- Washington snapped the Devils’ 8 game winning streak. While doing so, they extended their own streak to 3 games.
- Washington won the season series by capturing two victories in regulation. The Devils’ two wins came in overtime, thus giving Washington 6 points and the Devils only 4.
- The Caps now lead the Devils by 3 points in the Eastern Conference.
- With his shorthanded goal, Jamie Langenbrunner has seven goals in 4 games. 2 of the 7 have come shorthanded, 3 were game winners.
- His 3 straight 2 goal games with 3 straight game winners, Langenbrunner tied an NHL record with the likes of Wayne Gretzky.
- Travis Zajac’s assist on Langenbrunners’ Game winning goal against the Penguins set a new career high for assists with 27. It also tied him for his career high in points. He broke that mark with his assist on Langenbrunner’s shorthanded goal against the Capitals, he now sits at 43 points, and is just 2 goals from breaking that mark as well.
- Brendan Shanahan now has 3 goals and an assist for the Devils. Two of the three goals have come by way of the power play. And if his current trend holds true, Shanahan is due to register at least a goal in Friday’s game against the Thrashers.
- Following the loss, the Devils announced a trade – Sheldon Brookbank to Anaheim for the contract rights to Colgate University center David McIntyre. Brookbank was a waste of a roster spot outside of the one, maybe two, good games he played for the Devils. He struggled to keep up on defense, and was an even more dismal forward while eating up 59 games. He amassed a staggering 8 assists in that time period. What possible role could he fill for the Ducks is unclear, but it does a few things for the Devils: A) Frees up over $500,000 in cap space. B) Frees up a roster spot making Lou Lamoriello’s life easier when Martin Brodeur returns to action. C) Gives the Devils another Colgate standout in their system, Corbin McPherson being the other.
- McIntyre has been touted as a great player with excellent speed and solid puck handling abilities by many scouting websites. The junior currently leads the Raiders with 30 points in 26 games, with 17 goals. Speculation has him returning to Colgate for his senior season.
- Brodeur is currently on track to make his return to the Devils for the February 26th game at The Rock against the Anaheim Ducks. While Brodeur has high hopes of returning as quickly as possible, coach Brent Sutter has no intention of rushing his rehab and even has gone as far as saying that Marty will not be playing every day like he has been used to over the past few seasons. – This is a brilliant move. The Devils should keep riding the hot hand of Scott Clemmensen while giving Marty spot starts to shake off the rust. This will allow him to be 100% in form and health wise by the time the playoffs roll around. Keep Kevin Weekes on the NHL roster but use him sparsely and as a healthy scratch.
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Showing posts with label Sheldon Brookbank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sheldon Brookbank. Show all posts
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A Loss, a Streak and an Addition (or Two?)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Really, Devils???
On Tuesday, NJ.com ran an article saying that often penalized, 7th defender Sheldon Brookbank was going to be moved to the wing position. No, this is not a November edition of April Fool’s, believe me, I wish it was, but Brookbank will more than likely take the ice tonight as a winger on the 4th line against the Panthers.
Typically, I would reserve commenting on my take on the concept until I see the product on the ice, but this one is just too ripe for picking.
My first “Huh?” movement came when I saw the headline and realized it wasn’t a joke. Brookbank is arguably a waste of space for a younger player. Yes, he is a player with NHL experience, but the experience he brings is marginal. He is also synonomous with taking bad penalties in the defensive zone. Now, he’ll just take a bad penalty when they have a rare chance to score.
The next moment came his answers in the interview conducted by Rich Chere. Brookbank said, "As a defenseman you play under a lot more control. If you miss your check, you're the last guy." Is he serious with that comment? His puck handling blunders have already cost the team a handful of goals. Errant passes and a below average shot add to the list of minuses on his resume. What part of his game does he think he does under control? Sure moving him from the blue line down to the lower part of the offensive zone could cut down on turnovers from bad shots or awful passes. And this could eliminate odd man rushes against the 3rd defensive pair. It opens up a major liability on the wing of the 4th line. These deep turnovers can kill a rush or nullify a scoring chance.
With this gem, "I don't really think its rocket science the role they want me in on the wing… I just think they want a good forecheck." I really began to wonder if he was being serious or not. I truly wonder if he actually believes the malarkey he is spewing or not. At what point, NHL or below, has someone sat him down and said, “Son, you could be a real weapon on offense if you were ever given the chance.”? He struggles to keep up with the opponents on the blue-line, how will he be able to skate with our own forwards? Granted one of his linemates will be Mike Rupp, the question will be how well they gel.
