Jason Arnott's back, Tell a Friend
by Kevin Sellathamby on Jun 19, 2010 5:15 PM EDT
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PrintThe big news today is the pair of moves that Nashville made. The Predators traded the rights to defenseman Dan Hamhuis to the Flyers for Ryan Parent and a conditional draft pick. While this move does affect some of the Devils offseason plans concerning our defense.
However, the Predators' second move is much, much more relevant to the Devils. The Preds traded their Captain Jason Arnott to the Devils for the Devils 2nd round draft pick in 2011 and prospect Matt Halischuk. (H/t to Marty's Better #30 for reporting this earlier)The Devils immediately address a big need in the form of a 2nd line Center, while the Preds get a skilled forward and a 2nd round pick in the proverbial war chest. With the trade, the Devils take on a big $4.5 million cap hit, which means the Devils have 16 players signed with $11 mil in cap space (per capgeek), and Martin and Kovalchuk not signed. And if Lou knows what's more important, keeping the team's best defenseman and probably the most effective free agent defenseman on the market is probably a high priority.
The big concern about this trade is probably going to be Arnott's health. He's suffered three concussions in the last three years, and has suffered various lesser injuries as well. It's also affected his game, he's much less physical (24 hits this season, down from 65 in 2008-09). As for what Arnott can do offensively, he's still got a bit left in the tank. He was 4th on the Preds in scoring, and was 5 points short of the team lead, despite missing 19 games. More importantly, his contract expires in 2010-11, meaning prospects like Adam Henrique and Jacob Josefsson will get time to mature in the AHL/Sweden (in Josefsson's case). Also, the $4.5 million cap hit and salary comes off at the end of the season, meaning the Devils will have more flexibility with the roster in the short term. I personally feel that this deal was a good move, but what do you guys think about the big trade?
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I'm psyched
Good 2nd line center, a need we all know the devils needed to fill. He’s good on the PP, knows the overall devils system, has chemistry with Elias, and had to waive his no trade clause to come here (showing he wanted to come here too).
i like
fills the need, only one year left on contract, giving flexibility for re-signing parise in the summer of 2011.
Its good to see that we finally addressed the second line center issue, it was a problem all of the last year. While he aged a little, he is still a big talented body that doesn’t get pushed off the puck easily. My jersey is a #25 Arnott, hope he gets that number again. I think that this is a positive move. Now we just need to nail down Martin. I think this move means that Lou doesn’t expect to retain Kovi.
Oy vey...
I like this…this is just super risky. If it can work out, sweet. If it can’t…there goes another prospect
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devils and stuff...
I wonder.....
if Claude Vilgrain or Paul Ysebaert are available. Maybe Sylvain Turgeon too. Not a fan of this move. Smell to much of a Rolston situation.
Arnott should help Elias and “Rolston” or another Right wing will help the secong line scoring in the team next year. Arnott has one left on his contract which will give us flexibility if we wish to resign him next year ?
arnott
and it will give them even more flexibility when they decide not to re-sign him after next season is over
by don in central jersey on Jun 19, 2010 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Just read the article, thanks for giving me the credit, haha.
by Marty's Better #30 on Jun 19, 2010 6:42 PM EDT reply actions
Ughh
What a stupid deal. Rather than going after someone like Lombardi, Lou decides to trade for an oft injured 35 year old with a 4.5 cap hit who hasn’t cracked 70 games in the last two seasons, and only once in the past four.
The ONLY way I excuse this trade is if NJ feels either Josefson or Henrique are a year away from assuming the 2nd line duties and Arnott is merely a one year place holder. Even still one year at 4.5 is too high for Arnott in my book.
i'm on the fence on this move
this is going to affect our defensive signings. Martin is a must. Kovy i think just got the boot by default.
I hate Philadelphia so much.
A-line ???
we needed a center, we only had Zajac, and now this will be great
hm..will lou get Sykora back and see the A-line?..who knows
PS3: J-CAMPS
thats twice in a row im with the majority,i would have gone with love it but im starting to wonder if the devils realize there are players out there who have never been on the devils before.
by Imperator_Celtic on Jun 19, 2010 7:44 PM EDT reply actions
It’s the Devils Greatest Hits!
Who doesn’t fondly remember Bobby Holik? Or sippin’ malts with your best girl while Brendan Shanahan scored a clutch goal? Brian Rolston. Jason Arnott. Anssi Salmela. Timeless classics. Call now, operators are standing by!
