An Analysis of Lou Lamoriello's Actions Since the Lockout Part 2

by poopydoodie11 on Dec 27, 2010 2:13 PM EST

Okay, so here are the moves Lou made starting July 1st 2007, up until June of 2008. Let me know what you guys think, and please let me know if I miss anything.

2007-2008:

Salary Cap: 50.3 Million

Free Agents Signed:

Dainius Zubrus (6 years for 20.4 million (cap hit of 3.4 million))

Karel Rachunek (1 year for 1.4 million)

Kevin Weeekes (2 years for 1.375 million (cap hit of .6875 million))

Vitaly Vishnevski (3 years for 5.4 million (cap hit of 1.8 million))

Noah Clarke (1 year for .475 million)

Arron Asahm (1 year for .700 million)

Mike Mottau (terms unknown)

Free Agents Resigned:
Mike Rupp (2 years, terms unkown)

Paul Martin (3 years for 11.5 million (cap hit of 3.833333))

Zach Parise (4 years for 12.5 million (cap hits of 3.125 million))

Sergei Brylin (1 years, terms unknown but I think around 1.5 million)

Free Agents Lost:
Brian Rafalski to Detroit (5 years for 30 million (cap hit of 6 million))

Scott Gomez New York (7 years for 51.1 million (cap hit of 7.3 million))

Brad Lukowich Tampa Bay (3 years for 4.7 million (cap hit of 1.566667 million))

Scott Clemmensen Toronto (Terms Unknown)

Transactions:

Traded Cam Janssen

Received from St. Lous Bryce Salvador

Analysis: Overall I think Lou did worse than last year, but he still did a decent job. While he has become a fan favorite, and I love the way Kevin Clark announces his name, I think the Zubrus signing has been a poor one. The 2008-2009 season particularly aggravates me. Once Brian Rolston went down with an ankle sprain Zubrus played the majority of the year on a line with Brian Gionta and Patrik Elias. How can someone center two forty goal scorers and still only muster 25 assists? Granted that year Patrik had 31 and Brian had 20, but thats still considerably more than 25. I think because the teams offense as a whole was better than it had been in previous years, he kind flew under everyones radar. Recently people have said they dont want him to be traded because he works hard and does good work along the boards, but only time will tell what will happen with him. On the other hand, Lou needed someone who could play center on one of the teams top lines after the loss of Scott Gomez. The free agent market was pretty dry that summer, and he obviously did not want to pay big bucks for someone or else he wouldve kept Gomez. The Devils had cap troubles in 2006-2007, so Lou did not want to put himself into that situation again. Gomez maid 5 million the previous season, and Zubrus has a cap hit of 3.4. Thas a reduction of 1.6 million to the payroll. which overall helps a great deal in regards to cap management. Zubrus was also coming off of 2 season where he had at least 57 points in each, so Lou felt he was getting a decent player. While I dislike the production, I do agree with the signing. The team had no real #1 center, as Travis Zajac was only entering his second year in which he would struggle a great deal.

I also like the choice not to resign Scott Gomez. while I felt he did good in New Jersey, I also felt he did not deserve the money he is currently being paid. Butch Goring said last year that Scott Gomez was the biggest turkey in the NHL because all he gobbles up is money. I would agree with that, especially considering his production since he left the Devils. I liked the Weekes signing, at least at the time of it. The idea was to get a goalie who could give Marty more rest, and Brent Sutter did attempt this when the season first started, but over the coarse of the year things reverted back to normal with Marty playing every game. I would have to say that letting Rafalski go was the worst decision Lou made. He failed to replace him with another solid 2 way defender, Vishnevski was an okay stay at home guy, but he ended up going to Russia after one year, so he must not have been that good, and Rachunek wasent even playing at the end of the year.

I think the best resigning was Zach Parise. Not only does it have a good cap hit, but it ends with Zach still being an RFA, so the Devils will have all the negotiating power when it expires. The Martin contract was good as well, and I liked the fact the Paul chose to give up two potential years of being a UFA to stay with the team.

The trade was a no-brainder for the devils. They lost a guy who can fight, and gained a solid stay at home guy. The Devils had plenty of guys who brought toughness to the team with Asham, Rupp, and Clarkson. They would more than make up for the loss of Janssen.

In conclusion, decent job, definitely not his best work though. Sound off below, and the next year will be up in a day or two.

Poll

Which move do you think had the biggest effect on the team?

The loss of Brian Rafalski

82 votes

The loss of Scott Gomez

4 votes

The addition of Dainius Zubrus

1 votes

The trade for Salvador

1 votes

The addition of Kevin Weekes

0 votes

88 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Remember, Lou passed up then-UFA Zdeno Chara to sign (Zubrus) I believe.

It was "status quo" when the NHL rejected Kovy's contract, it was "status quo" when the Devils did not dress a full roster and it is "status quo" now that the Devils have lost 21 out of 32 games in regulation. In Lou We Trust...

by DownGoesAvery on Dec 27, 2010 8:05 PM EST reply actions

I believe Chara’s default was Boston, because Peter Chiarelli had just taken over as GM there (having been assistant GM in Ottawa before taking the Bruins job). I don’t know that New Jersey would ever have had the chance to sign him had there been a fair “competition” for his services.

by acasser on Dec 27, 2010 9:32 PM EST up reply actions

Look, I know Gomez wanted no part of this organization, and he wanted out no matter what even though he had been in 3 SCF in his first 3 seasons, but he could have been a franchise player here. He was still improving at the time of his departure, and he was a legitimate #1 center. Now…not so much. Zajac has shown signs of being a strong center, but who has been even a decent center since then, aside from Madden?

