Why?

Why does so many want to trade White?

He's young, strong, aggressive and has a good shot. He's made some mistakes but so hasn't most Devils defensemen. I know he is probably the most desired by other teams if that's the reason to unload and get someone of value then I understand.

So is there another reason I have don't know about?

Why does so many want to trade White?

He's young, strong, aggressive and has a good shot. He's made some mistakes but so hasn't most Devils defensemen. I know he is probably the most desired by other teams if that's the reason to unload and get someone of value then I understand.

So is there another reason I have don't about?


White wouldn't be my choice....You can make the arguement he is our second best D-man.

I would move Matvichuk, Kozlov, Friesen, Marshall, Rasmussen, Oliwa, Langdon ALL before White

Effing right doggy...

Everybody on boards wants him gone...but Lou is smarter than that...

White is IMO an essential part of the Devils D...He hits, is fearless and sacrifices his body for the team...not too many of those these days...

Moreover...the depth on D that we have now is tops in the league...
Why would we give that up?

Just think back to the first 2-3 days of free agency...which players got overpriced and signed quite fast...defencemen...

I believe that White could develop into an Adam Foote...with a bit less offensive upside...

Either way...we got us a division to win back...

i love white, hes a great crease clearing dman hence id love to keep him, but i also feel hes one of our more tradable assets, jim said it, everyones overpaying for d, forwards more often lose their scoring touch before defencemen forget how to defend

Yeah I can't see moving white at all. Especially if its to make cap space and all you will get back are draft picks. No way.

white will stay - he's expected to grow into the Stevens role. If he doesn't, then you'll see him leave.

The reason why White is being mentioned for a future possible trade is because of one simple reason; On many occasions, he does take stupid penalties (late in the game) that every so often...costs us the win.

As much as White is "supposed" to be our replacement for Stevens...he will need to some serious maturing (very soon) & stop taking dumb penalties like if he wishes to stay with this organization. Lou only has so much patience.

Let me put it to you this way, would you'd rather have Colin White or say...Sheldon Souray? Or Jason Smith? Or Brad Staurt?

Doing a package deal that would send White, along with Ahonen & Friesen and/or Rass would land us any of those players, along with either a quality AHL'er or a very high draft pick.

Why does so many want to trade White?

He's young, strong, aggressive and has a good shot. He's made some mistakes but so hasn't most Devils defensemen. I know he is probably the most desired by other teams if that's the reason to unload and get someone of value then I understand.

So is there another reason I have don't know about?
That is primarily the main reason why I would be ok with moving him if it could make the team stronger elsewhere. Teams generally trade from a position of strength which in our case is defense (even with the loss of Niedermayer and possibly Stevens the Devils have terrific depth on the blueline). Move Colin White and you still have Matvichuk, McGillis, Hale, and Brown waiting in reserve to stay at home and play physical D. Its pretty similar redundancy-wise to the surplus of fourth line grit players we have added who are all easily interchangeable (Oliwa, Langdon, Marshall, Rasmussen).

Colin White would command a lot of interest around the league along with a pretty substantial return trade value-wise. The way I see it, our left wing side is still not as threatening or strong offensively as the right side is. Colin White combined with a player like Kozlov or Friesen should land Lou a more consistent left wing goal scorer to play on the top two lines while Patrik Elias recovers bringing better scoring balance to the team.

I wouldn't mind if a deal that included White scored the Devils a Conte-approved stud D-man prospect. Yes, even if that makes Brown their 7th D-man. <<shudder>>

When does Colin become a UFA?

White is IMO an essential part of the Devils D...He hits, is fearless and sacrifices his body for the team...not too many of those these days... Matvichuk and McGillis both bring the same physical play, if not more, then what White currently brings imo. I watched Dan McGillis play more intensely and more physical for the Bruins then what I saw from Colin White before the lockout. Richard Matvichuk is a player who KO'd Peter Forsberg with a concussion awhile back. His value should be considerable against teams like Philly. Do you feel Matvichuk and McGillis are big steps backwards from what we have today with Colin White? I personally don't. When was the last time you saw a hit from Colin White that made you think "ohhhhhhhh... shades of a future Scott Stevens?"


I believe that White could develop into an Adam Foote...with a bit less offensive upside...
That would surprise me for sure.

