What would your D pairings look like for 2007-08?

Please include Devil PP and PK pairings for 2007-08.

the team RIGHT NOW (no souray, vishnevski, etc)

Martin-White
Greene-Matvichuk
Oduya-Rachunek

PP1: Langenbrunner-Greene
PP2: Martin-Rachunek

PK1: Martin-Matvichuk
PK2: White-Oduya/Rachunek/Greene

the team RIGHT NOW (no souray, vishnevski, etc)

Martin-White
Greene-Matvichuk
Oduya-Rachunek

PP1: Langenbrunner-Greene
PP2: Martin-Rachunek

PK1: Martin-Matvichuk
PK2: White-Oduya/Rachunek/Greene

Nice !:)

the team RIGHT NOW (no souray, vishnevski, etc)

Martin-White
Greene-Matvichuk
Oduya-Rachunek

PP1: Langenbrunner-Greene
PP2: Martin-Rachunek

PK1: Martin-Matvichuk
PK2: White-Oduya/Rachunek/Greene

Pretty close to what I would do. Even strength pairs the same. I might put Martin on the first PP unit, instead of Greene, because if we only have one dman on the unit, I trust Martin to carry the puck/ cover for Langs more than Greene at this point in their careers.

I really think Lou will sign one or two more dmen. Ideally, I'd like a top 4 dman and then rotate Rachunek, Matvichuk, and Oduya in the bottom pairing.

White on our top d-line makes me sick

so it's official now that we signed vishnevski, (gonna have to learn how to spell that)

martin - Vishnevski/White
Green - White/Vishnevski
Oduya/Rachunek/Matvichuk
Oduya/Rachunek Matvichuk

The bottom three will rotate in and out

pp 1 - Martin - Vishnovski

pp2 - Greene - Rachunek/White

I did these based on the asumption Langenbrunner won't be on the point, but I know he will be.

sh - same as above

Vitaly Visnevski is not a PP player. Replace him with Langs.

Martin-White
Greene-Matvichuk
Rachunek-Vishevski
Oduya

PP
Langenbrunner-Martin
Greene-Rachunek/Oduya

PK
Martin-White
Matvichuk-Vishnevski

Fairly young defense unit. Matvichuk is the only real grey beard.

White - Martin
Matvichuk - Greene
Rachunek - Vishnevski
Oduya

A young defense core like that will not be worn down in the playoffs. Every one of those guys should be able to shoulder 18 plus minutes or more.

White on our top d-line makes me sick





yea youre telling me...

right now (though i think a trade is coming and one of these guys will be out):

martin-matvichuk
white-vishnevski
greene-rachunek
oduya

White on our top d-line makes me sick

yea youre telling me...

Yet there he will be.

I get it that White is the whipping boy of our board. I get it. He is a hot head. Used to be a totally unhindged and scary hot head, but now he has matured into merely a hot head. And as a result of that hot headedness, he sometimes seeks instant gratification on the ice at inopportune times, which is stupid. And there is a costly one here and there that tends to erase from memory the fifty things he did right that immediately proceded whatever retaliation he was goaded into...

But I want to point out a few facts and let you, the Devils fan, draw your own conclusion, before throwing Whitey under the bus every other post.

There is another defenseman near and dear to us that started his career as a totally unhindged and scary hot head, matured into merely a hot head and then further matured into a Hall of Famer. His name is Scott Stevens.

Now, Scott Stevens is my favorite hockey player of all time. I wore his jersey at Devils games until he retired. No direct comparison here does Whitey any justice. But Colin White, over the course his long and now RIDICULOUSLY under market contract, is going to get tougher and smarter as good veteran D men do. And will merit his place as our top "stay at home" D man, in the prototypical mold of Scott Stevens -- whose name we hold first in our rafters, as the ultimate New Jersey Devil.

And to Muttley, White certainly DOES hit. Ask Sean Avery. He is one of the few Devils opposing players legitimately fear. Because he can get a little unhindged. And he is country bear big and will punch you in the face. Whitey has lead us in both hits and blocked shots since our two HOFers left us on D. With far fewer penalty minutes than players in the comparible role on other teams. And takes an active leadership role on and off the ice. What more do you want?

You think Marty gets run too much now? Try removing Colin from the line-up. Marty would be a marked man. Forget Cam Janssen or any other goon, they just fight the other team's goon, in a jersey grabbing dance at center ice, and both end up smiling at the end. Whereas, if you made the mistake of doing something that would get you on the other end of a fight with Colin White, perhaps running our future HOF goalie, and I assure you neither is smiling at the end. Whitey will be trying to kill you.

