Speak of the Devils

I don't get to watch the Devils on tv, so I asked my boys Jay and Roby there thoughts on the team so far. I hope to make this a semi-regular feature (for all those who care to read this sort of stuff).

1. Are we officially ready to move on without Marty? In the past three years, (not including this year), Brodeur replacements have gone 50-33-4 with a 2.38 goals against while Marty has gone 87-60-12 with a 2.34 goals against. First, Clemmensen 3 years ago and now Hedberg this year and last, make me wonder if it is time for another direction (that being said, I know Hedberg isn't a long term answer)

I think that we are ready to move on from the Brodeur era. For a long time, it seems to me, the fans and team were looking for the next monster goalie that was going to carry the team for the next 15 years. I think this line of thought was erroneous. Obviously we can't rely on Hedberg much longer than this year or the next but the new NHL seems to rely on goalies who are good, that can turn it on when needed, but not necessarily great. There are a few young guys in the system that show some promise but we don't need them to be Brodeur 2.0. We need them to be good (not great) every day because the team that will be built around them will function in a different way.

I think that the team's defense will look much different over the next few years. Adam Larsson, Jon Merrill and Alex Urbom will create a really good blue line, hopefully for years to come. The team has had some really good forechecking moments this year, which comes from Pete DeBoer. There will be some more offensive kind of hockey in NJ, although it will never be confused with the Pens or Caps. Change will happen such that the team can move on without Brodeur, just not in the way people originally envisioned.

2. Thoughts so far on Adam Larrson? I see that he has 0 points through 7 games but I also see that he has the second highest minutes on the team (only behind Kovy).

Larsson is getting a lot of trust with his minutes. I like the way he has been playing and I'm pretty confident the points will come over time. His game will also get better with more confidence, which again, will come over time.

3. Elias has started out nicely. Can he be a 30-35 goal guy this year?

Sure. That will depend on who he plays with. 25-30 might be a little more reasonable, although 30+ is not out of the question.

4. Is Parise the answer at Center? How good does the Kovy-Parise-Palmieri line look?

The Parise-Kovy-RW x line looks good. Lots of energy. Kovy missed a fairly open shot last night. (By the way, I'm getting too old to stay up for an entire west coast game). Maybe Parise at center will last a while, maybe not. I think a secret issue is that the team sucks at RW. Zubrus, Palmieri, Sykora and Clarkson as the top 4 RWs do not inspire confidence. I like Zubrus, but he's also played center sporadicly. I don't think Sykora really brings anything to the team at this time. Clarkson falls down a lot and that sucks. Palmieri is somewhat invisible. One main difference between Kovy and Joe Thornton is that Palmieri has 2 assists playing with Kovy while he would probably have 4 goals and 4 assists playing with Thornton. Too bad.

5. Who has been the biggest surprise so far? biggest disappointment?

The centers have been a disappointment. No Zajac. No Josefson. Henrique hasn't played in 3 games (he looked good last night, though).

6. Thoughts on the team's future after 7 games?

Not a Cup champion right now, but they can play. They are a good team and I think will make the playoffs. Depends on how much they want it. Depends on injuries and what happens when Zajac, Josefson and Brodeur come back.


[In a later email, Jay sent me this link on their prospects. I must say I am excited to someday see Josefson, Larsson and Merril play. Very excited. Also glad to hear that there might be some young talent that will be ready to contribute in a year or two. Developing goalies isn't something the organization has had to do in 15 years]