2013 New Jersey Devils (Team/Player Discussion)-Offseason FA and trade talk Part XII

[Devil X]

Boucher is not going to make the team.

I dont think he should either. As i said i dont agree with it. Its just a gut feeling he will do so well in camp they will keep him on the team to start the season.

I also agree he needs a year in the AHL.

 

[PuckHogs29]

Brunner is too fancy. But he's a good shootout player and was a good shootout guy in Sweden. He just has to keep it simple and he has the hands and speed to be elite.

Yes he was 2-7 last year. But if he hits his next 3 he's suddenly 5-10. I think it's a small sample to be honest.

Oh definitely. More of a statement of fact and not an indictment or talent assessment. Some people have been thinking after Elias the shootout lineup looks brutal, and I think with Clowe and Ryder it'll be alright, throw Brunner in and it gets deeper.

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

Maybe Brunner won't wanna sign here because he'll have to delete his twitter lol

 

[ThePSEGPowerPoster]

I thought Brunner was a RW.

I have no idea why and i do not agree with it but i think we break camp with this line-up

Elias - Zajac - Brunner
Clowe - Henrique - Ryder
Boucher - Lokti - Zubrus
Olesz - Carter - Bernier
Josefson - Gionta

On Boucher I just have a feeling he is going to rip camp apart and with the need for offense Pete and Lou are going to break camp with him on the roster. How long he stays i have no idea.

Greene - Larrson
Fayne - Salvador
Volch - Zids
Harrold

Barring any trades of course.

Boucher would solve A LOT of problems with our shootout and powerplay.

See: 1:25 in this video. Kid is all business.



But I really doubt Lou rushes this kid who still has a lot of developing to do.

 

[Classic Devil]

I dont think he should either. As i said i dont agree with it. Its just a gut feeling he will do so well in camp they will keep him on the team to start the season.

I also agree he needs a year in the AHL.

I think they'd sooner put Tedenby there. Remember we have to waive him to send him down, and while I suspect he'd pass through waivers I think Lou and Pete would rather give him another chance.

 

[ThePSEGPowerPoster]

I think they'd sooner put Tedenby there. Remember we have to waive him to send him down, and while I suspect he'd pass through waivers I think Lou and Pete would rather give him another chance.

I agree. Though I do believe Pete and Lou may have grown just as impatient with Teddy as we have. Remember, every single coach Teddy has had here has complained about his inability to stay focused and learn defense.

You can't be a Devils forward if you don't at least make a concerted effort to defend.

 

[Classic Devil]

I agree. Though I do believe Pete and Lou may have grown just as impatient with Teddy as we have. Remember, every single coach Teddy has had here has complained about his inability to stay focused and learn defense.

You can't be a Devils forward if you don't at least make a concerted effort to defend.

I don't think Tedenby's problem is he doesn't want to. He tries. He's just no good at it.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Tedenby is a wildcard. If he comes into camp stronger(lol) and less Pejorative Slured he could be useful. Idk who he's beat out though...Gio or olesz maybe? Probably not. Doubt he improved though he's the same every single year.

 

[ThePSEGPowerPoster]

I don't think Tedenby's problem is he doesn't want to. He tries. He's just no good at it.

I know. And I do believe Pete hates him a lot less than Lemaire does because of that. So maybe that was a poor choice of words on my part. He does but the effort, the results just are never there.

 

[manilaNJ]

Well, I'm trying to make a point that we shouldn't think of the lines as 1-4 at this point. Going into next season, whatever line Zajac is on will probably get the most ice-time, followed by whatever line Elias is on (unless they're on the same line, of course). But other than that, we're not going to have a top-line or a third-line, or even a classic fourth-line. We're going to roll four lines.

Which is more or less how we won our cups.

With Schneider in net I'm comfortable with our goaltending situation. Right now we really need two things: (1) for our forwards with 50 point potential to play to 50 point potential, and (2) for our defense to be superb. We need Larsson to take the step forward and become the player he was drafted to be.

And we could use an injury to Volchenkov/Salvador and an incredible rookie campaign by someone...

Oh no, that was in jest, I'm definitely on board with this line of thinking.
I've been saying all along that we just need to put 2 lines together who can handle the toughest 40 minutes, and another 2 that can play hard for the remaining 20.

So long as Harrold never plays more than 3 games in a row and Volch and Sal don't get paired together, I'm relatively comfortable with the defense at this moment. Subject to change.

 

[Classic Devil]

Oh no, that was in jest, I'm definitely on board with this line of thinking.
I've been saying all along that we just need to put 2 lines together who can handle the toughest 40 minutes, and another 2 that can play hard for the remaining 20.

So long as Harrold never plays more than 3 games in a row and Volch and Sal don't get paired together, I'm relatively comfortable with the defense at this moment. Subject to change.

I don't think we can really afford to be "comfortable" with the defense, though. I think we need it to be exceptionally good. And for that I think we're a player short even if Larsson does take a step forward. We might have the player in one of our prospects; hard to know that, of course.

