Todd Cordell: New Jersey Devils: On Cammalleri, Shero's Mop Up Work & More

Todd this was a bad defense last season & it's no better this year, worse actually. NJ may score more goals but they will give up more. I have their goal differential rising next season by 12 to 15 goals & that's not winning more games but less.

I have NJ as the 3rd worst team in the East next season bottom 4 in the entire NHL. Toronto & Columbus are worse & Buffalo just nominally better, no more than 2 points. I have Vancouver as the worst team in the west next season with Calgary only nominally better.

The start of the season is still over 2 months away though so still lots of change to factor in, trades, signings, injuries, etc.

I can't believe this is the D NJ plans to ice. It makes Edm's D of past years look promising & we all know how that worked out.

So I want to make sure I get this right....

Devils finished 9th in the league in GAA....
They trade away a player most are claiming was no better than a 2nd pairing D in Larsson, be it he was 1st line for us. And I liked Larsson let me point that out....

We replace Schlemko with Lovejoy, which really isn't a big downgrade...

Instead of a back and forth of Merrill and Gelinas, we traded the weaker one away and now may not even be dependent on the other if we prefer to "open door number #2" and try our like with Mozik, Santini, Auvitu, or whoever else.

Meanwhile our offense got a very big boost which should take pressure of the defense...


But yes....we took a step back to 3rd worst in East even after a consensus summer where most say we had a top 5 if not top 3 summer in the league...

Makes sense....?

What's NJ done? They added Hall, Lovejoy & Bennett at the expense of Larsson essentially & let Schlemko & Gelinas; 3rd round pick in 2017, go for nothing essentially. Larsson was NJ's best Dman, certainly their best defensive Dman & he & Greene played a ton & no other pairing was close in the NHL at D zone starts. Lovejoy can't replace Larsson. He's a significantly lesser version.

Other than Greene, the rest are kids or were washed up before they got to NJ.

Who had NJ as the top 5 or as you say top 3 best moves of the off season?

Time well tell if I'm right or you are. Schneider can cover for a ton of deficiencies but if NJ ices this group of D he's going to be seeing a ton more rubber & some of them are going in.

Todd this was a bad defense last season & it's no better this year, worse actually. NJ may score more goals but they will give up more. I have their goal differential rising next season by 12 to 15 goals & that's not winning more games but less.

I have NJ as the 3rd worst team in the East next season bottom 4 in the entire NHL. Toronto & Columbus are worse & Buffalo just nominally better, no more than 2 points. I have Vancouver as the worst team in the west next season with Calgary only nominally better.

The start of the season is still over 2 months away though so still lots of change to factor in, trades, signings, injuries, etc.

I can't believe this is the D NJ plans to ice. It makes Edm's D of past years look promising & we all know how that worked out.
- striker777

I think everyone is being a little overly critical. The D will be decent/mediocre or better IMO, Severson should excel next to Greene - and have a little offensive freedom. Lovejoy will be fine next to Moore - decend mid pair, and the bottom 6 will be a bottom 6. They might not be the best but will be a far cry from Edmonton's last year.

The sky is falling!!

Defense isn't something in which you just have good defensemen and now you play good defense. A big thing about our defense last year was that we also had a very good goaltender which props up the stats. Last year our possession numbers were bad, even tough we had solid defense and very good goal tending. A lot of this has to do with forwards. A lot of the forwards we were playing were just dreadful possession players. If you increase the quality of possession in all positions, not just defense, your defense will get better. If we stay even in terms of quality of defense, or even if it drops because we lost Larsson, if the quality of the forwards increases (in terms of possession) we might win more games this year.

What's NJ done? They added Hall, Lovejoy & Bennett at the expense of Larsson essentially & let Schlemko & Gelinas; 3rd round pick in 2017, go for nothing essentially. Larsson was NJ's best Dman, certainly their best defensive Dman & he & Greene played a ton & no other pairing was close in the NHL at D zone starts. Lovejoy can't replace Larsson. He's a significantly lesser version.

Other than Greene, the rest are kids or were washed up before they got to NJ.

Who had NJ as the top 5 or as you say top 3 best moves of the off season?

