Tuesday, October 20, 2009

In Need of Experienced D, Devils Sign....

...Left winger Dean McAmmond...really?

McAmmond, who's 36, split time between the Senators and the Islanders last year. The move is listed as a move done by the Lowell Devils management, but I see it as a Lou move.

Roger Mussa, of hockeybuzz.com, is suggesting this is strictly a depth move in case Partick Elias is not ready to return on schedule. I see that as a viable excuse, however, I cannot help but believe there are more qualified players out there who actually received invitations to training camps this past summer, something McAmmond failed to do.

Also, there HAS to be players, especially wingers, who amassed more than 5 goals and 11 assists in 62 games.

Another point I would like to address is the lack of NHL ready depth at the center position. Inconsistency from the bottom 2 lines has marred the Devils throughout the season, nearly as drastically as the defensive inexperience has done. Dainius Zubrus has done well as the 2nd line center, Travis Zajac is the MVP at the game 7 mark of the season, and Rob Neidermayer has also performed well in a few games. But if the Devils are looking to be legitimate contenders throughout the season, they need to plug the hole at center on at least the 4th line, because at the moment, Rod Pelley is not cutting it.

Finally, as was stated in the title of this article, the Devils are in dire need of NHL experienced Defenseman who have the ability to play with the top 2 lines. This need alone needed to be addressed before addressing depth needs at the wing position. The one thing this team did not need more of were wingers, yet we added another aging one.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did we not just cut a winger who at least has a few Stanley Cup titles under his belt?

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