Todd Cordell: Notes on quotes from Shero and Hynes on exit day

The stats for Bastian seemed pretty average to me. I still like the pick, but this year wasn't impressive for him. Other than that, these look pretty encouraging.

I'm fine with sticking with Hynes another year but Ward and Clowe should go. I doubt Nesreddine is in danger but still not impressed with how the D operates.

Also, Shero talking about using cap space is a bit funny because he's been such a bargain basement shopper in free agency. I'm curious to see if we actually make some moves to improve or if this is just lip service.

Todd Cordell: Notes on quotes from Shero and Hynes on exit day
- Todd.Cordell

Todd, I don't think they need to break the bank for Shattenkirk or Alzner. It's not worth it. The real value will be relieving teams of players they could lose in the expansion draft or salary cap relief. Fowler and/or Vatenen are already talked about a lot but what other opportunities do you see out there? It looks like Minnesota might be in trouble too and Dumba and Zucker may be available. Maybe Tanner Pearson or McNabb in LA? Ryan Ellis?

I'd be ok with moving on from both Ward and Nasradine seeing as the defense is atrocious and even taking into account the talent level of the blue-line, they probably underperformed.

As for free agency, I think I've mentioned I think the Devils should go all in on Shattenkirk. $7.5 & 7 is ok with me, and I'd be ok going higher if it also means keeping him from the Rags. It'd be different if the Devils had a blue chip guy in the system at back, but they don't and they don't have any prospects that are going to cost significant money in the next several years. Besides, if Shero plays it smart they shouldn't be anywhere close to the cap for the next couple years, and by then Cammalleri will be off the books, Greene will be on his last year and the cap will likely be a little higher.

Todd, I don't think they need to break the bank for Shattenkirk or Alzner. It's not worth it. The real value will be relieving teams of players they could lose in the expansion draft or salary cap relief. Fowler and/or Vatenen are already talked about a lot but what other opportunities do you see out there? It looks like Minnesota might be in trouble too and Dumba and Zucker may be available. Maybe Tanner Pearson or McNabb in LA? Ryan Ellis?
- jtirri

Definitely not for Alzner.

Ideally they will acquire two blue liners this offseason. Like I said, I think throwing a boatload of cash at Shattenkirk is a good move. I also think they should go after a guy through trades, but I think they need to concentrate on the back end. A better blue line will really help out the forwards. Vatanen and Fowler make a lot of sense, so would Dumba, I'd really like them to go all in on the trade, since Stanley Cup teams seem to need that Norris Candidate defenseman. If you can go for Lindholm somehow (Hall for Larsson and Toronto traded David Clarkson, so anything is possible) that would be amazing, though it'd probably cost a lot, even accounting for the expansion draft.

Todd Cordell: Notes on quotes from Shero and Hynes on exit day
- Todd.Cordell

Ugh, Schultz being listed here really concerns me. Another Pittsburgh guy who won't be nearly the same player once he leaves that perfect situation. He'll be back to his days of being a -30 guy while be severely overpaid.

I don't know how they define "tough to play against." Two years ago they were somehow tougher to play against with less talented, older, slower players. This year they give Hynes the youth, speed and more talented players he's looking for and they were horrendous.

Let's bring jagr back. He's a free agent after all. Could only help this punchless team

Todd Cordell: Notes on quotes from Shero and Hynes on exit day
- Todd.Cordell

Watch him over pay for duechene

Watch him over pay for duechene
- shvingter88

I don't think Shero is dumb enough to spend the prospects and picks to get a guy that isn't locked up long term or whom the team doesn't have RFA control over. The organization is too thin for him to do that.

He'll probably just give Kunitz $5 mil for one season, though lol.

We need to hire a couple miners for the upcoming draft. We must dig for the gems baby!

hopefully he goes back anaheim and can somehow pry montour, theodore, vatanen, fowler, or lindholm. Anyone of those id be 100000% okay with. Also knowing that either we trade for one or they lose one of them for nothing we have the upper hand and can steal one of these guys for a complete underpayment.

Well now I have hope!


Unfortunately though not until 2020 at the earliest it seems

This franchise won three Stanley Cups by demoralizing their opponents. These two (Shero, Hynes) probably don't even know what "morale" means.