And it is this very quality that Lou valued enough to sign for six years and button down with a NO TRADE CLAUSE. Lou absolutely does not want Colin White going anywhere as he settles into his game, and by the end of his contract he will be one of the most UNDERPAID top tier D men in the game. Making Lou look like a genius (which he is.)

But in an ideal world, a player occasionally prone to retalliation over calm and of below average speed should be paired with a poised and defensively sound player with above average speed and a high hockey IQ.

Enter Paul Martin. Whether we appreciate him enough, either, is another topic, but like him or not he is currently our best defenseman by a fairly wide margin. He was the most solid player during the last third of last season, logging the most on ice minutes against the best of our opposition, and was a rock all through the playoffs (with Greene and Matvichuk, both coming back, looking great as well...)

He will continue to get our top minutes, and is the player best suited to team up with White. So, take a deep breath and get ready for our #1 Defensive pair next season:

Colin White - Paul Martin

Not quite Neids and Pronger. But I, for one, am very happy to have them.

What shakes out after that is anyone's guess. I am a huge Greene fan and think he deserves Top 4. After that, with two new faces and Corrente waiting in the wings, let's see what happens during camp.

Colin White is no Scott Stevens, nor will he ever be.

Maybe now with Vishnevski in the lineup his bonehead plays will go unnoticed as Vishnevski could make more.

yea man, the comparison to Stevens is laughable. White is going to be 30 and has shown no signs of being the best defenseman on our team, let alone a hall of famer, let alone one of the best defenseman of all time...

i hate White but i try to keep my hate on the boards for him at a minimum as to not piss anyone off

From what I remember of last season, when White had his little bruised hand/upperbody/back spasm injury (:biglaugh::biglaugh:) we didn't do that bad, infact our D played pretty damn well, pretty damn well without our 'oh so great, rock solid d-man'. And now with the size of our 2 new additions, white can take his overpaid long contract packing! and that's IF anyone takes him. But i'll give c-white one more season (cuz i'm probably going to have to) and we'll what he does this season. And to the guy that wrote that novel, next year we'll all be crying to get him out of here while YOU'll want to rename The Prudential Center aka "The Rock" to The Prudential Center aka John Collin White's House.

hes not going anywhere man...

Devils fans really have no legitimate reason to hate White. Other teams would love to have a solid D-man like him around.

saying we have no reason to hate white is kinda silly...

look at some of the goals in the playoffs last year. chances are, most of them were colin white's fault. whether it be a dumb penalty, him thinking hes a forward and trying to check players into the bench at the blue line even though the play has gotten behind him, or him not clearing the net

Like you guys said, White being on our top pairing disgusts me to the fullest extent, but at this point I think that's the best we're going to do.

I hope to see Corrente on the team this year, but I highly doubt that will be the case.

I'm thrilled our defensive depth will probably keep both Corrente and Fraser off the NHL roster all season, no need to rush either of these kids.

Martin-White
Greene-Matvichuk
Rachunek-Vishevski
Oduya

PP
Langenbrunner-Martin
Greene-Rachunek/Oduya

PK
Martin-White
Matvichuk-Vishnevski


Looks good to me! :handclap:

I would love to get a real #1 dman to pair with Greene (Martin and White work well together), but that's the best lineup with what we currently have.

Colin White is no Scott Stevens, nor will he ever be.

Maybe now with Vishnevski in the lineup his bonehead plays will go unnoticed as Vishnevski could make more.

White isn't Stevens, but then again, nobody is. White is the best stay at home dman we have, though, and he and Martin compliment each other very well. People forget how great he played when Lou took over for Larry 2 years ago. He regressed a bit last year, but hopefully that was just Julien's fault (none of our dmen played particularly well last year).

i think Matvichuk is a better stay at home dman than White, but thats just me.

i think Matvichuk is a better stay at home dman than White, but thats just me.

yea i agree, it seems like when the puck is in our zone whitey is wondering around

i think Matvichuk is a better stay at home dman than White, but thats just me.

He's a smarter player than White, but White is stronger and a better skater. Matvichuk used to have a real mean streak, but at this point in his career, he's too injury-prone to really show it.

i think Matvichuk is a better stay at home dman than White, but thats just me.

+1

I'm not going to do the PP and PK pairings, but for the regular pairings, I would go like this:

Martin-White
Greene-Rachunek
Matvichuk-Vishnevski
Oduya

I used to be a proponent of one puck mover with one defensive guy. But, I like the idea of having a physical pairing in Matvichuk and Vishnevski and a puck moving pairing of Greene and Rachunek. If that doesn't work out, just flop Rachunek and Matvichuk....

Martin-White Solid and unrealible at best
Greene-Matvichuk Unproven and a 6' 4 Mr. Softie
Oduya-Rachunek Roller Coaster and Solid D or Malakov reinvention.