Time well tell if I'm right or you are. Schneider can cover for a ton of deficiencies but if NJ ices this group of D he's going to be seeing a ton more rubber & some of them are going in.
- striker777

Way to bury the lead....we ONLY added a top 5 LW in the league to an offense which should take pressure off the D. I don't even think it is fair to look at him as one player alone, as him being on a top line allows a line like Camm/Boucher-Zajac-Palms to be a very nice #2 line. Mix into that, as others have been alluding to, the bottom 6 this coming year is SO much better than what we were last year.

2015-16 Bottom 6

Reid Boucher-Sergey Kalinin-Jiri Tlusty
Tuomo Ruutu-Stephen Gionta-Jordin Tootoo


2016-17 Likely Bottom 6
Boucher/Camm-Zacha-Bennett
Josefson-Fiddler-Kalinin

Boucher may be top 6 as he clicked decently with Zajac-Palms. Cammalleri there would decrease his minutes/wear and tear. Zacha isn't a guarantee, but I'd imagine the % is high for him. He was doing well in AHL playoffs before going down with injury. If Zacha isn't ready for some reason, I would figure the Devils will either go out and trade for someone that a team just can't afford to have for a year, or give Quenneville a legit shot.

Much what the Devils did was addition by subtraction of guys that at their ceilings wouldn't make a dent, such as Ruutu, Gio, Tootoo, and as it turned out Tlusty.


I don't think anyone is THRILLED with this D, but I have faith in Severson taking the next step. I'd rather it be on 2nd pairing so he could be kept more for offensive zone pressure, but if this is a growth year to nail down his shutdown abilities, maybe someone like Santini steps up in a year or two, or Devils pick up more of a shutdown guy pre-expansion draft.

This is not a Stanley Cup threatening team, but we are trending much more in the right direction than to be thought to be the 3rd worst in East.




Also by your logic, what did the teams below the Devils really add that is better than what the Devils did? Buffalo's D isn't much better with Kulikov, their goaltending is very suspect, and I'd take Hall over Okposo every day of the week.

Meanwhile you have the Islanders and Rangers that subtracted much more than added. Philly should have been a better team if not for a slow start, but they are still in cap hell.

This season to me isn't even so much about making the playoffs as it is seeing a few of the X-factor guys get their shot and to see if they are part of that core. That would include Severson, DSP, Boucher, Bennett, and whichever D takes on the 5-6 slot. If THREE of those players turn out to be legit, our floor rises. If more than 3 are effective, this is a playoff team.

Good to see NJD get some offense.
LL liked sad & boring hockey & best move was Shero replacing him.
Rode the coattails of Brodeur but did get u Schneider.

GL👍

Good to see NJD get some offense.
LL liked sad & boring hockey & best move was Shero replacing him.
Rode the coattails of Brodeur but did get u Schneider.

GL👍
- Nighthawk

gfy

gfy
- shvingter88

Retraction granted...
Move Hall & go back to low entertainment value trap hockey.
Either way Schneider rocks.

Retraction granted...
Move Hall & go back to low entertainment value trap hockey.
Either way Schneider rocks.
- Nighthawk

The Devils haven't trapped in years. Learn hockey.

And how many cups have the Canucks won with that exciting brand of hockey they play?!

And how many cups have the Canucks won with that exciting brand of hockey they play?!
- FAZOOL

Well at least they know how to party after a loss......

Well at least they know how to party after a loss......
- Gambi99

Crazy Americans....oh wait.

Buffalo will be a significantly improved team, better than NJ. Bogosian missed the 1st 18 games last season, Franson the final 23. Kulikov was Florida's #3 Dman, Ristolainen just completed his 2nd full season & McCabe his rookie year. Casey Nelson was also a significant surprise & Buffalo still has the cap space & resources to bid for a Shattenkirk or Fowler. They added Okposo & Eichel & Reinhart will be better.

Buffalo got solid goaltending from Lehner when healthy; a big if granted, he was as good as Schneider for SV%; dead on at .924, actually & Johnson & Ullmark both played significantly better than Kinkaid.

This isn't meant to slight NJ. They have significantly improved their forward group & the future looks bright there. History has shown that teams with young & or bad defenses don't have success regardless of who the ice at forward. John Moore isn't a good defensemen. Merrill; NJ thought so much of him they made him a UFA, & Severenson are kids prone to mistakes. Lovejoy is a solid #4 & Greene a solid #2. This D is going to be a train wreck. The forwards better hold onto the puck none stop to help keep the puck out of their net.