The worst part, above all of Brookbank’s arrogance and almost alien confidence, is what does this move say about: A) the farm team and B) the confidence in the offensive players on the NHL roster. To me, this is on the same level as a pee-wee coach letting his players play wherever they want because their season is over or there is nothing left to play for. I feel like this is the kind of experiment you make in the preseason or when you really just don’t give a crap about the team anymore.
Seriously, there is no better option out there?? Really Brent and Lou, really? There is not one player who’s a free agent for a temp fix or someone in the minors who could make a better contribution than Sheldon freaking Brookbank?!
I really hope this moves proves to be more beneficial than I fear it will. Tonight, the Devils open up a 4 game stretch of winnable games, including two against the Florida Panthers, tonight at home and then next Wednesday in Miami. The Wednesday game will be the 2nd of five in a row on the road for the Devils. I truly believe that four wins is doable, but at worst they should aim for three wins in the next four games.
Typically, I would reserve commenting on my take on the concept until I see the product on the ice, but this one is just too ripe for picking.
My first “Huh?” movement came when I saw the headline and realized it wasn’t a joke. Brookbank is arguably a waste of space for a younger player. Yes, he is a player with NHL experience, but the experience he brings is marginal. He is also synonomous with taking bad penalties in the defensive zone. Now, he’ll just take a bad penalty when they have a rare chance to score.
The next moment came his answers in the interview conducted by Rich Chere. Brookbank said, "As a defenseman you play under a lot more control. If you miss your check, you're the last guy." Is he serious with that comment? His puck handling blunders have already cost the team a handful of goals. Errant passes and a below average shot add to the list of minuses on his resume. What part of his game does he think he does under control? Sure moving him from the blue line down to the lower part of the offensive zone could cut down on turnovers from bad shots or awful passes. And this could eliminate odd man rushes against the 3rd defensive pair. It opens up a major liability on the wing of the 4th line. These deep turnovers can kill a rush or nullify a scoring chance.
With this gem, "I don't really think its rocket science the role they want me in on the wing… I just think they want a good forecheck." I really began to wonder if he was being serious or not. I truly wonder if he actually believes the malarkey he is spewing or not. At what point, NHL or below, has someone sat him down and said, “Son, you could be a real weapon on offense if you were ever given the chance.”? He struggles to keep up with the opponents on the blue-line, how will he be able to skate with our own forwards? Granted one of his linemates will be Mike Rupp, the question will be how well they gel.
The worst part, above all of Brookbank’s arrogance and almost alien confidence, is what does this move say about: A) the farm team and B) the confidence in the offensive players on the NHL roster. To me, this is on the same level as a pee-wee coach letting his players play wherever they want because their season is over or there is nothing left to play for. I feel like this is the kind of experiment you make in the preseason or when you really just don’t give a crap about the team anymore.
Seriously, there is no better option out there?? Really Brent and Lou, really? There is not one player who’s a free agent for a temp fix or someone in the minors who could make a better contribution than Sheldon freaking Brookbank?!
I really hope this moves proves to be more beneficial than I fear it will. Tonight, the Devils open up a 4 game stretch of winnable games, including two against the Florida Panthers, tonight at home and then next Wednesday in Miami. The Wednesday game will be the 2nd of five in a row on the road for the Devils. I truly believe that four wins is doable, but at worst they should aim for three wins in the next four games.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Lamoriello Asleep at the Wheel?
This was a thread posted on ESPN.com's New Jersey Devils message board last Friday. The contents of the thread are not as important as the title, but a few points within there make sense.
On Friday, the Devils made two trade and not one player was involved. First, the Devils traded their 1st round, 21st overall draft pick to the Washington Capitals for their 1st round pick, 23rd overall, and a 2nd round pick, 54th overall. Lou Lamoriello then took his new spot in the first round and shipped it to the Wild for their pick, 24th overall and a 3rd round selection in next year's draft. Two moves made and the Devils managed to get an extra two draft picks out of making it.
To some, this may seem like a great decision. I see this, however, as being an early indication of our team's complete lack of a true game plan. Now I do not know when the trades were mead in relation to the actual time in the draft, but it feels like Lamoriello was just trying to buy himself more time because he did not know who to go after in the Draft.
Their first selection, Mattias Tedenby, is a Swedish born player who was ranked third among European born players, according to newjerseydevils.com. The 5'10" 176 pound Tedenby has drawn comparisons to Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu because of his ability to take a hit and keep on going. The Devils needed a goaltending prospect badly to begin grooming to take over Martin Brodeur's role when he hangs up his skates in the [hopefully not too near] future. They made two trades, not one of which addressed this need, nor put them in a position to address the need.