Colin White would command a lot of interest around the league along with a pretty substantial return trade value-wise. The way I see it, our left wing side is still not as threatening or strong offensively as the right side is. Colin White combined with a player like Kozlov or Friesen should land Lou a more consistent left wing goal scorer to play on the top two lines while Patrik Elias recovers bringing better scoring balance to the team.

IMHO, this team is still too dangerously close to the cap to make talent-for-talent trades. Someone with a seven-figure contract has to be sent out with only pick(s) or prospect(s) coming back.


I wouldn't mind if a deal that included White scored the Devils a Conte-approved stud D-man prospect. Yes, even if that makes Brown their 7th D-man. <<shudder>>

When does Colin become a UFA?

I wonder what the Devils would have to package with White to fetch one of Nashville's pack of D prospects.

Colin White becomes a UFA on July 1 2007 (or if he's still under contract then, the next July 1 after that contract expires).

Unthinkable...you put up a good case...

I absolutely agree that matvichuk and mcgillis will add a good physical dimention to our defence...especially with stevens potential absence...

However, defensive depth is essential in the NHL. Niedermayer logged over 25 minutes a game, we will need to spread that ice time amongst the defencemen.

Moreover, with the new schedule, we will face phisical Philly and offence-minded Pitts 8 times each.

However the main reason for all the White trade rumors is because of the cap. And I dont think its wise to trade our defencemen away. Especially after having lost 2 (nied, stevens although he barely played last season) and gained 3 (matvichuk, mcgillis, malakhov)...

Anyways, I think our forward depth is decent now...especially if we leave room for 1 rookie (parise, suglobov etc...)

I guess I am outnumbered these days....Wait until the season starts and he loses us 3 or 4 games then revisit this thread. :)

We need to shed salary and need defensive prospects. Trading White might accomplish both!

We need to shed salary and need defensive prospects. Trading White might accomplish both!

Those defensive prospects better be 20 years old or younger, because the fact is, we have very very very little space in our organization for NHL ready (or soon to be) players in general, especially defensemen.

I think White is a solid defender, but I really think he has also hit his peak. And to be honest, he's nothing spectacular. Defenders like him are quite common to find and develop if need be. Like Unthinkable says, he needs to mature if he is to take his career to another level. I don't know if he has it in him to be honest. I think he is better as a #5/#6....That's just me though....

is trading away a young defenseman. I don't see where you guys have any young defenders coming up in the near future. In fact, it appears to be the weakest part of your prospect pool. Hale, Martin & White are young and fairly decent. But on the farm, that's another story. What I could see is your trading a veteran forward, a pick for a grade B type prospect as part of your move to get under the cap. What's with you guys signing all these old guys? Has Slats been talking to Lou?

I guess I am outnumbered these days....Wait until the season starts and he loses us 3 or 4 games then revisit this thread. :)

Unfortunately for the Devils they will have to get rid of somebody before October 1st just to be under the cap.

is trading away a young defenseman. I don't see where you guys have any young defenders coming up in the near future. In fact, it appears to be the weakest part of your prospect pool. Hale, Martin & White are young and fairly decent. But on the farm, that's another story. What I could see is your trading a veteran forward, a pick for a grade B type prospect as part of your move to get under the cap. What's with you guys signing all these old guys? Has Slats been talking to Lou?
Who is to say in 5 years when Matvichuk, McGillis and Rafalski are ready to leave that a defensmen like Fraser, Zimmerman, Fayne, Eckford or Tarkir could develop into an NHL'er. We have three young defensmen now and trades can be made. 5 years is a long way away.

Hale, Martin & White are young and fairly decent.

atlantaranger NOT saying that every person place or thing associated with the New Jersey Devils sucks?

Why would we need prospects coming up when we have guys signed for 2 years or more. We don't need any defensemen graduations until 2007, and even then we'll probably make trades, pick more guys etc. Things never unfold quite the way one expects them to. The entire fate of a franchise can change with one trade, as can the franchise's outlook in terms of needs and strengths.

atlantaranger NOT saying that every person place or thing associated with the New Jersey Devils sucks?