Do you see NJ beating this team in the standings over 82 games?

Kane, O'Reilly, Okposo.
Ennis, Eichel, Reinhart.
Moulson, Larsson, Gionta.
Foligno, McCormick, Girgensons.
Spare. Deslauriers.

Move the wingers around anyway you wish in the top 9, bump Larsson to LW, #4 C move Girgensons to #3 C what have you.

Kulikov, Ristolainen.
McCabe, Bogosian.
Gorges, Franson.
Falk, Nelson.

Buffalo's #3 pairing is better than NJ's #2. This is a ton of depth to trade from to make significant changes should Buffalo be so inclined. The additions of Okposo & Kulikov far exceed the additions of Hall & Bennett especially when added to the existing roster & development of several young stud players in Ristolainen, Eichel & Reinhart.

Lehner, Nilsson.

I don't; see NJ beating Buffalo in the standings. In fact I have Buffalo as a playoff team based on what we know today but with 2 months till the season starts still a ton of potential change to finalize those rankings. Injuries, trades, etc. but as of today this is a far better team than NJ.

Buffalo will be a significantly improved team, better than NJ. Bogosian missed the 1st 18 games last season, Franson the final 23. Kulikov was Florida's #3 Dman, Ristolainen just completed his 2nd full season & McCabe his rookie year. Casey Nelson was also a significant surprise & Buffalo still has the cap space & resources to bid for a Shattenkirk or Fowler. They added Okposo & Eichel & Reinhart will be better.

Buffalo got solid goaltending from Lehner when healthy; a big if granted, he was as good as Schneider for SV%; dead on at .924, actually & Johnson & Ullmark both played significantly better than Kinkaid.

This isn't meant to slight NJ. They have significantly improved their forward group & the future looks bright there. History has shown that teams with young & or bad defenses don't have success regardless of who the ice at forward. John Moore isn't a good defensemen. Merrill; NJ thought so much of him they made him a UFA, & Severenson are kids prone to mistakes. Lovejoy is a solid #4 & Greene a solid #2. This D is going to be a train wreck. The forwards better hold onto the puck none stop to help keep the puck out of their net.

Do you see NJ beating this team in the standings over 82 games?

Kane, O'Reilly, Okposo.
Ennis, Eichel, Reinhart.
Moulson, Larsson, Gionta.
Foligno, McCormick, Girgensons.
Spare. Deslauriers.

Move the wingers around anyway you wish in the top 9, bump Larsson to LW, #4 C move Girgensons to #3 C what have you.

Kulikov, Ristolainen.
McCabe, Bogosian.
Gorges, Franson.
Falk, Nelson.

Buffalo's #3 pairing is better than NJ's #2. This is a ton of depth to trade from to make significant changes should Buffalo be so inclined. The additions of Okposo & Kulikov far exceed the additions of Hall & Bennett especially when added to the existing roster & development of several young stud players in Ristolainen, Eichel & Reinhart.

Lehner, Nilsson.

I don't; see NJ beating Buffalo in the standings. In fact I have Buffalo as a playoff team based on what we know today but with 2 months till the season starts still a ton of potential change to finalize those rankings. Injuries, trades, etc. but as of today this is a far better team than NJ.
- striker777

Devils are at 44/50 filled roster spots, after Boucher signs they will have 5 open spots (4 in case Elias does return). I'd imagine there will be 2-3 defenseman brought in on PTOs and I also wouldn't rule out a trade.

Buffalo has been bottom 4 in the East for 4 years running. Need to see them do something before we call them a playoff team.

Hey I could very easily be wrong but I keep running projections & you have to rank them some how if you do actually take the time to do so. It will change as we approach the start of the season & through training camp. I will lay 12 to 20 wagers on a whole range of options.

I really like most of what Shero has done in his short time. Lou left NJ a mess. The future looks brighter than it has for years but I perceive NJ as just starting a rebuild, a year in. This sin't a team over flowing with prospects. Other than Zacha & this years picks very little talent coming. THN Hockey's future, 1 of the 3 best sites or publications for prospects & the best by actual historical data based on said rankings has NJ at 28th before this seasons draft. Other than Zacha who will eventually be a stud no other prospect in the top 50.