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -Mark Twain (?)
Minor nitpick
Jason Arnott: Returning to the Rock in a Devils uniform for the first time in 8 years
Jason Arnott never played at the Prudential Center in a Devils uniform :)
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -Mark Twain (?)
Oh god. Egg on my face.
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by Kevin Sellathamby on Jun 19, 2010 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Another Old Player Past His Prime
Of course we are all or should be fans of Arnott given his history with the Devils. But I fear given the money we could have spent elsewhere we may suffer a similar fate as have had with Rolston. One of the Devils primary goals this offeason should have been to get younger and faster, Arnott doesnt acomplish either. He may be a third or fourth liner on a serious Cup contending team, like Madden was a fourth line center for the blackhawks this year late in his career. Arnott is not integral to where the Devils need to go as a franchise to win a another cup. A nice complementary third or fourth line center, yes. But at 4.5 million, no. Resigning Martin and Kovy, two players in their prime and skilled at their position, would be much better in adittion to going with a youth movement elsewhere. I certainly hope Lou isnt mistaking Arnott for adding a big name offensive tool. and I hope this doesnt mean we are no longer seeking resign Kovy, which in my view is the biggest priority (and I think lou feels that way too for he started talks with Kovy and has not to the best of my knowledge started them with Martin yet).
also....Lou and former Devils
I think lou is just sinking way too much money into older players year in an year out, perhaps somewhere at a subconscious level he is adverse to a youth movement; in any case, his propensity to reaquire devils players in my mind is a severe limitation. Whether you like acquiring former devils or not, its beyond debate that Lou’s propensity for doing so at this point is not coincidence, he clearly favors players he perosnally knows and has had a history with. Knowing a player may be nice, but at a certian point, if that becomes overriding in yoru decisions it hurts the make up of the team
I don’t know if he’s so adverse to youth given how many minor league prospects the Devils called up and performed on the team – notably Bergfors, Fraser, and Zharkov.
I’m going to look how Arnott’s underlying stats compared to the other UFA centers.
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by John Fischer on Jun 19, 2010 8:16 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
In addition to stats, the other question to ask when considering Arnott vs. any of the UFA centers is how many of those centers could likely have been signed to 1-year deals.
by HockeyWeasel on Jun 19, 2010 8:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Even with Halischuck gone, there are still plenty of young wingers in the system.
Clarkson, Zharkov, Tedenby, Davis, Palmieri, Vasyunov (spelling?), and Hoeffel just to name a few. And that Parise guy still has plenty of hockey left in him too.
by HockeyWeasel on Jun 19, 2010 9:02 PM EDT up reply actions
You can't cry about Halischuk
Halischuk, likely a late 2nd round pick for Jason Arnott, who has a chance to put up 50+ points if he stays healthy, maybe more if he and Elias get their magic going. Obviously Patrik’s health is a concern too, I believe the usual early-season injury bug will hit us again, but the point has been made, if this becomes a screw-up at $4.5M for one season, then we let him go after this season.
Yankees in baseball, Giants in football and Devils in hockey. It's that simple. I have no off-season.
by DownGoesAvery on Jun 19, 2010 11:35 PM EDT up reply actions
But I fear given the money we could have spent elsewhere we may suffer a similar fate as have had with Rolston.
Biggest difference is that Arnott is a UFA after this year. If it doesn’t work out, he can retire a Devil.
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -Mark Twain (?)
thats a good point and crucial. as is this move is a bit too much money for a potential small piece to the puzzle. if it were more than a year comittment it would be insane. I have nothing against Arnott he can do some good things for us next year. But we have to hope that this wasnt Lou’s big offensive splash and we have to hope it doesnt mean we loose kovy.
I think it’s pretty much a certainty that Kovy is gone. 4-5 million of the remaining cap space is going to be needed for Paul Martin, another 3-4 million will probably be used for the combination of Clarkson, Pelley, and Fraser, and then we’d need another d-man, and after all that, there’s just not going to be enough cap space left for Kovy.
by HockeyWeasel on Jun 19, 2010 8:51 PM EDT up reply actions
you may be correct. but not only not enough for kovy but also not enough for any other impact offensive player. Arnott is not that, not at this point in his career. And I think we need that and so thats why i didnt like the 4.5 million.