Everyone's going to be skating 20% faster against us, shooting 20% harder, passing 20% crisper, goaltending .20% save percentage better, and they'll demoralize our best players in the process, making them play 2 inches shorter and whimpering at the end of every game, saying, "We-we-well I tried my best"

Schultz, sure, but he's made himself look good in Pittsburgh, which means he'll come at a high price tag or he'll just return there. We have to pay a 20% contract tax because NJ isn't a desirable destination to play right now.

Was watching the SJ EDM game last night and liked how Chris Tierney played, kind of like another Henrique. Seems like a Palmieri situation who is buried on the 3rd/4th line because of SJ depth.

22 years old and has decent production, wouldn't hate kicking the tires on seeing what it would take to get him.

This franchise won three Stanley Cups by demoralizing their opponents. These two (Shero, Hynes) probably don't even know what "morale" means.

Everyone's going to be skating 20% faster against us, shooting 20% harder, passing 20% crisper, goaltending .20% save percentage better, and they'll demoralize our best players in the process, making them play 2 inches shorter and whimpering at the end of every game, saying, "We-we-well I tried my best"

Schultz, sure, but he's made himself look good in Pittsburgh, which means he'll come at a high price tag or he'll just return there. We have to pay a 20% contract tax because NJ isn't a desirable destination to play right now.
- archromat

They won 3 cups because they had elite players on those rosters.

Was watching the SJ EDM game last night and liked how Chris Tierney played, kind of like another Henrique. Seems like a Palmieri situation who is buried on the 3rd/4th line because of SJ depth.

22 years old and has decent production, wouldn't hate kicking the tires on seeing what it would take to get him.
- MikeWilliams

Dude is a black hole. No thanks.

Apparently Will Butcher isn't too interested in signing with the Avs any thoughts on him ? I know he just won the Hobey Baker.

These were babies. Young . small players . Not tough to play against at all.
Older players will get you points but not how to build. Young players getting experience is how you build but sucks for a year.Stll need more speed ,but must add some size also.
We get pinned in our zone and D can't skate puck out and Offense to small to control the wall.

Apparently Will Butcher isn't too interested in signing with the Avs any thoughts on him ? I know he just won the Hobey Baker.
- blizzzard

I think he will sign with the Rags/Hawks

They won 3 cups because they had elite players on those rosters.
- CaptCrankypants

What made Scott Stevens elite? Martin Brodeur? Even John Madden when he was the best shutdown center in the league at the time...

You try to skate into the zone and you have to keep your head up, and you're playing with more anxiety so you tend to make quicker, clumsier plays that these guys are eager to counter.

Then on top of all that, if you get by guys like Stevens and Colon White, who also brought attrition to the line-up back in 2000 and 2003, you try to dump it in and Martin Brodeur takes the puck and makes a tape to tape pass to one of his forwards for a quick zone exit, making all the defense on the team even better because it limited zone entry strategies. They didn't even need a D that could make a good first pass; he did it for them and he did it better than most NHL d-men could.

Then when you see a team whose defense you simply can't solve, what the heck do you do? You can't dump it in, and when you skate across the neutral zone, you're going to have to do it with eyes on the top of your helmet because if your head was down, you would soon see a number 4 knocking it sky high. Every goal you scored on these guys was earned. It was a handicapped situation.

When they lost Stevens, what happened? Niedermeyer was captain and NJ was a quick five and out in the first round. Defending cup champs to that. They still had Brodeur and Niedermeyer... they were out Stevens and Mogilny.

They weren't elite because they beat you by scoring goals and skating faster than you; they were elite because they beat you by getting into your head and making you think you couldn't beat them. Even when they solved the match-up problems, NJ's third line or fourth line scores a key goal in the game, or Madden scores a back-breaking shorty.

Yea, Niedermeyer's elite, except he's never won a Cup on a team without Scott Stevens or Chris Pronger on it. When you played with those guys, your team felt bigger, and your opponents felt smaller, more anxious... that difficult to chart "psychological" factor to the team that would give many people headaches trying to analyze because they would rather it not exist; it makes the game easier to analyze that way. You look at Anaheim vs. Detroit... Niedermeyer was an offensive catalyst, but Lidstrom got rocked by Pronger, which allowed Niedermeyer to do his thing because he just felt bigger. Pronger's hit on Lidstrom turned the tide on that series because sometimes a big hit is bigger than a big goal. Stevens did the same to Lindros and Francis.

