biggie. Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 MTL channeling their inner 07/11 NYG with Caufield playing the Eli role. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Saint Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 5 hours ago, Malfatron said: okay, so not to get ahead of myself, but how does tb match up against montreal? i feel like tb is really really tough TB is a terrific team, but since Montreal is handling its business I think they'll give Tampa some trouble. Big difference is TB have the best goalie in the business, one of top 3 D-man in the league and a forward group that is 3 lines deep. They are the best team 100M in cap space can buy. Again however, Montreal has really impressed against Vegas. So if they play TB, I'm sure they'll give them hell. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehardlionfan Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 8 hours ago, Malfatron said: okay, so not to get ahead of myself, but how does tb match up against montreal? i feel like tb is really really tough TB is really tough. They have excellent skill level and excellent goaltending. They are also taller and heavier on average. Montreal is playing their system perfectly and will be tough to beat. The fact that they are still in it when most people were ready to hand the cup to the winner of the Vegas Colorado series shows you why the games need to be played. Injuries will certainly play a role. Tampa will certainly be favoured but that’s familiar territory for Montreal. If Montreal gets by Vegas it would make an interesting series. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad People Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 As refs on the ice how do you miss that cheap shot by Coleman on Clutterbuck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tperk Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Pretty bad PP by the Isles there. Gotta shoot the puck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malfatron Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 yes! go islanders 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Is Lou the greatest gm ever? Kind of a serious question. He had a rough end to his devils career, and he hasn't won a cup in almost 20, but a lot of sustained success over 30+ years which is kind of unheard of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 (edited) 57 minutes ago, Forge said: Is Lou the greatest gm ever? Kind of a serious question. He had a rough end to his devils career, and he hasn't won a cup in almost 20, but a lot of sustained success over 30+ years which is kind of unheard of. I wanna do my best to take my angst out of this but, no. He's the primary reason the Devils have been where they are the last 8 years or so. Yes, we drove him out but he used every asset possible to stay playoff relevant and left us with a cupboard as bare as a 90s expansion team. That and he played hardball in all contract negotiations and lost us valuable players due to it (Niedermeyer says hello). Not trading Parise when everyone and their mother knew he was gone was also bad GMing. He's going to do the same thing to the Islanders too. Maybe not as bad because he won't have a decade+ of free reign to gut the system and screw up picks but the point is the point. He's the guy you want in charge if your sole intent is to chase a cup. He's not the guy you want in charge if you want to be the Green Bay Packers of hockey where you go after titles but you also are always prepared for the future. He's amazing in his niche style of being a GM but he's only cut from that cloth. There's no other way Lou knows how to operate so that takes away from his GOAT status IMO. Edited June 24, 2021 by beekay414 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 With that being said, the Isles better win so we get that 22 or 23 3rd over the 22 4th lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 1 hour ago, beekay414 said: I wanna do my best to take my angst out of this but, no. He's the primary reason the Devils have been where they are the last 8 years or so. Yes, we drove him out but he used every asset possible to stay playoff relevant and left us with a cupboard as bare as a 90s expansion team. That and he played hardball in all contract negotiations and lost us valuable players due to it (Niedermeyer says hello). Not trading Parise when everyone and their mother knew he was gone was also bad GMing. He's going to do the same thing to the Islanders too. Maybe not as bad because he won't have a decade+ of free reign to gut the system and screw up picks but the point is the point. He's the guy you want in charge if your sole intent is to chase a cup. He's not the guy you want in charge if you want to be the Green Bay Packers of hockey where you go after titles but you also are always prepared for the future. He's amazing in his niche style of being a GM but he's only cut from that cloth. There's no other way Lou knows how to operate so that takes away from his GOAT status IMO. But he did build the devils, so he's not only been cup chasing. He also took over a tanking leafs team. They got lucky with Matthews but he made some key moves, particularly to navigate the cap. The phaneuf trade was pretty important. I agree that there contract part of his management was pretty hard nosed, but he also had a lot of success. I mean, you look at a guy like Dubas who's just getting destroyed in contracts, and it really makes you appreciate what Lou can do in that regard. Though there are certainly some fallen soldiers. It's really hard not to let the last decade of his devils tenure ruin his legacy, but five finals, 3 cups, turning a "Mickey mouse" franchise into a two decade beast, a reasonably successful leafs tenure in a different sort of way and now what he's helped do with the isles... It's certainly hard to ignore. The fact that it's been going on 30 years is probably the hardest thing to account for because I'm not sure who else we'd have I guess Ken Holland would be another in the running as well and he's had a lot of success He's certainly not perfect, but damn he's been good a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 4 minutes ago, Forge said: But he did build the devils, so he's not only been cup chasing. He also took over a tanking leafs team. They got lucky with Matthews but he made some key moves, particularly to navigate the cap. The phaneuf trade was pretty important. I agree that there contract part of his management was pretty hard nosed, but he also had a lot of success. I mean, you look at a guy like Dubas who's just getting destroyed in contracts, and it really makes you appreciate what Lou can do in that regard. Though there are certainly some fallen soldiers. It's really hard not to let the last decade of his devils tenure ruin his legacy, but five finals, 3 cups, turning a "Mickey mouse" franchise into a two decade beast, a reasonably successful leafs tenure in a different sort of way and now what he's helped do with the isles... It's certainly hard to ignore. The fact that it's been going on 30 years is probably the hardest thing to account for because I'm not sure who else we'd have I guess Ken Holland would be another in the running as well and he's had a lot of success He's certainly not perfect, but damn he's been good a lot I mean, his 3 cups were a different era. Salary cap era, he's almost out of his element. I love Lou for what he gave us and I love him for making me a Devils fan despite never being a Jersey native, but he's a relic. He was amazing in an era where there was no salary cap and he could piece things together like a master puzzle maker. Unfortunately, after 2005, that wasn't an option. He handed out a contract that eventually cost us a real good pick (and it was a pick he pushed back as far as possible), he traded a top 10 pick for a goalie when we still had Brodeur and were not a playoff contender. I could go on but he's got as many hiccups as he does hoorays. Like I said in my original post, he's great for one sole purpose and that's chasing a cup. If you are in any other position, he's not your guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 The post-Tavares Isles period has saved Lou's image for sure but he's still taking advantage of losing a $10m AAV type player and building that space to his liking. It may end up in a Stanley Cup but we'll see. He's obviously a legend, no question. It's just hard to say whether or not he is the GOAT based on the salary cap era and the situations he's been in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 But I'm biased. I hate where he left us. We were a powerhouse for a decade+ and he left us almost as bad as the expansion Lightning. We completely had to rebuild our prospect system because of that man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 The irony of Lou struggling in a salary cap era while being a hard nosed negotiator who basically tells guys to take it or leave it and refused to overpay should not be lost on anyone. It's kind of funny. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 2 minutes ago, beekay414 said: But I'm biased. I hate where he left us. We were a powerhouse for a decade+ and he left us almost as bad as the expansion Lightning. We completely had to rebuild our prospect system because of that man. For sure. That's why I never get why fans are shocked by how long this is taking. There was nothing there. No real NHL talent, absolutely no prospect pool. It was starting from scratch. The problem in the NHL is that it takes years for prospects to cultivate, and you're not going to hit on them all. So you draft the guy and you really don't even know where you're at with just that single prospect and class for 3-4 years 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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