Now, this team has also lost Rafalski, and they could have survived that, but losing Niedermayer, Stevens AND eventually Rafalski, along with Daneyko before, destroyed this team’s defense as well as the culture in the locker room. They just haven’t been the same since. Also, who has stepped up since those guys left? Paul Martin? He’s solid, and consistently around 30-35 points, but he wasn’t a true #1 that the Devils were used to, and he’s gone anyway.

by DownGoesAvery on Dec 27, 2010 8:09 PM EST reply actions

I don’t like this year at all; losing Rafalski and Gomez made me feel sick that year. We lost our top center-men and defense-men with no return.

I don’t remember if the devils had the cap room for it, but if we could have got him down to a similar deal as Patrick Elias or if not, if Lou could have traded him and got something nice in return earlier in that season.

Same thing with Rafalski, who was a bigger loss imo, if we could have signed him to a similar deal 30 mill 5 years (Or maybe made it like 8 years 40 mill to reduce hit), it would have been excellent. or at least traded him for some return.

After this season the Devils were no longer a serious Stanley cup contender (Heck after the loss of Niedermayer they probably weren’t)

I think Lou should have gone into a light rebuilding mode instead of signing overpaid utility players and trying to make another run.

I guess the silver lining of this season is we have the opportunity to do a little rebuilding by picking up a grade A defense-men or center-men and become a blue-chip contender.

by devsfan9 on Dec 27, 2010 9:23 PM EST reply actions

My recollection is as follows:

Gomez wanted no part of New Jersey, and would not have re-signed under any circumstances. More than that, I think the “culture” of New Jersey simply got to him, and he wanted a place where he could be loved and coddled as opposed to a coach and GM who would sit on him. Dainius Zubrus was then signed as a panic move “Plan B” because of the perceived need for another center.

My memory is that Rafalski and Lou were in discussions leading up to July 1st, and were nearing agreement on a two-year deal. Then Detroit came in with their offer that simply blew everything else out of the water. Rafalski is certainly a signficant loss…. and as we’ve seen in recent years, good puck-moving defensemen don’t exactly grow on trees.

As far as the concept of having traded these guys in mid-season as to get “something” back, why would the Devils have done so? You’re looking at a team that won its division and was considered a Stanley Cup contender. Teams like that don’t pawn off expiring contracts, they attempt to make a post-season run and worry about the consequences later.

by acasser on Dec 27, 2010 9:37 PM EST up reply actions

I did not really believe Gomez was tired of NJ. What the media or what the player claims says is rarely the truth. It’s anyone’s guess why Gomez did not resign, my guess is it was money. If he did not want to be a devil and resign, he should have been traded after he went through arbitration.

I wish Lou got that contract worked out earlier so he would still be a devil. Losing Rafalski really just sucked. Maybe Lou thought Paul Martin could fill in the slot but that is just a guess.

To be honest I always thought the devils were a blue chip contender for the past few years, but if you really look at the talent on the roster after the aforementioned season, it was not on the same level with the top teams like Chicago or Detroit. I am not 100% how to explain the regular season success though, maybe style of play or ability to dominate weaker teams.

by devsfan9 on Dec 27, 2010 10:15 PM EST up reply actions

I wish Lou hadn’t dragged his feet on Rafalski, either. In all fairness to him, however, I don’t think anyone saw the Detroit mega-offer coming. Sure, it was expected that there would be interest from other teams, because there always seems to be interest in our pending FAs, especially the defensemen. At the same time, 5 years/$30 million was a heck of a lot higher than anyone thought would appear on the market, especially from a responsible and well-run team like Detroit.

by acasser on Dec 28, 2010 9:15 AM EST up reply actions

Yea, you would think that that offer might have turned into a bust, but it is amazing how well it turned out for Detroit. He and Lidstrom are still the best defensive pairing in the nhl (Although this year he has not put a single goal this year but with 23 assist in 25 games he has played in, no one is unhappy with with Rafalski).

I guess you have to be willing to pay to talent. Hopefully we can grab Adam Larsson in this years draft and turn him and Merill into the next Lidstrom Rafalski, although that is very optimistic.

by devsfan9 on Dec 28, 2010 9:53 AM EST up reply actions

My recollection

is similar, but I do not think we signed Zubrus to be a center – I believe we thought Elias would move to center.

The Rafalski loss was huge, but I don’t think that at the time we should have matched it. I do believe Rafalski was excited about going to Detroit (I htink he is from Michigan or something).

by banstyk on Dec 28, 2010 2:59 PM EST up reply actions

Just look at who we lost and who we brought in and the year explains itself. Rachunek? Vishnevski? Obviously panic signings, didn’t work out. Zubrus? Aside from the 2010 playoffs, an absolute bust and a waste at his cap hit. Weekes turned out alright but never really played a significant amount of time when Clemmensen came back and saved our season the year after. Asham was a terrible fit for our system. He never fought, never did much of anything. The fact that we hit 99 points this year is a miracle.

The Doghouse 2011: Henrik Tallinder, Jamie Langenbrunner

by thejerseydevil on Dec 28, 2010 11:55 AM EST reply actions