This will be the best forward group NJ has iced in years.

Hall, Henrique, Palmieri.
Cammalleri, Zajac, Blandisi.
Boucher, Zacha, Bennett.
Kalinin, Josefson, Smith-Pelly.
Spare Fiddler.

But still not.

Kane, O’Reilly, Okposo.
Ennis, Eichel, Reinhart.
Moulson, Larsson, Gionta.
Foligno, McCormick, Girgensons.
Spare. Deslauriers.

NJ is icing a ton of youth that has yet to show much, Blandisi, Boucher, Zacha, Bennett & their D is down right brutal. Cammalleri hasn't been able to stay healthy for an entire season for years, the only 1 was the lock out season in the last 6 years playing 44. These things concern me especially the D. If not for Schneider I might have them dead last in the NHL. Regardless rankings are subjective as the difference between being 14th in the east & 10th might be as little as 4 points & 8th & 10th may 3.

Devils are at 44/50 filled roster spots, after Boucher signs they will have 5 open spots (4 in case Elias does return). I'd imagine there will be 2-3 defenseman brought in on PTOs and I also wouldn't rule out a trade.

Buffalo has been bottom 4 in the East for 4 years running. Need to see them do something before we call them a playoff team.
- Mr.Bobby

They probably aren't going to fill every one of those spots since doing so would leave them with no flexibility to add other players via waivers, free agency or trades during the season. Elias and Boucher, maybe they bring in a PTO, but that's probably it.

wall of text about buffalo then block about how the devils suck.

nice content, bro.

Buffalo will be a significantly improved team, better than NJ. Bogosian missed the 1st 18 games last season, Franson the final 23. Kulikov was Florida's #3 Dman, Ristolainen just completed his 2nd full season & McCabe his rookie year. Casey Nelson was also a significant surprise & Buffalo still has the cap space & resources to bid for a Shattenkirk or Fowler. They added Okposo & Eichel & Reinhart will be better.

Buffalo got solid goaltending from Lehner when healthy; a big if granted, he was as good as Schneider for SV%; dead on at .924, actually & Johnson & Ullmark both played significantly better than Kinkaid.

This isn't meant to slight NJ. They have significantly improved their forward group & the future looks bright there. History has shown that teams with young & or bad defenses don't have success regardless of who the ice at forward. John Moore isn't a good defensemen. Merrill; NJ thought so much of him they made him a UFA, & Severenson are kids prone to mistakes. Lovejoy is a solid #4 & Greene a solid #2. This D is going to be a train wreck. The forwards better hold onto the puck none stop to help keep the puck out of their net.

Do you see NJ beating this team in the standings over 82 games?

Kane, O'Reilly, Okposo.
Ennis, Eichel, Reinhart.
Moulson, Larsson, Gionta.
Foligno, McCormick, Girgensons.
Spare. Deslauriers.

Move the wingers around anyway you wish in the top 9, bump Larsson to LW, #4 C move Girgensons to #3 C what have you.

Kulikov, Ristolainen.
McCabe, Bogosian.
Gorges, Franson.
Falk, Nelson.

Buffalo's #3 pairing is better than NJ's #2. This is a ton of depth to trade from to make significant changes should Buffalo be so inclined. The additions of Okposo & Kulikov far exceed the additions of Hall & Bennett especially when added to the existing roster & development of several young stud players in Ristolainen, Eichel & Reinhart.

Lehner, Nilsson.

I don't; see NJ beating Buffalo in the standings. In fact I have Buffalo as a playoff team based on what we know today but with 2 months till the season starts still a ton of potential change to finalize those rankings. Injuries, trades, etc. but as of today this is a far better team than NJ.
- striker777

Right about there is the problem with your team. You cannot seriously say that Lehner is on par with Schneider.

Right about there is the problem with your team. You cannot seriously say that Lehner is on par with Schneider.
- willschulme

Don't worry about it. Just let the buffalo fans be surprised when they stink yet again...

gfy
- shvingter88

Right about there is the problem with your team. You cannot seriously say that Lehner is on par with Schneider.
- willschulme

And I love how he just overlooked the fact that Schneider played 37 more games then Lehner.

Right about there is the problem with your team. You cannot seriously say that Lehner is on par with Schneider.
- willschulme

He's just trolling, the guy is a homer.