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

The one thing that has me cracking a smile, with the departure of Kovalchuk bolting to Russia, is that we don't have to "find" linemates that will gel with #17 anymore.

If we can add players that can fit into our system without us having to turn the world upside down for a specific player, we'll be making the postseason, you can bank on that.

If we do sign Brunner, we won't have that "superstar stud" anymore but we'll have a team that will play as a unit, we won't have anyone that will eat over 25 minutes of icetime, we'll roll 4 lines like all the good teams usually do and we'll most probably cut down on the # of shorthanded goals we gave last season since we'll probably run a "basic" PP... wich to me, is nothing short of great news all around.

I'll take a wack at the pignata...

Elias-Zajac-Ryder
Clowe-Henrique-Brunner
Zubrus-Loktionov-Bernier
Olesz-Josefson-Carter
Gionta/Tendeby

I kind of like that lineup. 4 solid lines that we can roll without a problem.

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

I don't think we can really afford to be "comfortable" with the defense, though. I think we need it to be exceptionally good. And for that I think we're a player short even if Larsson does take a step forward. We might have the player in one of our prospects; hard to know that, of course.

we were 13th in GAA - which you would hope we can improve, especially with Schneider.

We were also #1 in Shots against. We averaged 23 against... St. Louis was next with 24. Forwards play a part in that, too. And maybe its a small sample size too. I do think our defense is underrated. Not to go against your point... we need to maintain / improve.

Larsson needs to play every game he can, for better or worse. See what we got in him.

EDIT: Interesting, the Rangers were 11th with about 28... Buffalo was last, a whole 10 shots more on average per game with 33.

 

[aboriginal]

i really hope brunner is the next one on the docket. i still say we have the depth to make a move for a good player, obviously i want vanek, but realistically itll be tough. we dont have the flexibility of tossing in draft picks, especially a first for obvious reasons. and while id move some of the good dprospects for vanek, im worried about him only being a year long rental. still, hes the best option out there since theyre rebuilding and he might not want to be a part of that. then again, who the **** knows. just ****ing get me vanek lou, i dont care how the ****.

 

[glenwo2]

this is interesting.. not sure how much weight it has..

Nicola Berger ‏@BergerNeueLZ 1h
Also, @damien_brunner appears to be headed to the #NJDevils. They're doing a lot of background work on him right now.

Well okay then.

I think this was something we all EXPECTED.

Wonder what the terms are?

 

[Classic Devil]

Well okay then.

I think this was something we all EXPECTED.

Wonder what the terms are?

I wonder what is meant by "doing a lot of background work."

I'm guessing that means Lou knows next to nothing about Brunner (other than his stats) and wants to ensure that he knows who he's signing. Unlike most everyone else in the franchise, Brunner isn't someone Lou's been aware of since he was 16.

 

[aboriginal]

Well okay then.

I think this was something we all EXPECTED.

Wonder what the terms are?

hell get a decent deal without being overpaid. but honestly, with kovy off the books....whatever the ****. were good to go. its xmas as far as signings go.

...im saying that because im hopeful one or both of sal/volch will be dealt. oh yeahhhhh

 

[Devils Trap]

I wonder what is meant by "doing a lot of background work."

I'm guessing that means Lou knows next to nothing about Brunner (other than his stats) and wants to ensure that he knows who he's signing. Unlike most everyone else in the franchise, Brunner isn't someone Lou's been aware of since he was 16.

It all makes sense with the background work. That is probably how the reporter from Switzerland found out we were interested. Lou called(The team) to ask about him and the reporter found out about it

 

[aboriginal]

I wonder what is meant by "doing a lot of background work."

I'm guessing that means Lou knows next to nothing about Brunner (other than his stats) and wants to ensure that he knows who he's signing. Unlike most everyone else in the franchise, Brunner isn't someone Lou's been aware of since he was 16.

i honestly picture lou sitting next to a fire with a snifter of brandy and listening to youtube highlights on a huge victrola. the background check prob means one of his nephews is over and showing him actual highlights on his iphone.

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

I wouldn't be surprised one bit if Lou actually called up Holland to inquire about Brunner and possibly asked for Babcock's pov as well.

Two gm's who respect the heck out of each other but now that there playing in the same conference... It might not be as likely.

 

[glenwo2]

http://www.sbnation.com/2013/7/13/4520272/nhl-free-agent-devils-damien-brunner

An article on this......


EDIT : ugh!

Brunner is one of the most intriguing free agents left on the market. The 27-year-old put up 26 points in 44 games last season, and nine points in 14 postseason games. Still, much of his time was spent playing with players on the talent level of Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, so you're obviously going to see questions about whether or not he's capable of creating with lesser talents.

 

[Officer Rod Farva]

no signing yet?

EVERYBODY PANIC!!!!

 

[aboriginal]

no signing yet?

EVERYBODY PANIC!!!!

our only sniper up and ****ed off.
id say thats reason to panic for some.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

no signing yet?

Everybody panic!!!!

loud noises!!

 

[Marshal Rochambeau]

our only sniper up and ****ed off.
id say thats reason to panic for some.

Zajac has a decent shot.