NJ Devils News And Notes - August 9, 2006

[Antithesis]

by Dan Oob, Newark Star-Ledger

• GM Steve R completed a trade last week which sent hulking defenseman Zdeno Chara to Atlanta in exchange for a package which included Corey Perry, Peter Mueller, Columbus' first round pick. To balance salaries, and obtain a defenseman to fill Chara's spot, the Devils also received Steve Poapst.
• The Devils' offices were surprisingly quiet after the deal, with no press release being sent out. The GM was, however, not on another vacation.
• The Devils have received many offers for pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Filip Kuba. According to an un-named source, the Devils were initially set on dealing the talented blue-liner, but reports have surfaced claiming that the Devils have contacted Kuba's agent to discuss a contract extension, rumoured to give him a large raise.
• GM Steve R and GM Sutaria of Atlanta may not be finished dealing players back and forth. An announcement of a trade may come soon, however, technical problems at CPHL Head Office mean that even if a trade is completed, it will not be made official for some time.

[JiriHrdina]

Nice work so far. Actually both the new NJ and Atlanta GMs have both been strong additions to the league so far. Keep up the great work guys.

[Sylvanfan]

Well as the former GM, heres my beef with the Chara trade.

Value wise what came back was okay. But in my opinion Chara is one of the 5 best defenceman in hockey and is just entering the age where he's going to be at his best. Nik Lidstrom, Scott Niedermeyer are good examples of what elite defencman in that age category can accomplish. So for that reason at the end of the season Chara was worth a max contract. Corey Perry, Peter Mueller and the Columbus 1st which will fall middle of the pack will never be top 10 players in the NHL at their given position. Perry can help now, but Mueller is 3 years away and the first even longer, and it will be a middle of the round first as Columbus is a decent squad. So Perry is the only guy that helps now. That trade could have been made on deadline day and the Devils would have stood a hope in hell in the mean time.

I know the team was old and didn't look great but in the TOOL ratings we had the 14th best defence, and 18th ranked goaltending. So we were basically middle of the pack in 2 of the 3 aspects of the game. It's my experience that teams who can get goaltending and defence can hang in there and post better than expected records. Without Chara the Devils instantly drop into the 20's on defence, and look like they'll certainly be a bottom 3 team.

Most GM's come in and want to make a team younger and build a crazy ass prospect base. I know I did when I took my first CPHL team 3 years ago. But in this league it's sort of pointless unless you already have established a good CPHL level team. Between now and the draft prospects/picks don't help you out, and hence have little value. It's a good time to collect them, but your team takes a right now hit every time you deal one. So unless you're getting a return thats great on a guy you think is finished (say like an Owen Nolan, Keith Primeau, Eric Desjardins type) I think you're better off to wait until into the season to make those deals.

Thats my thoughts. I do wish you the best of luck though and hopefully you can find the deals that ultimately can push the Devils forward. I'll look back with pride the day the Devils do get back into the playoffs. But without a guy like Chara that pretty much writes off this season.

[Antithesis]

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I agree with you that the Devils were a middle of the pack team, but for me, thats not what I want. I'll take short term pain for the leaps that I think this team will make in the future, because I think it will ultimately make them a better team, and a contender for the Cup.

Thanks for the well-wishes though, I think I have some solid deals cooking right now as well.

[JiriHrdina]

The rebuilding strategy is a tricky one and is perhaps over-used. Frankly youth overall is over-rated often in the CPHL and this is coming from a guy that admitedly hordes his own prospects.

But ultimately the key is having a plan and from talking at length with Steve he does indeed have one...the key now is does he have the patience to see it through once the season gets underway and wins become difficult to pick up. That's when the proof will be in the pudding.

Good to hear from you Syl. Hope things are going ok.