Why would we need prospects coming up when we have guys signed for 2 years or more. We don't need any defensemen graduations until 2007, and even then we'll probably make trades, pick more guys etc. Things never unfold quite the way one expects them to. The entire fate of a franchise can change with one trade, as can the franchise's outlook in terms of needs and strengths.
have always had a stable of developing prospects, almost at every position. I still see NJ doing that with forwards, but not in goal (for obvious reasons) and on defense. The strength has always been to deal from strength. I don't see where NJ is in that position in either goal or on defense. The point I guess I'm trying to make is that NJ seems not to have the depth from within that it always had, especially in those two areas.

have always had a stable of developing prospects, almost at every position. I still see NJ doing that with forwards, but not in goal (for obvious reasons) and on defense. The strength has always been to deal from strength. I don't see where NJ is in that position in either goal or on defense. The point I guess I'm trying to make is that NJ seems not to have the depth from within that it always had, especially in those two areas.

That's not really true. New Jersey doesn't try to fill positional holes with prospects. For one, it's pointless because prospects aren't going to be able to play for 2-3 years minimum unless they're really good prospects (and with the Devils system they probably never will, Gomez being the sole exception). We draft the best player available, always have. In recent history that's been forwards and so we have a plethora of ones available. Plus we already have two young defense prospects in Martin and Hale, both easily with top-4 potential and so we don't have a huge pressing need for another youngster to come in from the minors. It would put too much youth on the blueline for one.

I imagine with the earlier age that players can now become free agents, we will see more and more teams drafting with a slight emphasis favoring forwards since they can develop much faster then your typical blueliner. Not sure if that was on Burke's mind when he skipped over the top ranked defender in this years draft or not, but it certainly seems plausible to me at this point.

I think Atlanta has a point. In the past the Devils had good depth coming thru their system on D. Martin is part of that. Hale was supposed to be part of that but with all the vets Lamoriello brought in, it's weird.

It's a little odd how your GM has gone the FA route for guys in their 30's and overpaid for two of them.

This is unusual.


White is your only proven stay-at-home physical young D. Why would they trade him? That would mean relying on mostly an aging defense with one guy under 30.


With a crowded roster, I'd expect them to trade a Kozlov or someone else.

I imagine with the earlier age that players can now become free agents, we will see more and more teams drafting with a slight emphasis favoring forwards since they can develop much faster then your typical blueliner. Not sure if that was on Burke's mind when he skipped over the top ranked defender in this years draft or not, but it certainly seems plausible to me at this point.


Though I didn't agree with Burke's move to bypass Johnson, if you looked at their roster, they have Ladislav Smid and Marc Popovich in their system. Popovich is signed. Not sure about Smid.

Plus in the second round, Burke made sure to draft for D taking Mikkelson. He looks to be pretty good based on what I saw on tape.

So, Anaheim has some nice prospects who could make a difference on their D.

I have never been a big Colin White fan, I think mostly because his rookie year so far as been his best year and the worst part about that is every season after that he has regressed. But at the same time we should recognize that despite his obvious faults, they can't all be that bad since we did win two cups with him in the lineup.

But back to his rookie year, he only played 21 games in the regular season and was teamed up with Malakhov who arrived at the trading deadline and was essentialy White's partner on "D" and those two play together was IMO an underrated factor to us winning the cup in 2000 as those two play together was surprising good and better yet very consistent.

Perhaps signing Malakhov was due to that and Lou hopes to capture that magic again, because to be honest after he left, White never matched that level of play that he exhibited when paired with Malakhov.

Also another reason to keep White is that during his rookie season where he excelled the head coach for the Devils was Larry Robinson, after he left it seemed like White's progression halted and actually regressed.

As much frustration he has caused me, trading him now when all the stars look like they are aligned like his rookie season would be a huge mistake.

is trading away a young defenseman. I don't see where you guys have any young defenders coming up in the near future. In fact, it appears to be the weakest part of your prospect pool. Hale, Martin & White are young and fairly decent. But on the farm, that's another story. What I could see is your trading a veteran forward, a pick for a grade B type prospect as part of your move to get under the cap. What's with you guys signing all these old guys? Has Slats been talking to Lou?
Nah dude, your 100% right, our prospects at "D" is very suspect at best, but at the same time people do forget that one reason for that is we did rush Martin(correct decision) and Hale(did struggle in his rookie year) to the big club in their rookie season.

But to be honest, after Martin we really do have crap when it comes to prospects at "D", and while I like Hale ALOT, am I the only one who isn't sold on him being a sure thing yet?

But then again I never did see him play at Albany last year...

I think Atlanta has a point. In the past the Devils had good depth coming thru their system on D. Martin is part of that. Hale was supposed to be part of that but with all the vets Lamoriello brought in, it's weird.