Bottom line a lot more questions than answers in the 07-08 Devs.

Do these projections seem reasonable???

Defense Totals

Paul Martin 36 points 7 goals 29 asisst
Karl Rachunek 28 points 6 goals 22 asisst
Andy Greene 25 points 5 goals 20 asisst
Colin White 14 points 2 goals 12 asisst
Vitaly Vishnevski 9 points 2 goals 7 asisst
Richard Matvichuk 9 points 1 goal 8 asisst

23 goals and 121 points

Offensively they are pretty close to each guys average.

Compare to last season

Brian Rafalski D 82 8 47 55
Paul Martin D 82 3 23 26
Brad Lukowich D 75 4 8 12
Johnny Oduya D 76 2 9 11
Colin White D 69 0 8 8
Andy Greene D 23 1 5 6
Jim Fahey D 13 0 1 1
David Hale D 43 0 1 1 2

Last Season 18 goals 121 points

With Martin getting #1 PP minutes, I think he can hit 30 points easily.

i think that lou gave pauly more of a green light after he took over offensively, and honestly, from what i have seen, he is one of the better dmen at skating the puck through traffic that this team has had. if he can get more of that green light this season, i think he could put up some good numbers.

White-Martin
Vishnevsky-Greene
Matvichuk-Rachunek
Oduya

PP
Langs-Martin
Greene-Rachunek

PK
White-Martin
Vishnevsky-Matvichuk

The obvious question is can White handle big time minutes. I think its possible. Either way Lou has done a good job. He hasn't replaced Rafalski (that was impossible beyond re-signing him or a trade), but its a solid crew. I like that we have 3 physical LD's and 3 puck-moving RD's.

andy greene 40 points, write it down.

i think he has earned himself more playing time and the trust of lou and the coaches with his solid defensive play. this will allow him to be on the ice more and get off his wicked slapshot and quick-release deflectable wristshot

I don't think the devils back end is nearly as bad as some people think.
martin- puck mover
white -physical d
greene- not totally proven, it is all about playing a FULL season in the show
rachunek- some offence with the d
vishneski-solid dman
matvichuk-solid dman
I don't think that is all that bad.

I don't think the devils back end is nearly as bad as some people think.
martin- puck mover
white -physical d
greene- not totally proven, it is all about playing a FULL season in the show
rachunek- some offence with the d
vishneski-solid dman
matvichuk-solid dman
I don't think that is all that bad.
As a Flyers fan I like it.

I would not call Vishnevski solid D just like I would not call Gauthier a solid d-man.
Matvichuk solid when healthy. When was he healthy?
Devils fans already sold on Green?
Martin is good but is he really your #1?
White - no question about him.
Rachunek - who knows.. may or may not work. Injury prone.
Oduya had a solid rookie season. Somewhat Freddy Meyer type.

As a Flyers fan I like it.

I would not call Vishnevski solid D just like I would not call Gauthier a solid d-man.
Matvichuk solid when healthy. When was he healthy?
Devils fans already sold on Green?
Martin is good but is he really your #1?
White - no question about him.
Rachunek - who knows.. may or may not work. Injury prone.
Oduya had a solid rookie season. Somewhat Freddy Meyer type.

Frankly I don't think Matvichuk was ever injured for very long. I think Lou told him to stay on the injured list cause of the salary cap issue.

Frankly I don't think Matvichuk was ever injured for very long. I think Lou told him to stay on the injured list cause of the salary cap issue. Do you even believe your own BS?

Do you even believe your own BS?

What are you talking about? He was practicing with the team for almost half the season. He was healthy in January.

Martin has put up around 35 points before. With an increased offensive role I wouldn't be surprised to see it jump to a little over 40. Greene showed great offensive potential at the tail end of last season. 35 points might not be out of the question.

Do you even believe your own BS?

Well,

There is absolutely NO Question Matvichuk was kept on the IR longer than he needed to be, he and Lou has stated that publicly. His Back Problem was real and well documented.

How long he needed to be on IR is the Real Question....Some Believe Matvichuk was "ready" as early as Mid December---Some say He wasn't really ready until February. Regardless of which was true he was held out purely for Cap reason.

What are you talking about? He was practicing with the team for almost half the season. He was healthy in January. He only practiced for half of the season? What was he doing the other half? Surgery?

He only practiced for half of the season? What was he doing the other half? Surgery?

Rehabilitation I believe.

Martin-White Solid and unrealible at best
Greene-Matvichuk Unproven and a 6' 4 Mr. Softie
Oduya-Rachunek Roller Coaster and Solid D or Malakov reinvention.


Bottom line a lot more questions than answers in the 07-08 Devs.