What do you think Scott Stevens taught Adam Larsson? Look at the way Larsson plays now... he's confident and bulldozes into zones... and when other players play against him, he makes them eat boards. There's a reason he's a +21 and none of the other d on his team exceeds +10... Stevens taught him attrition and how important it is for players to have it.

So it leaves you with two ways you can win the cup: one by acquiring first/second overall picks who just "outtalent" the other team, which was Shero's specialty, the other by more easily acquiring guys who make the players on the other team feel smaller and clumsier so that your less talented players can be unsung heroes and simply outplay them like they're outplaying a depleted line-up.

Even in NJ's 2012 Finals run... that run doesn't happen without the "fourth-line grinders" in Carter, Bernier, and Gionta, who gave the team a momentum boost whenever they played a shift. It's amazing how confident your team starts to feel when your fourth line hems the opponent in their own end.

When Ottawa lost to Anaheim in that finals, it sent that franchise fishtailing... they were "outtalenting" all the other teams and then a big team comes along and they just made Ottawa feel helpless and frustrated. Murray picked that team apart to try to make the get bigger, but they lost their talent in the process.

I'm a stats guy, but I also read context behind those stats. Stevens didn't have the stats later in his career. All he needed to help his team win a series was one tick in the hit column. That one tick in the hit column can change the momentum of an entire playoff series and give your forwards more goals and a higher +/- and their forwards less goals and a lower +/-. Then stats analysts can say their players were elite by looking at the boxscore, but the people who watched the games... and especially the ones who played against them: they knew the truth.

I think he will sign with the Rags/Hawks
- Mr.Bobby

(frank) them. See Shatty's hair ? guy is in the worst transition of balding lmao

(frank) them. See Shatty's hair ? guy is in the worst transition of balding lmao
- blizzzard

Sometimes you just have to get friendly with a razor. The time has come for Shatty. I have a feeling after July 1 he will be able to buy a razor company if her wants to.

What made Scott Stevens elite? Martin Brodeur? Even John Madden when he was the best shutdown center in the league at the time...

- archromat

I shortened this but great write up.

I always felt that while the Devils certainly had a lot more talent then, they were always hard to play against everywhere. The trap was frustrating and I think Marty's unorthodox goaltending made shooters feel like they had to do a lot to beat him and he'd get in their head a bit. If not, Brodeur's stickhandling drove other teams nuts.

It was fun not only winning but watching a team that played the game a bit differently then the rest of the league. No we are trying to play the game the way the rest of the league plays and the lack of talent means you're not going to be very successful.

Meanwhile we're trying to rebuild our team exactly how everyone else does... except without spending money or bringing in high quality free agents. Good luck with that...

I shortened this but great write up.

I always felt that while the Devils certainly had a lot more talent then, they were always hard to play against everywhere. The trap was frustrating and I think Marty's unorthodox goaltending made shooters feel like they had to do a lot to beat him and he'd get in their head a bit. If not, Brodeur's stickhandling drove other teams nuts.

It was fun not only winning but watching a team that played the game a bit differently then the rest of the league. No we are trying to play the game the way the rest of the league plays and the lack of talent means you're not going to be very successful.

Meanwhile we're trying to rebuild our team exactly how everyone else does... except without spending money or bringing in high quality free agents. Good luck with that...
- Queenie_5_hole

as long as he is waiting for the right players to spend the money on then I am ok with waiting a bit. I dont think he should just through money at people for the sake of it. I imagine he will throw money at Shattenkirk and it will then be up to the player to decide. I also think he is waiting to take advantage of teams in cap trouble and you can't do that if you already have bad cntracts that won't be getting you're team assets for them. I also doubt the cap rises hardly at all because Vegas still needs to be able to make the floor if they don't through expansion.

If we are virtually the same team after the big boys go on july first that we are probably done whatever it was we had hoped to and in that case I will be wondering what the hell is going on. Until then though Ill be a little patient as he has spoken with the Russian kids multiple times and is interested in getting them over sooner then later and he has spoken multiple times with Kerfoot who he seems to really want to get signed. We have guys with much higher ceilings then the guys we had been drafting like the Matteau's ( although Q has come along very nicely ) we have a couple off the board prospects with high skill to be excited about. It is only a matter of time and so long as we have the space and the picks and the prospects keep growing then it won't be long.