Lets see what we did with that great defensive depth:

Traded Jason Smith
Traded Willie Mitchell
Traded Sheldon Souray
Traded Cale Hulse
Brad Bombardir claimed off waivers

Lou has always traded future strength for current needs. He does what he sees fit as to keep the franchise vibrant in the future while also making sure he can ice the best team possible in the present.

Lets see what we did with that great defensive depth:

Traded Jason Smith
Traded Willie Mitchell
Traded Sheldon Souray
Traded Cale Hulse
Brad Bombardir claimed off waivers

Lou has always traded future strength for current needs. He does what he sees fit as to keep the franchise vibrant in the future while also making sure he can ice the best team possible in the present.


Smith was part of a package including McCauley and Sullivan for Gilmour. I'd say that didn't workout though Gilmour was very good for them in his two yrs.

Souray was packaged with DeWolf for Malakhov

Hulse was either part of a deal for Housley or Albelin (think it was latter).

Mitchell was for Sean O'Donnell


The reason your GM was able to make these deals was because of your core of Stevens and Niedermayer and Rafalski. Those three gave you basically two #1 pairs. White paired with Niedermayer to form a solid top four.

So, he had enough of a blanket to go out and get 'missing pieces.'

The Devils no longer have that. They still will ice Rafalski but with who? A 41-year-old Stevens? Matvichuk? White?

Martin is your best young defenseman who has great potential. They're best bet is that he turns into a mini-version of Niedermayer. That is not going to be easy for a second year player, who will probably be paired on their third D with McGillis.

Nah dude, your 100% right, our prospects at "D" is very suspect at best, but at the same time people do forget that one reason for that is we did rush Martin(correct decision) and Hale(did struggle in his rookie year) to the big club in their rookie season.

But to be honest, after Martin we really do have crap when it comes to prospects at "D", and while I like Hale ALOT, am I the only one who isn't sold on him being a sure thing yet?

But then again I never did see him play at Albany last year...


It's not so much that Hale was ineffective his rookie year. He actually had a good finish with the Devils that season. But it's more so a question of his health. When he did return to the Rats, their team improved according to people and started winning.

It's not so much that Hale was ineffective his rookie year. He actually had a good finish with the Devils that season. But it's more so a question of his health. When he did return to the Rats, their team improved according to people and started winning.
I thought he struggled, one of the things that I keep seeing was surprising his inability to hit as he did in college, which usually suggests that the player is afraid to for the risk of getting burned and thus instead of being aggresive is maybe too cautious and for the style he plays that does become a liabilty.

Martin on the other hand, his style is actually a very rare one that we rarely see in rookies.

For one he could afford to play cautious because that is a huge part of his style, also I think alot of people underestimated or never realized how smart of a hockey player this kid is.

I still marvel his play in the World Cup, he was a late minute replacement for Team USA and partnered up with Rafalski to make up their best defense pairing on that team.

He has always been my favorite prospect and during that WC I payed special attention to his play and it was near perfect, in fact I may be wrong but he was NEVER once on this ice for an even strength goal and against the worlds best, that's saying a mile.

I said this last year and I'll say it again, if you want to get a idea on what kind of defenseman Martin can be is when I first started to see him play he reminded of another American defenseman in Gary Suter, he has done nothing to change that opinion.

Hale was solid for the Devils. He finished a +12 while playing much of the year with Martin. I have no doubts that he will be a strong defenseman for the Devils (in the mold of Daneyko -- solid but not flashy). Yes, he does have the kidney ailment, but from what I have been reading about it recently, it does appear to be on the decline. He will always have the condition, but it sounds like it could be spacing itself out more as his body fights it -- meaing it has attacked about every two years or so, but his doctors feel that it might be every three years or four years eventually. So that's good news.

That's not really true. New Jersey doesn't try to fill positional holes with prospects. For one, it's pointless because prospects aren't going to be able to play for 2-3 years minimum unless they're really good prospects (and with the Devils system they probably never will, Gomez being the sole exception). We draft the best player available, always have. In recent history that's been forwards and so we have a plethora of ones available. Plus we already have two young defense prospects in Martin and Hale, both easily with top-4 potential and so we don't have a huge pressing need for another youngster to come in from the minors. It would put too much youth on the blueline for one.
However, it doesn't take way from the fact that you have no fall back plan in place for the future regarding Brodeur and the core of your defense is now gone. You have not replaced the quality of Neidermayer, Daneyko and Stevens (in his hayday)
Sure you have replaced them in the physical sense, but not in the type of player each was both on and off the ice. As I said to Lou the Mod, I see you guys signing older players because you don't have the younger players that you use to have within the organization. Sure you made a signing, or trade every year for depth, but the difference now is that these guys are replacements for key personnel lost.
Molgilny is an insurance policy against Elias' health issues. But, he's been hurt the last couple of years and he is much older now. For the money spent, would it not been a wiser investment to throw that type of money and years at a younger player? If his hips are not 100% that's a tough bullet to bite when you are up against the cap.