Because the Devils suffered offensively last year, espesially in the playoffs, and impact player to my mind for this team should be defined offensively, namely goal scorer. we need another player on the team that scores 30 plus goals a year. Arnott is not that.
The devils just arent very talented or deep offensively right now. still basically a one line team plus elias who is after all a year older coming off an injured season. assuming they dont resign kovy because of the arnott deal it doesnt look promising. Players like Arnott and Rolston at this point in their career are small pieces to the puzzle on a cup contending team, rounding out a solid fourth line, maybe Arnott a nice third line center.
fourth line, really? that feels a little harsh…
47 points in 63 games would still put him at 5th on last season’s team. It puts him in the top 50 for centers leaguewide, and that’s having his worst shooting season (8.8%) in his career. If that’s a third line center, how many points are you looking for from the second line?
Arnott is a solid third line center a cup contending team; he is not a top two line center on a cup contending team at leaast judging by the teams that had deep runs this year. moreover, his 4.5 cap hit for third line center is considerable, even though its only for a year; further, he is 35 and players post that age tend to see declines in production; i know Lou like to sign 35 plus players to one year deals to fill holes on the team (Niedermayer, McCammond) but there are limitations the kind of team that strategy builds; finally, while I really like what Arnott can bring in the proper role he is not a game changing offensive player in the sense of being a prolific goal scorer or the type of player that makes everyone around him better; its this type of game changing offensive player that I think the Devils need to retaiin in Kovy or go get via free agency. In short, the team is still one line plus elias. Arnott is a nice adittion but he doesnt change that dynamic in my view
As poor as he’s been, I don’t think we can write off Rolston as a complete waste just yet.
He showed some flashes of productivity while Elias was his center last year, but after Elias got hurt, Lemaire started moving around the lines like crazy, and Rolston spent the vast majority of his time with Niedermayer as his center. I’d like to see what he can do if he’s given a chance to play the right side with Elias and Arnott.
by HockeyWeasel on Jun 19, 2010 9:22 PM EDT up reply actions
projected out over 82 games, 4 of his last 5 seasons were 29 goal paces or better. 2 years ago 82 games would have netted him 40+ (at the same rate he scored). The potential for 30 is still there if a) he still has something left in the tank, b) he stays healthy, and c) he really is pumped coming back to the Devils like his statements imply.
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Consider this
If this trade works out how everyone hopes it will, that 2nd round pick is going to 60th overall. If this season’s draft is deep, next year’s probably won’t be.
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I like the move because we really desparetely needed a big natural center for the second line. He’s one ex Devil I don’t have a problem with lou getting. It probably was alot easier to aquire him than to try to aquire a free agent because there’s alot of other teams after them as well. So your probably going to have to spend alot more. He is getting older now but he does have good skills & still seems to be plating at a high level. Most of all, he knows Elias. Thats been the biggest problem the last few years. Trying to find someone that has chemistry with Elias. It is a bit of a gamble, but he’s a really good centerman.
Hmm...
Our lines should look like:
Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner
Elias-Arnott-Zubrus/Rolston
Tedenby-Joefasson-Zubrus/Rolston
Zubrus and rolston can switch from 2nd to 3rd line depending on if the lines play well…but the size of zubrus and arnott on the same line with a creative guy like elias would be fun to watch. However, this could hopefully be a breakout season for rolston. Either way Tedenby and Joefasson will get a vet to play with or zarkov.
Dno I don’t know what the 4th line would look like really depends on FA signings but really I don’t care much cuz usually they are useless for us unfortunatly.
by zach parise9 on Jun 19, 2010 8:48 PM EDT up reply actions
I think this trade was made so that Josefsen can get another year of seasoning. I would be shocked to see him centering the third line at this point. I expect that the 3rd line center would either be Zubrus, or Rob Niedermayer again to serve as a checking line.
by HockeyWeasel on Jun 19, 2010 8:48 PM EDT up reply actions
I expect neidermayer to be gone..josefsson can replace him there and be offensive and he is responsible defensivly too.
by zach parise9 on Jun 19, 2010 8:50 PM EDT up reply actions
A rookie centering the checking line? That seems like a recipe for disaster, even if Josefsen is a responsible two-way player.
by HockeyWeasel on Jun 19, 2010 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions
not to mention he’s giving up a bunch of size to Nieds – 6’0/180 vs 6’3/205. Josefsson will be a two-way center – he wouldn’t play for the Devils if he couldn’t – but having him center the checking line would be REALLY tough on the rook, especially in what would be his first year playing North American hockey.
