Why the Devils went Sour

A fitting end to the weirdest season I have ever witnessed for the Devils
All started with letting Mogilny walk. Expecting Dagenais to replace even half of Mogilny’s goals was a disaster from game one of this season. If Mogilny had stayed in NJ, the depht of the team is still here, there is MUCH less pressure on the A line, and Arnott stays. I’m not knocking the Nieywendyk trade, but lets face it, the Devils as a team were gutted (for better or worse) when this trade went through.

Lamoriello being the GM of the Nets hurt the Devils. The Kamensky trade was mind boggling. Considering we could have had Val for NOTHING when he went through waivers a week before the Devils traded for him is an example of how Lou was asleep at the wheel all season. Instead of a free pick up, we give up Lakos, a young HUGE defenseman (6″6′) who ends up being the captain of Team Austria in the olympics. Now we can only hope that Kamensky IS NOT re-signed!! Will anyone ever represent #22 in NJ like Claude Lemieux?? Quick example of people who wore #22 and did NOTHING while Claude was not here: Zezel, Dagenais, Kamensky, Corkum. Those are the only ones that come to mind at the moment.

Not sure about the Zyuzin trade either. Lou gave up A LOT to get him. I know he had to outbid the Leafs to get Zy but was giving up Goc and Boumedienne who were being groomed very nicely in Albany, was it really worth it? What young D prospects are left with the Rats??? Dano (Daneyko), Stevens, Albelein, are not getting any younger and Zyuzin is a healthy scratch!!

Is Constantine the answer? I think so. Robinson just wasn’t working anymore. He had to go. Weird to see him come back… I like that move though. Fetisov Gone?? Not sure I like that one. Bottom line, the Devils had a MUCH better record under KC, and all around better stats, keep him around.

Nemchinov, get him out of here. Thank God he’s a free agent. PLEASE LOU, DON’T MAKE AN OFFER! Get Berglund out there for a regular shift! Nemchinov getting time over Berglund and Gionta is insane. Devils have enough role players (Madden, Stevenson, Pando, Richer, Brylin) so they need to give the next wave their due.

Injuries. WOW! Honestly, how can anyone expect this team to compete when they are missing Gomez, Stevenson, Sykora, Langenbrunner, Nieuwendyk, and Richer. The injury bug flew in at the wrong time, and man did it bite HARD!

Holik. I honestly don’t know if he will be back. My gut tells me he will. My head tells me he will not. If he walks, this team goes from contender to pretender. He isn’t replaceable and every team in the league knows it. The Rangers are going to make a HUGE pitch for him, we all know that. I just really can’t see Lou letting two of the biggest, and strongest centers in the NHL leave in a matter or 3 month. Time will tell.

The Devils are owned by George Steinbrenner. USE HIS MONEY! Make sure Holik stays! While Lou is at it, make a REAL offer to someone other than a third line grinder. Selanne would be the closest thing to Mogilny, and I really think he would fit well with this team. Not sure if that is a real possiblity but I’m allowed to dream.

There it is folks. Enjoy your day.

-Matt Collier

DropEmOdie@aol.com