I have never been a big Colin White fan, I think mostly because his rookie year so far as been his best year and the worst part about that is every season after that he has regressed. But at the same time we should recognize that despite his obvious faults, they can't all be that bad since we did win two cups with him in the lineup.

But back to his rookie year, he only played 21 games in the regular season and was teamed up with Malakhov who arrived at the trading deadline and was essentialy White's partner on "D" and those two play together was IMO an underrated factor to us winning the cup in 2000 as those two play together was surprising good and better yet very consistent.

Perhaps signing Malakhov was due to that and Lou hopes to capture that magic again, because to be honest after he left, White never matched that level of play that he exhibited when paired with Malakhov.

Also another reason to keep White is that during his rookie season where he excelled the head coach for the Devils was Larry Robinson, after he left it seemed like White's progression halted and actually regressed.

As much frustration he has caused me, trading him now when all the stars look like they are aligned like his rookie season would be a huge mistake.

was a huge plus for NJ. Him and Laperriere were responsible for turning Stevens' game around. While talented, he ran around far too much and lost his temper way too easily. What is your impression of Robinson being able to mentor and teach young defensemen as a head coach? Is Laperriere still on board?

Smith was part of a package including McCauley and Sullivan for Gilmour. I'd say that didn't workout though Gilmour was very good for them in his two yrs.

Souray was packaged with DeWolf for Malakhov

Hulse was either part of a deal for Housley or Albelin (think it was latter).

Mitchell was for Sean O'Donnell


The reason your GM was able to make these deals was because of your core of Stevens and Niedermayer and Rafalski. Those three gave you basically two #1 pairs. White paired with Niedermayer to form a solid top four.

So, he had enough of a blanket to go out and get 'missing pieces.'

The Devils no longer have that. They still will ice Rafalski but with who? A 41-year-old Stevens? Matvichuk? White?

Martin is your best young defenseman who has great potential. They're best bet is that he turns into a mini-version of Niedermayer. That is not going to be easy for a second year player, who will probably be paired on their third D with McGillis.
NJ's ability to make those deals was two fold, one they had depth in the prospect pool, quality depth. Two, they had people on the big squad that many of these players were not going to compete for their jobs anytime soon. Those circumstances don't exist anymore, mainly because, as you pointed out, Stevens, Daneyko and Neidermayer have not been replaced with equal quality.

was a huge plus for NJ. Him and Laperriere were responsible for turning Stevens' game around. While talented, he ran around far too much and lost his temper way too easily. What is your impression of Robinson being able to mentor and teach young defensemen as a head coach? Is Laperriere still on board?

I found Robinson did a better job of mentoring young players as a head coach than as an assistant coach... probably because he got to determine the amout of action they saw and the types of situations they had to deal with, and then send them to Fetisov or others. Fetisov has been replaced by Laperriere/MacLean, but that chain of command is still there.

Although, certain posters have toned down their rhetoric, it's just to camouflage their glee at their belief of the Devils demise. Yes, you don't have to be genius to know that losing Niedermayer and possibly Stevens in the same year hurts big time. And yes, we are thin in regards to defensive prospects. However, it's the price of being a contending team for the last 10 years. Was it worth 4 cup appearances and 3 Championships, you bet!! Have we taken a step backwards, probably and picking constantly in the latter rounds also doesn’t help. Why Lou signed Malakhov and Mogilny at those prices? I guess he is trying to remain competitive, but it seems Lou is gearing up for 2007 and the opening of the new arena by only giving out 2 year contracts. We have some really good prospects at the forward position and picking up Frazee this year and Disher last year, we have strengthen our goaltending. At least if we slip, their is a good reason for it and a good GM will use taking one step backwards by following that up with two steps forward. I don't know how the season will turn out, but in Lou I still trust!!