Checking Line?
If you guys don’t remember this isn’t pre lockout.. I don’t think we need the 3rd line to be checkers…Neids can play 4th line with pando or it will be pelly. 3rd line needs to be scoring line we need offense.
by zach parise9 on Jun 19, 2010 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Even in a checking role, Holik was fairly consistently scoring 20+ goals for New Jersey. I have no doubt that Josefsen is capable of that eventually, but I think it’s a mistake to throw a 20-year old into that situation in his first year playing in North America.
by HockeyWeasel on Jun 19, 2010 9:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Looking to the fairly recent past, John Madden started playing on the checking line as a fairly young player, but during his first couple of years in the league, Holik was still the primary checking center.
by HockeyWeasel on Jun 19, 2010 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions
I see Zubrus as a RW
I personally thought he played his best games as a top 6 forward (ZZZ line for one…also with Kovy), so Elias-Arnott-Zubrus, not really an A-line, but it has that feel to it.
Yankees in baseball, Giants in football and Devils in hockey. It's that simple. I have no off-season.
by DownGoesAvery on Jun 19, 2010 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions
I think you’d have to give Zharkov a look on the wing with Arnot & Elias. He played really well with Elias last year. Don’t forget about Clarkson. Also Lou did say that he expects to have somemore young guys in the lineup this year.
Zharkov...
Hasn’t really proven he should be in our top 6..0 goals 40 games cmon. He is good defensivly and should play mostly on the 4th line or maybe even 3rd. But either way I don’t think he will be on the 2nd line unless their is chemistry probs.
by zach parise9 on Jun 19, 2010 9:04 PM EDT up reply actions
You still can have three lines that can score. What about Zubrus as the third line center with Clarkson & Rolston?
That’s a good idea. With Arnott on the second line, that line doesn’t necessarily need another power forward type, although if Zharkov struggles there, either Clarkson or Rolston could be moved up.
by HockeyWeasel on Jun 19, 2010 9:17 PM EDT up reply actions
What about tedenby and josefsonn? Don’t think sestito deserves a spot he will prob be a career ahler..palmeri isn’t ready yet and neither is davis.
Let them play a year in the AHL to get acclimated to the North American style of hockey. I think a 4th line, because they don’t play a whole lot, shouldn’t be used with kids who need ice time to develop.
by HockeyWeasel on Jun 19, 2010 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Lou has hinted they will be on the team so I’d assume they will play together on the 3rd line..
by zach parise9 on Jun 19, 2010 9:20 PM EDT up reply actions
heh
I like it, but this means kovalchuk isnt coming :(
Not necessarily
Kovy-Arnott-Elias? It would be expensive, but after that, we’re done. I think Lou is going to stick to a younger defense, and give Corrente and Eckford a shot at the NHL and maybe see if he can’t get another guy up too. Maybe we trade for someone at the deadline, but this is what we’ve got. You might be right but I initially thought the opposite. MacLean is more offensive than Therrein or Hitchcock would have been, that is good news for Kovy’s return too.
Yankees in baseball, Giants in football and Devils in hockey. It's that simple. I have no off-season.
by DownGoesAvery on Jun 19, 2010 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't know guys, I'm a little skeptical
The guy knows us yes, he’s been successful lately, had 30 goals two years ago, but he was injured last year and this has the potential to be Brian Rolston part 2, I’m not saying it will be, but hey, Rolston had 34 goals the year before he came back to NJ? He’s not getting younger, either.
I want to like the move, but I’m not planning the SC parade either. We have a long way to go.
Yankees in baseball, Giants in football and Devils in hockey. It's that simple. I have no off-season.
He’s definitely not going to be THE answer to the offense, but he’s going to help.
His contract is a bit much, but it’s only for one year. Unlike Rolston I don’t think anyone is expecting him to come in and pot 30 goals, but he does fill a need on the team by being a natural Center, which allows Elias to return to the Wing where he’s more productive. If Arnott puts up about what he did last year (19-27-46 in 63 games) then he’s roughly equal to Elias’ contribution as a Center (19-29-48 in 58 games) last year, only now Elias is back at his natural position and hopefully closer to 30 goals.
I’m more worried about his recent concussion problems than anything, but at the absolute worst he’s a one year (albeit, expensive) rental who brings experience and much needed leadership to the team.
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -Mark Twain (?)
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