Sorry that I have been away for a little bit but I certainly have a few things to say about the current state of the Devils. The Devils have won 19 out of their last 26 games and are currently sitting in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference 8 points behind the conference leading Boston Bruins (with 2 games in hand) With the trade deadline having passed the teams are basically all set and we are ready for the fight down the home stretch.
For all intensive purposes, most people would say the Devils stood pat at the trading deadline. For those that say that, they should be committed to a mental institution. Although a minor deal, Niclas Havelid is exactly what this team needed. Unlike years of past, the Devils have the offensive firepower to compete with any team in the league. I think that guy wearing #30 between the pipes has answered any and all questions about the state of the goaltending situation in NJ. The only thing lacking was another solid, puck moving defenseman. Granted the trade cost the Devils a young promising D-man, but for this team, with all the aging veterans, the time to go for it now. Anssi Salmela is not that special of a player that you don't make this move. Lou Lamoriello has shown time and time again that he wants 7-8 solid d-man come playoff time and now we have that. We have a great mixture of young talent and old wily veterans.
Niclas Havelid was a +4 on a terrible defensive team in Atlanta and was their top pairing shut down d-man. Fortunately, the Devils have enough talent and experience where Havelid will not have to be the one relied on in all key situations, he can just step right in with no pressure and play his game. He had a tough game his first time out for the Devils against the Islanders but who on the Devils didn't? This was another shrewd move in a long line of shrewd moves by the mad genius we all affectionately call Lou.
Sometimes the best trades you make are the ones you don't make. In this case, I think trading away any piece of the puzzle this season would have been extremely detrimental. This team is as tight as any team I have ever seen. Constantly cracking jokes at each other in the media and I am sure behind closed doors. You can tell from every interview that is done, that it is all about the team and playing for one another. I have a really good feeling that this team is going to do something really special this season. I guess we will have to just all wait and see.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
i totally agree with everything you said....we can't pay too much attention to saturday's games we have a big month ahead of us and need to keep playing our best hockey....havelid will settle in and i think will be key to a post season run.....all of a sudden every team in the atlantic is looking much better and we very well me be seeing a first round match up with one of them....i have faith in this team and i think we have a balance of speed, goaltending, scoring, defense and size....I will never say we are going to win the cup, but this is the time of the year that really shows what we are made of...the last couple years was obvious we weren't cup ready, but that is not the case this year.....i really think we have what it takes...as long as we stay hot when it counts
ReplyDelete--mhowitzer (from hockeybuzz)