However, it doesn't take way from the fact that you have no fall back plan in place for the future regarding Brodeur and the core of your defense is now gone.


Actually Atlanta, Frazee will be the Devils next number one goalie. They solved that problem.

However, it doesn't take way from the fact that you have no fall back plan in place for the future regarding Brodeur and the core of your defense is now gone. You have not replaced the quality of Neidermayer, Daneyko and Stevens (in his hayday) Disher and Frazee currently. How exactly do you replace a Niedermayer or Stevens one-for-one at this point? You can't so you get the best available guys out there to collectively bolster the blueline.


Sure you have replaced them in the physical sense, but not in the type of player each was both on and off the ice. As I said to Lou the Mod, I see you guys signing older players because you don't have the younger players that you use to have within the organization. Sure you made a signing, or trade every year for depth, but the difference now is that these guys are replacements for key personnel lost. Chris Pronger may be the closest the Devils could have possibly come to replacing a guy like Scott Stevens, but he signed with Edmonton right away. As far as replacing Niedermayer goes well there was Gonchar, but he's nowhere in the same league defensively as Nieds is and of course there was Brian Leetch who has roots in New England and has always wanted to play close to home before retiring. Devils will soldier on with collective team defensive efforts from Rafalski, Malakhov, and Martin - certainly no slouches there in my mind when it comes to moving the puck, transitioning the defense to offense, and playing good responsible d in their own zones. McGillis has some decent offense in him as well. Leadership-wise, if you poll NJ Devils fans, you will likely find a very mixed opinion on whether or not Scott Niedermayer made a great Devils captain in the shadows of Stevens' post concussion syndrome. Many here felt he made a lousy captain while others felt he provided good leadership by example.


Molgilny is an insurance policy against Elias' health issues. But, he's been hurt the last couple of years and he is much older now. For the money spent, would it not been a wiser investment to throw that type of money and years at a younger player? If his hips are not 100% that's a tough bullet to bite when you are up against the cap. It's a legitimate concern anytime you have an injury to a critical part of the body which is crucial to skating, turning fast, deking, etc...

The way I view this move is:
A) The team needed way more veteran leadership upfront which was lost when Joe Nieuwendyk headed to the Leafs and Jim Mckenzie exited stage right. In the following season, Igor Larionov failed to bring much of anything to the Devils from November-December onwards whether it was offense on the PP or crafty welcomed leadership. Ken Daneyko was lost to retirement as well. Have to keep the proper balance of vets:young players in place for a team to do exceed.
B) The Devils needed to retool their offense when they were eventually exposed as a one-line, "one trick" pony team against the Philadelphia Flyers with the EGG line or nothing offense.
C) Mogilny should help make Scott Gomez' decision to sign long-term with NJ next summer much easier and should be an excellent addition to the PP and shootout competition. Look at his numbers over the last few seasons against teams like Philadelphia, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, and Pittsburgh and consider how effective he was against the Flyers in the postseason until the injury forced him from playing in game 7.
D) A player of Mogilny's caliber should also benefit Zach Parise's development substantially when it comes to shuffling linemates from time to time and pairing the two of them up together on the PP.

I think Mogilny is a great short-term remedy for offense, Elias carried this team and Friesen nearly drove me insane last season. I loved Jeff's goal vs. Ottawa too, but I'll happily take Brylin reunited with Mogilny and Robinson over Friesen.

There's a critical need for young forwards to produce. Like getting 20+ goals from Gionta again. Parise and Suglobov have to produce and look like future scoring forwards. Elias is expensive and if Gomez stays he'll be expensive too.

I'm curious about Madden and Langenbrunner. Both seemed banged-up after the Cup run and just plain ran out of gas in second half of the season. I'm hoping being rusty is better than being exhausted.

Although, certain posters have toned down their rhetoric, it's just to camouflage their glee at their belief of the Devils demise. Yes, you don't have to be genius to know that losing Niedermayer and possibly Stevens in the same year hurts big time. And yes, we are thin in regards to defensive prospects. However, it's the price of being a contending team for the last 10 years. Was it worth 4 cup appearances and 3 Championships, you bet!! Have we taken a step backwards, probably and picking constantly in the latter rounds also doesn’t help. Why Lou signed Malakhov and Mogilny at those prices? I guess he is trying to remain competitive, but it seems Lou is gearing up for 2007 and the opening of the new arena by only giving out 2 year contracts. We have some really good prospects at the forward position and picking up Frazee this year and Disher last year, we have strengthen our goaltending. At least if we slip, their is a good reason for it and a good GM will use taking one step backwards by following that up with two steps forward. I don't know how the season will turn out, but in Lou I still trust!!

in modern hockey to rebuild while being very competitive and have another perennial cup contender for another 10 years without hit the bottom? Isles, Habs and Oilers all had the same type of runs as the devils and each of those had down years and have never recaptured their former status. Good luck.

