MichaelJ
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- May 20, 2013
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Devils Team Discussion (current team/player news and notes) 2014-2015 Part XVIII
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glenwo2
JESPER BRATWURST
There's your answer right there.
But considering also that Boosh and Matteau have Youth on their side, that can also play a factor.
ForeverJerseyGirl
Registered User
Didn't get to see the game last night because of work, but I think one of the positives of playing a younger forward like Boucher is that they can bring a bit more quickness to the roster. Glad you thought Boucher had a good game.
I didn't see the game, but if Boosh looked faster that's a very positive sign. I think his lack of speed has been one of the biggest things holding his development back. Hopefully he's been working on that in Albany and made some improvement.
Devils Trap
Registered User
Zippy316
aka Zippo
OmNomNom
Taco is Love, Taco is Life
bouch was def quick, but he (along with everyone else) got beat quite a few times. He def needs to bulk up though. call me nit-picky, but i was hoping he'd be faster 
Zippy316
aka Zippo
I feel like Boucher doesn't have that jaw dropping speed but he has enough acceleration and uses it at the right times to get open. Like on his chance where Gomez fed him the puck, he had a quick little burst of speed to get some separation.
A lot like Henrique I would say.
A lot like Henrique I would say.
glenwo2
JESPER BRATWURST
not saying its just points wise. Hes been idk something is not right with him. He looks lethargic/Lazy his decision making at times has been horrendous and just hasn't been himself. He's had more lapse's this year than any other year I could remember
JimEIV
Registered User
- Feb 19, 2003
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Back spasms
Elbow injury
Mumps
Groin
Undisclosed upper body(most likely elbow)....
That is JUST this season and He'll be 39 in 3 weeks....how would you hold up?
Emperoreddy
Show Me What You Got!
Didn't he gave the mumps/flu combo? Or was that just Jagr?
Either way a bad case of the mumps can really mess up your body and conditioning. It took a while for the younger kids to bounce back from it.
Zippy316
aka Zippo
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Benedict Parisechuk
Army of Pandolfo's
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I think he'll be fine for one more season. He's not completely finished the way Zubrus is.
It's time to think about life without him after next season. I think he's gonna wanna play one more year after that, I also think it will be with another team like Marty did.
JimEIV
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Oh, I don't know? I think you can get another good season out of Elias?
Provided he can stay relatively healthy(I understand that is a big "if" for a 39 year old) and you temper expectations. I wouldn't expect primary scoring out of Elias but he'll be top 5 scorer on this team no problem.
- May 1, 2011
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He's probably a 40-45 point player on this team. At least at this point. That's a 40-45 point pace per 82 games, which he hasn't been healthy for in a couple of seasons now.
I wouldn't expect him to return to a 60-70+ point player again, at least not on this team. When a player his age shows a decline like this, they usually don't bounce back and return to form. It's happened before, but I don't find it likely.
Sadly these twilight years just might cost him a spot in the HOF. It's not like a player like Marty or Niedermayer (or even Stevens maybe) who were guaranteed hall of famers many years before they retired. Marty was a hall of famer already after his third cup and 400th win in 2004 before the lockout. Niedermayer is highly likely a hall of famer if he had stayed retired after that 2007 cup and Conn Smythe with Anaheim.
Benedict Parisechuk
Army of Pandolfo's
I think it depends what the team looks like next year. If we have another reason of atrocious forward depth then I think you'll see more of the same with Elias (30-40 points). If Lou finds a way to bring some nice pieces in via trade then I think he could still put up 45-55 points. With how bad Jagr fell off this season, I'm wary about Elias even though Elias will be 4 years younger. He looks right now, the way Jagr did in his last few weeks here. Father time is pretty close. I think next season absolutely needs to be Elias' last.
Guys like Elias and Zajac would be fine if we didn't rely on them as much as we do. Patty is simply too old to be counted on as a primary scorer, and Zajac needs the right winger to be effective offensively.
Benedict Parisechuk
Army of Pandolfo's
Exactly. This is why signing more UFA's is a bad idea. These marginal guys like Stafford and Frolik could put up a good amount of points on a very good offensive team but not us. They'd score like 10 points fewer on a team like the Devils who have one of the worst forward groups in the league and then we'd all be kvetching about them like we do with Ryder and Havlat. Ryder is a pretty much the perfect example of this.
Traitor Zach
Released from Glory
I think he's a guy the Wings will go after hard a la one year of Alfredsson, especially if they bring guys up like Larkin and Mantha. Surrounding them with Zetterberg, Elias, Datsyuk will help them mature even faster.
Wings were supposedly ready to offer him a 2 yr deal before we jumped in and maxed our 3 yr deal 2 offseasons ago.
JimEIV
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I agree with not signing UFA's...I've been saying this for years but we're in a "no other choice" situation. We need bodies to fill out the roster.
I think the key is to try for 1-2 year stopgap signings and avoid any 4-5 year deals on 30+ year olds. But that could be a tough order when you consider free agency is all about outbidding other teams.
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