Poll: Which New Jersey Devil Should Sit for Vladimir Zharkov?

Oh boy, no, Adam Mair is not the reason for the struggles this season. He’s been one of the brighter spots on the team.

Andy Greene is the problem. Travis Zajac is the problem. Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Rolston, Henrik Tallinder, Ilya Kovalchuk, Martin Brodeur, those are the problematic players right now. Now I’m not saying Mair hasn’t become a victim of the whole “ugh they scored first, game over” mentality the Devils seem to take on, but he’s a hard worker, and it’s tough to blame that.

Well, while Mair may be one of the bright spots, you’re talking a 15 watt bulb in a room full of 5 and 10 watt ones.

I wouldn’t sit Pelley, the PK has been clicking well lately and he’s leading the forwards in shorthanded TOI and 2nd in SH-TOI per game behind Elias.

I voted Mair, but Sestito sitting wouldn’t cause me to lose any more hair. Clarkson, yeah, I could see sitting for a game or two, like the good dr indicated, but one would think Zharkov’s recall would be longer term and Sestito will probably end up being the odd man out and returned to Albany when Josefson returns.

Granted Zharkov has no NHL goals, but does have 9 more assists than Sestito in his NHL career in 15 more games. Odds are long Sestito would get 9 assists in his next 15 NHL games (heck, odds are long ANYBODY on the Devils will get 9 assists in their next 15 games, unless they’re traded real soon.)

Glad to see Zharkov (Sharky?) back. Clearly Lemaire liked him last year and despite his inability to fill up a stat sheet, I think he’ll continue to do just fine in the NHL. I think Tim Sestito should be the one sitting. Either that or Mair. Mair has played better of the two, but I would not lose sleep over either leaving. As disappointing as Clarkson has been so far this season, I would still rather keep him up here to improve. He’s getting paid the big bucks to play, so lets hope that Lemaire can find better use out of him.

I really enjoyed his play last year. Let’s hope he got some contacts or a new prescription for his shot accuracy. He was big enough to be effective along the boards but still have that speed.

Any of those players could sit out a game (even a couple more..Rolston, Langs). I voted for Sestito only because he shouldn’t be centering a third line with Rolston and Tedenby.

I think Rolston needs to sit. And Sestito. And Mair.

After all, he’s shown himself to be Johnny Oduya 2.0. Plays real well to get himself a bigger contract, then plays down to a level at or below his old value.

It seems the extra money has caused him to lose his grit and tenacity on the ice. He’s been in zero fights this year…zero! He’s supposed to be a spark plug for the team and he’s just an invisible wing skating around the ice and taking shots at goalies’ chest pads.

The Clarkson we all knew and loved always provided energy, whether it be from dropping the gloves, driving the net, or the beloved(?) Clarkaround. This year’s Clarkson…I don’t know what he is exactly…did he get neutered in the offseason?

Call me what you want, but I voted for Clarkson.

He was signed to a bigger contract because he showed he had goal scoring potential, maybe even as much as 20 a year. So far, all he’s been good for is stupid penalties and falling down. I get that he’s trying (look at that shot total) but there’s a point where trying stops. Sharky proved he can get things going in the offensive zone last year (that whole CORSI analysis John did); so far, Clarkson hasn’t been producing so sit him in favor of a similar player.

Pelley has been great this year. He definitely doesn’t have the finishing power that Madden showed from time to time, particularly when he was younger, but he’s been a solid PKer. Mair is the same way. And Sestitio has hit basically anything that moves and come off with very few penalties (that I recall).