P.S. How the arena going in Brooklyn? Have they broken ground yet? Don't hear much about that down here in Atlanta.

Disher and Frazee currently. How exactly do you replace a Niedermayer or Stevens one-for-one at this point? You can't so you get the best available guys out there to collectively bolster the blueline.

Chris Pronger may be the closest the Devils could have possibly come to replacing a guy like Scott Stevens, but he signed with Edmonton right away. As far as replacing Niedermayer goes well there was Gonchar, but he's nowhere in the same league defensively as Nieds is and of course there was Brian Leetch who has roots in New England and has always wanted to play close to home before retiring. Devils will soldier on with collective team defensive efforts from Rafalski, Malakhov, and Martin - certainly no slouches there in my mind when it comes to moving the puck, transitioning the defense to offense, and playing good responsible d in their own zones. McGillis has some decent offense in him as well. Leadership-wise, if you poll NJ Devils fans, you will likely find a very mixed opinion on whether or not Scott Niedermayer made a great Devils captain in the shadows of Stevens' post concussion syndrome. Many here felt he made a lousy captain while others felt he provided good leadership by example.

It's a legitimate concern anytime you have an injury to a critical part of the body which is crucial to skating, turning fast, deking, etc...

The way I view this move is:
A) The team needed way more veteran leadership upfront which was lost when Joe Nieuwendyk headed to the Leafs and Jim Mckenzie exited stage right. In the following season, Igor Larionov failed to bring much of anything to the Devils from November-December onwards whether it was offense on the PP or crafty welcomed leadership. Ken Daneyko was lost to retirement as well. Have to keep the proper balance of vets:young players in place for a team to do exceed.
B) The Devils needed to retool their offense when they were eventually exposed as a one-line, "one trick" pony team against the Philadelphia Flyers with the EGG line or nothing offense.
C) Mogilny should help make Scott Gomez' decision to sign long-term with NJ next summer much easier and should be an excellent addition to the PP and shootout competition. Look at his numbers over the last few seasons against teams like Philadelphia, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, and Pittsburgh and consider how effective he was against the Flyers in the postseason until the injury forced him from playing in game 7.
D) A player of Mogilny's caliber should also benefit Zach Parise's development substantially when it comes to shuffling linemates from time to time and pairing the two of them up together on the PP.

Disher was a undrafted signee? Frazee & Disher may well turn out to be excellent goaltenders, but both appear to be far from anywhere near sure things right now. Ahonen was suppose to be the guy in the wings, but he hasn't done well in Albany. In fact Clemmenson has to be rated as the better goaltending prospect and will most likely be your backup. Ahonen went home and I wonder if he wants to come back to play again in Albany. That's what I mean when I say that you have a gap in your goaltending. Everything is fine until Brodeur gets hurts.

You make some good point on Mogilny. I doubt Gomez is going to give NJ a Mogilny break when it comes to a contract. I guess the years on the contract was the inducement that decided it for him. Still, that's an awful lot of money for a guy who has been on the shelf over the past 2 years.

Actually Atlanta, Frazee will be the Devils next number one goalie. They solved that problem.
He was just drafted, in the 2nd round. At this time I think it is a little overboard to state that NJ solved their future goalie problem. At least let the kid play in Jrs or college for a couple of years. That is not being unreasonable, is it?

He was just drafted, in the 2nd round. At this time I think it is a little overboard to state that NJ solved their future goalie problem. At least let the kid play in Jrs or college for a couple of years. That is not being unreasonable, is it?

It might be, yes. But by the time we have to worry about it Disher and Frazee should both be nearing NHL readiness.

Our "goalie problem" is we have Martin Brodeur and we're not sure what we're going to do in 4-6 years when he retires. I'll take it.

is trading away a young defenseman. I don't see where you guys have any young defenders coming up in the near future. In fact, it appears to be the weakest part of your prospect pool. Hale, Martin & White are young and fairly decent. But on the farm, that's another story. What I could see is your trading a veteran forward, a pick for a grade B type prospect as part of your move to get under the cap. What's with you guys signing all these old guys? Has Slats been talking to Lou?