The only pairing from that I'm confident of is Greene-Matvichuk. But I don't think we're gonna have this pairing. I'm thinking more like :


Greene-Vishnevski
Rachunek-White
Martin-Matvichuk
Oduya


Since greene will be on point firing those shots he'll need a big shot blocker like vishnevski to dig the puck back out.

I think Martin works better with Matvichuk and I think Oduya is so streaky that we should only use him sparingly.

I think Oduya is so streaky that we should only use him sparingly.

Little unfair to call a rookie "streaky". He was rookie playing nearly twice as many games as he ever played in Europe.

He needed to learn to adjust to the size, speed, quality and rigors of an 82 game schedule....I think he did an incredible job all things considered.

I would imagine/guess that Oduya, Rachunek, and Fraser will compete for the 6th spot in camp this season.

Ok maybe poor choice of words. I think he just doesn't need to play that many games. It seems that he is fine as long as he's given enough rest in the season. A rotation for the Defensive players would work great.

Ok maybe poor choice of words. I think he just doesn't need to play that many games. It seems that he is fine as long as he's given enough rest in the season. A rotation for the Defensive players would work great.

Maybe....But the fact that he will only make 600K may come into play...

I would think that it may come down to Rachunek and Oduya for that 6th spot-- Maybe it does become a rotation -- but 600K vs. 1.4 Million may factor into some of that decision making.

i am hoping that corrente this season could become one of the defensemen kinda like vlasic, letang, carle, who can quickly develop after being drafted into a good nhl defenseman. that would really be a huge lift for the devils defense.

Barring a trade, it does seem what we have right now on defense is what we'll get. With that being said, Martin is really gonna have big shoes to fill as he becomes yet our next number 1 defenseman. If he plays aggressively on offense, he can put up well over 40 points. Back to the original question...

Greene-Martin
White-Rachunek
Vishnevski-Matvichuk
Oduya

If Greene plays at even 80% of the level he played at in the playoffs, he is now our number 2 defenseman after Martin and why not let him get his first real season playing important minutes.

Stats I would expect:
Martin: 8 goals, 32 assists, 40 points
Greene: 10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points [if he harnesses his cannon shot]
White: 2 goals, 8 assists, 10 points
Rachunek: 5 goals, 20 assists, 25 points [underrated offensively]
Vishnevski: 2 goals, 6 assists, 8 points [plus plenty of highlight reel hits]
Matvichuk: 0 goals, 5 assists, 5 points
Oduya: who cares

martin-matvichuk
white-oduya
vishnevski-greene
rachunek

IF we don't land another D (which i think we should )

The season will start off with:

Martin-White
Greene-Vish
Rachunek- Matvichuk
Oduya

and and up

Martin- Rachunek
Greene- Vish
Oduya- Matvichuk/White

I think Oduya has something to prove and he knows that. the kid has skill and speed and since he barely got signed this season, the fire is lit under his @**. And White will have injury problems all season.

Anyone else think that as good as Matvichuk was in the playoffs, his ideal spot is on the bottom pairing (along with major PK minutes of course)? He's a valuable contributer, but I don't know if he can handle that many minutes with his health and skating as it is.

Martin-White
Greene-Vish/Rachunek
Rachunek/Vish-Matvichuk
Oudya

I would love to sign D Markov if there is cap room and have a top three of Martin, White, and Markov. Then rotate the other three spots between the other five dmen to keep everyone fresh (at least until Greene nails down the #4 spot... then rotate the other four into the last 2 spots).

IF we don't land another D (which i think we should )

The season will start off with:

Martin-White
Greene-Vish
Rachunek- Matvichuk
Oduya

and and up

Martin- Rachunek
Greene- Vish
Oduya- Matvichuk/White

I think Oduya has something to prove and he knows that. the kid has skill and speed and since he barely got signed this season, the fire is lit under his @**. And White will have injury problems all season.

You're mean.

Rehabilitation I believe. My point was that he is a bit injury prone. He had back injury/surgerry.. He has a bad knee(s).

Usually back injuries/surgerries are very serious. Bertuzzi, LeClair etc etc etc. Matvichuk did not play last season. Maybe Lou kept him on IR because of injury or bacuse of cap space.. No one knows for sure..

Martin-Vishnevski
Rachunek-White
Greene-Matvichuk/Fraser
Oduya

it is anyones guess what d pairings will be .

but i am not convinced corrente will not be given a serious chance to make the club.

if he does, the team gets another right handed shot and a good one from what i hear and a guy that can make that first crisp pass out of the zone.......similiar to rafalski ( although more so in his earlier years)

martin-white
mattvichuk-vish
rachunek-greene

thats he way i have it for nhl07 and thats the way i would have it for next season

but hopefully we get another d-man