One of the major drawbacks to living in Seattle is that I no longer get to watch my Devils on a regular basis. If there was one thing I can say about my early 20's living in Vernon, it was that I did not miss a game (I once canceled a date to watch Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, a decision that was and still is entirely defensible). It is still a bit strange to have hockey only on the periphery. That being the case, i have decided to ask my boys Martin and Duker to fill me in with who they are feeling towards the team. In my second installment of Running with the Devils, I had them tackle the surprises and disappointments as well their overall feeling towards the team after 12 games. So let's get to it.
1. Adam Henrique had a really nice game the other day. If he was to stay with Parise and Kovy all season long, what would his final numbers look like?
I am glad to see Henrique doing well. I think that he will be more of an offensive center, one who will hopefully compliment Kovy well. I think that he, like JJ, can be a two way, defensively responsible player, although he will bring more scoring than JJ. I can totally see him taking a seat in the 2nd line center slot when all is said and done. Not to take anything away from JJ, who will also be very good, although possibly in a different role. Henrique had a chance to step up and that's exactly what he's doing. On a related note, I don't like saying or typing JJ, so I'm going to stop that now.
I think a full season on the first line will put Henrique at around 40-45 points. I think Larsson will finish with around 18-20 points and I will be happy with that.
2. I imagine Zajac will be the first line center once he returns. Do we have a date for that yet?
I think I saw Zajac has begun light skating but nothing serious. he'll return when he does and not a moment before.
3. What was wrong with Kovy the other night?
4. What did you think of the Jets jerseys having seen them for an entire game?
Kovy did something to his hamstring I think. Probably won't play tomorrow. I missed the last few games so I can't comment firsthand, just what I read on Fire and Ice. Also applies to the Jets' uniforms.
5. Do you find it weird that alphabetically, we are first in the Atlantic Division?
[No comments from either. I just think it's weird that our name starts with N and yet is first alphabetically. The chances of that have to be slim, right? (wait, I'm the statistician here)
6. Do you feel any better/worse about the team than you did two weeks ago?
I think that Devils are playing Devils hockey, which is to say they are somewhat inconsistent. They are either really good and maybe just missing some chances or dealing with bad breaks, or they just don't show up for periods at a time. Unfortunately, this is basically a microcosm of their existence the last 7 years and will lead to another 7 game, first round exit. We'll have to see if DeBoer can get more out of them.
7. How did Marty look in his two games back?
[No answer]
Duker then asks the next two questions:
8. Would you trade Parise (provided re-signing looks grim) for either Schneider or J. Bernier? Goalie acquisition has to be a top priority. I feel both goalies will be moved due to high value and in Schneider's case to silence a goalie debate.
If it comes down to trading Parise, which it hopefully will not, we need at least 1 first round pick in 2012. That is my top requirement. I would say load the deal with picks and high level prospects (first round picks from 2009-2011). I don't think the Canucks have cap room to pick up Parise, even as a rental because I don't think the Devils will want to bring back salary if they're forced to trade Parise. The Kings are pretty tight up there, too. I think that the Devils, though, feel very good about their [goalkeeping] prospects going forward (Kinkaid, Clermont and future #1 Scott Wedgewood - it seems like they want him to be the guy) which will probably keep them from trading to one of those 2 teams, especially if the first round pick they get in return is late round in this supposedly stacked draft. Like I said last week, I think that teams can win without an amazing goalie at this point. The goalie has to be amazing at times to be sure, but doesn't have to be a first ballot Hall of Famer to help carry the team, especially if it's Parise's (or Kovy's) team. That said, I don't want to think about Parise getting traded anymore.
9. Was Larsson really the need of the Devils draft? I know he's logging big minutes and starting to get some points but if you looked the Devils prospect needs maybe it was more scoring, I doubt they would have drafted Scheiflele, but at the least Couturier would have helped.
I still think that Strome or Couturier would have been awesome additions to the Devils. That said, I would not change the pick at all. Offense will come from Larsson (or from any defensemen that can actually make good tape-to-tape passes) even if it's not reflected in his point totals. I think he will mean more to the team down the line than either of those 2 players. I actually praise Allah every day for bringing Adam Larsson into my life.
If you have read any of Martin's stuff in the past, you know that he tends to ramble, often skipping from topic to topic. Here are some of his random thoughts:
-I'm still down on Clarkson. He may be raising his stock right now, showing 25 goal potential. I say trade him and hope that the gm only looks at the box score and not footage of him trying to skate. It's kind of painful to see him being a top 2 RW on the team. I think that's one place this team is sneaky weak. Everyone always cites weakness throughout the team but I really feel like D is covered now and center isn't as bad as people think. We kind of have a logjam at LW sometimes, but we mostly have junk and spare parts on the right side which is really making it hard to ice an awesome line. It's more like having an awesome pair + 1. Palmeiri, Clarkson and Sykora (although I might not be giving Peter enough credit...jury is still out) are all 3rd line wings playing more than they should. Zubrus is the only RW I think belongs in the top 6, and that's only compared to the rest of the team. He's just not going to score a lot and he ends up playing center periodically. So yeah, we need more on the right.
-I would really like to see Tedenby playing with Josefson when he returns. I would also like to see them get more minutes. He's really good but is under-utilized right now, possibly because he weighs less than my lunch.
-Alex Urbom - 11 games, 5 assists, +1. He's the quietly good Devils D prospect (behind Larsson and Merrill). He's also 6'4". I'm really excited about the Devils defense in the next few years. I think that Jon Merrill will leave Michigan after this season and play in about 6 games in Albany.
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