I totally agree with you, the Devils have virtually no defenseman that are worth talking about in the system that could replace Colin White. David Hale needs a full season in the minors and he also has a chronic kidney problem that could be nothing or it could career threatening.

In my opinion I think White is the 2nd best Devils d man and he's only 27 years old. Matvichuk and Mcgillis skate like they have pianos on their backs and Hale is not ready so there is no way White should be traded.

All this talk about the Devils lack of depth at defenseman is kinda laughable. I mean, if we were still opperating under the old CBA, it would be a problem considering free agency was at 31 years-old. Martin and Hale are going to be Devils for at least the next 4 years. So will Rafalski -- Lou will continue to lock him up as long as he continues to play well. Matvichuk, McGillis and Malakhov will fit in perfectly with the Devils' balanced pairings for the next 2 seasons (Matvichuk and McGillis could conceivably play with the Devils for the next 4 seasons). I didn't even mention Collin White because I still think he would be an excellent candidate to trade. If we don't trade him and decide to lock him up with another contract, we are even more set.

My point is that the Devils have the potential to stand pat for the next 4 years. If we can average drafting one NHL-caliber defenseman every 2 seasons for the next 4 years, we will only have to sign 2 UFAs or make 2 trades for defensemen. The days of completely building from within are over. Teams will be signing players to shorter and shorter deals (3-year deals will be standard except for the elite players in the league). This means that players will be playing for 3-4 teams in their careers and more importantly for the Devils defense, we will have ample opportunity to buy some great defenseman to fit with our system. No worries, people. Lou knows what he is doing.

in modern hockey to rebuild while being very competitive and have another perennial cup contender for another 10 years without hit the bottom? Isles, Habs and Oilers all had the same type of runs as the devils and each of those had down years and have never recaptured their former status. Good luck.

P.S. How the arena going in Brooklyn? Have they broken ground yet? Don't hear much about that down here in Atlanta.


You say a perennial winner like the Devils will follow the demise of dynasties like the Islanders and Oilers. I say what's the Rangers excuse for still sucking after sucking for the last ten years?.

You mention Ahonen who was re-signed by the Devils, I mention Jason LaBarba, MVP of the AHL just a few years ago, just walked all the way to LA. You mention Frazee, who is going to Minnesota, I say Montoya was a waste at the 6th pick of the first round. You mention Disher, he was drafted in the 6th round. Do some research on Devil prospects before coming on this board and making a fool out of yourself. You say good luck to the Devils and Lou :sarcasm: I say Zach Parise is better then any prospect in the rags system. You want to know about the Brooklyn arena? Can you pick up the NY Times down there, maybe you'll learn that only Ratner is now negotiating with the MTA over the Long Island railroad property over Atlantic avenue. Troll!! :shakehead Come back when you got better ammo then those blanks you're shooting!

bam :bow:

You say a perennial winner like the Devils will follow the demise of dynasties like the Islanders and Oilers. I say what's the Rangers excuse for still sucking after sucking for the last ten years?.

You mention Ahonen who was re-signed by the Devils, I mention Jason LaBarba, MVP of the AHL just a few years ago, just walked all the way to LA. You mention Frazee, who is going to Minnesota, I say Montoya was a waste at the 6th pick of the first round. You mention Disher, he was drafted in the 6th round. Do some research on Devil prospects before coming on this board and making a fool out of yourself. You say good luck to the Devils and Lou :sarcasm: I say Zach Parise is better then any prospect in the rags system. You want to know about the Brooklyn arena? Can you pick up the NY Times down there, maybe you'll learn that only Ratner is now negotiating with the MTA over the Long Island railroad property over Atlantic avenue. Troll!! :shakehead Come back when you got better ammo then those blanks you're shooting!

... Did he ask if the ground was broken in Brooklyn?

Why that's about the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.


NEWARK.


And yes. I do believe it has been.

White the next Steven :snide: He couldn't lace up Steven's skates. He take dumb@ss penalties, is not really physical at all
(ie Dano-Stevens) ,not a great checkers, and is not a great fighter. He a 4th -5th defensemen at best. If we do trade him it better be for a young guy and not another bum like Mala****.