Also, a few decent players were available through trades, and neither avenue were pursued. Olli Jokinen, for example, was acquired for a 2nd line player, a 3rd-4th defenseman and a draft pick. Are you trying to tell me that Lamoriello, who has dangled Brian Gionta's name like a pinata at a birthday party, could not come up with a viable trade? I find this concerning because five years ago, he was able to pull off a deal with the Anahiem Ducks that by acquiring Jeff Freisen and Oleg Tverdovsky, helped deliver the Devils their third cup.
Thefourthperiod.com is reporting the the Devils are STILL undecided about what to do with veteran winger Sergei Brylin. The Devils' season ended almost two months ago, and Brylin is not the only veteran who should be returning who has not been re-signed. Jay Pandolfo is also without a contract as are many of the Devils' free agents except for little-used defensemen Mike Mottau and Sheldon Brookbank. Its not Brookbank that bothers me as much as Mottau. The former Rangers castoff had a mediocre season with the Devils last year. In the few games I was able to see him play in, he looked lost and opposing teams took advantage of it.
The Devils traditionally run a tight ship, so to hear few rumors about their potential moves is not something new. But to have them stall and delay because of a lack of a clean cut game plan is completely new. I hope that these blips on the radar are simply being over analyzed and that they are not a clear indicator of the off season to come. July 1st is rapidly approaching, offers have not been made to key veterans who need to be retained. They messed up at the trading deadling by not addressing the Devils' glaring need for a scorer, they in my opinion, messed up the Draft by not acquiring a goaltending prospect or an NHL ready scorer. If nothing significant is done this off season, that would be strike three in my book and I truly will have lost faith in our once great leader.
On Friday, the Devils made two trade and not one player was involved. First, the Devils traded their 1st round, 21st overall draft pick to the Washington Capitals for their 1st round pick, 23rd overall, and a 2nd round pick, 54th overall. Lou Lamoriello then took his new spot in the first round and shipped it to the Wild for their pick, 24th overall and a 3rd round selection in next year's draft. Two moves made and the Devils managed to get an extra two draft picks out of making it.
To some, this may seem like a great decision. I see this, however, as being an early indication of our team's complete lack of a true game plan. Now I do not know when the trades were mead in relation to the actual time in the draft, but it feels like Lamoriello was just trying to buy himself more time because he did not know who to go after in the Draft.
Their first selection, Mattias Tedenby, is a Swedish born player who was ranked third among European born players, according to newjerseydevils.com. The 5'10" 176 pound Tedenby has drawn comparisons to Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu because of his ability to take a hit and keep on going. The Devils needed a goaltending prospect badly to begin grooming to take over Martin Brodeur's role when he hangs up his skates in the [hopefully not too near] future. They made two trades, not one of which addressed this need, nor put them in a position to address the need.
Also, a few decent players were available through trades, and neither avenue were pursued. Olli Jokinen, for example, was acquired for a 2nd line player, a 3rd-4th defenseman and a draft pick. Are you trying to tell me that Lamoriello, who has dangled Brian Gionta's name like a pinata at a birthday party, could not come up with a viable trade? I find this concerning because five years ago, he was able to pull off a deal with the Anahiem Ducks that by acquiring Jeff Freisen and Oleg Tverdovsky, helped deliver the Devils their third cup.
Thefourthperiod.com is reporting the the Devils are STILL undecided about what to do with veteran winger Sergei Brylin. The Devils' season ended almost two months ago, and Brylin is not the only veteran who should be returning who has not been re-signed. Jay Pandolfo is also without a contract as are many of the Devils' free agents except for little-used defensemen Mike Mottau and Sheldon Brookbank. Its not Brookbank that bothers me as much as Mottau. The former Rangers castoff had a mediocre season with the Devils last year. In the few games I was able to see him play in, he looked lost and opposing teams took advantage of it.
The Devils traditionally run a tight ship, so to hear few rumors about their potential moves is not something new. But to have them stall and delay because of a lack of a clean cut game plan is completely new. I hope that these blips on the radar are simply being over analyzed and that they are not a clear indicator of the off season to come. July 1st is rapidly approaching, offers have not been made to key veterans who need to be retained. They messed up at the trading deadling by not addressing the Devils' glaring need for a scorer, they in my opinion, messed up the Draft by not acquiring a goaltending prospect or an NHL ready scorer. If nothing significant is done this off season, that would be strike three in my book and I truly will have lost faith in our once great leader.
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