie which Broduer hasn't been the past three season. I question if they would make the playoffs at all with the same type of goaltending we have gotten from our starter the past 3 seasons
- blizzzard

We had Talbot play a good chunk of games when Hank was playing really poorly and he did alright. Brodeur looked like crap but he still got the same number of points that Schneider got your team and in less games. He really wasn't the issue. Your lack of offense was and that issue manifested itself throughout your season: 0-12 in shootouts, outshooting your opponent significantly and losing 1-0 or 2-1, Schneider playing well enough to steal a game but still losing by a goal, etc.