Mike Vanderhoek Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Stastny is no longer on the Avalanche. Umm last I checked it was still 2013...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canorcas Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 A really good fit (?) would be Jersey! Their record says they will acquire, then pay a good talent to keep him. See Schneider and (cough) Kovalchuck. They can let go a Larsson or Merrill on D and not skip a beat... No team besides Edmonton needs O'Rielly more than the Devils either! Scott Niedermayer John Madden Brian Rafalski Jamie Langenbrunner Paul Martin You could argue most of those players could and maybe should have ended their careers in Jersey. But the organization either let them walk or traded them away. They're still a business and money talks. Don't buy into the notion of loyalty until the player has retired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyhee Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Scott Niedermayer John Madden Brian Rafalski Jamie Langenbrunner Paul Martin You could argue most of those players could and maybe should have ended their careers in Jersey. But the organization either let them walk or traded them away. They're still a business and money talks. Don't buy into the notion of loyalty until the player has retired. Devils offered Niedermayer a 5 year deal at $7.8 million per year in 2005. He chose to sign a 4 year deal with Anaheim at $6.75 million per year. Niedermayer was quoted "Lou made the best offer ... It might not make sense to people, but there was no reason to leave. With Anaheim, there were just reasons to go there, if that makes any sense." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/05/sports/hockey/05nhl.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0 How does this constitute the organization letting him walk? Rafalski chose to return to his home state of Michigan for $30 million over 5 years-it would be surprising if the Devils would have been able to match that offer, but I don't know what they were offering. Langenbrunner spent the first 7 years of his career with Dallas, which then traded him to New Jersey. When he was 35 years old with an expiring contract and his ice time was being cut and there wasn't going to be room for him the following season, the Devils traded him back to the team he spent his first 7 seasons with. There's no doubt the Devils let Madden walk. He was 36 and his production was deteriorating. Paul Martin spent his first 6 NHL seasons in New Jersey. In 2010 he chose to leave, taking a 5 year $25 million offer from the Penguins. He was 29. I think the Devils were right not to sign him at that price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Money Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Can the Habs eat ROR's contract under the cap though? Would be interesting for sure to see what ROR can do in a Habs uniform. As much of a pest as Desharnais is, ROR bring a shade more to the table Habs can take on over 2.7 million currently. The difference between Desharnais and ROR's salary is 2.5. There could be another piece to even out the cap a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canorcas Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Devils offered Niedermayer a 5 year deal at $7.8 million per year in 2005. He chose to sign a 4 year deal with Anaheim at $6.75 million per year. Niedermayer was quoted "Lou made the best offer ... It might not make sense to people, but there was no reason to leave. With Anaheim, there were just reasons to go there, if that makes any sense." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/05/sports/hockey/05nhl.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0 How does this constitute the organization letting him walk? Rafalski chose to return to his home state of Michigan for $30 million over 5 years-it would be surprising if the Devils would have been able to match that offer, but I don't know what they were offering. Langenbrunner spent the first 7 years of his career with Dallas, which then traded him to New Jersey. When he was 35 years old with an expiring contract and his ice time was being cut and there wasn't going to be room for him the following season, the Devils traded him back to the team he spent his first 7 seasons with. There's no doubt the Devils let Madden walk. He was 36 and his production was deteriorating. Paul Martin spent his first 6 NHL seasons in New Jersey. In 2010 he chose to leave, taking a 5 year $25 million offer from the Penguins. He was 29. I think the Devils were right not to sign him at that price. Totally forgot I posted all of this until I re-read this thread and went, "Hey, that's me!" Anyways, thanks for your patience as I lag behind in my reply. You make sound arguments with all of those topics, but I think you proved me right regarding some of what you said. I was arguing that the Devils didn't do a better job, or give stronger effort to keep the players they lost. In some cases they outright traded them, so obviously that's a different story. But when Rafalski split for the Wings, that left a huge hole in Jersey's blueline that hasn't yet been replaced in 2015. When Niedermayer left for Anaheim, Lou I think was genuinely disappointed and crushed-- but why did the two parties never discuss Scott's return to New Jersey for a 1-day contract to retire a Devil? I don't know what their personal lives and interests are life, but Scott and the Devils organization have a rich history together. That's another shrug at loyalty; what does it even mean? Scott obviously enjoyed a Hall of Fame career... Yet he remains an employee with the Anaheim Ducks and not New Jersey. Moving onto John Madden, he was credited as being one of the biggest difference makers for the Devils during their early 2000's run to the Cup Finals. Yet, as soon as he's aging, they once again show him the door. The guy won the Cup with this team. More than once. That kind of cold "business" decision is remarkable-- He's exactly the kind of character, team-guy that an organization should aim to keep, not discard. Jamie Langenbrunner-- Not exactly a Hall of Famer, but clearly had much more value to the organization than a simple player. He was named team captain for 4 years between 2007-2011 before his departure, and he also was a big part of their shutdown line en route the 2003 Stanley Cup. If you were in his shoes.. Wouldn't you feel a little insulted? Keep in mind, the Devils weren't a "young" team in Langenbrunner's last season with New Jersey. Their Top-6 included Patrik Elias, Brian Rolston, Jason Arnot and Dainius Zubrus who were ALL over the age of 32-- and Jamie wasn't even the oldest-- They were still using a tandem of Brodeur and Hedberg. So, I don't understand how you can make the argument that the Devils wanted to get younger.. They clearly weren't. Paul Martin is the only one I don't really have a strong case for. But he was literally the next best thing on their blueline after Rafalski left. And then he left, too. An organization that can't keep truly important players.. Well, it doesn't surprise me to see they're struggling now. Oh, and my biggest point? Ilya Kovalchuk. Say what you want about his dash to the KHL-- He clearly did not enjoy his time in New Jersey; and this is by far, their most important and expensive player in decades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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