Devils in the Details- 2/15/12: ZidlickyMania? Edition

Upon further review.

Zids would not be much of an improvement.
1. Thanks Wysh for this. An illustrated guide to the Minnesota Wild’s misery when Marek Zidlicky plays
2. He’s got another year on his contract at $4M. We got other people to pay rather than a “powerplay specialist” next year.
3. He’s a powerplay specialist that managed his first point in 3 months on the PP last night!

When this happens, it better be for a six-pack and a bucket of KFC, and nothing more.

Honestly, I could part with Taormina and not be too upset about it

good point, maybe JL knows something we don’t know.

i think this might just be a ploy by fletcher to try to drive up the price a little bit for a guy who has obvious problems with the team and has asked for a trade.
they threaten not to trade him at all, price goes up. i think it’s BS, zid’s been scratched, if they want to try for the playoffs still it’s not like they lose anything in trading him.
it’d be like ottawa saying “we’re not going to trade heatley” (exaggeration but you get the point)

I took a further look at the Ledger article where the interview with Zids was printed. It’s not so much working within the system, but that the system that he was asked to play within wasn’t one he’d ever played before. He’s paid to produce offensively, and he was being asked to play with the 3rd and 4th lines or being stapled to the blueline. Sounds unreasonable to me to expect an offensive player to ddo well in either of those situations.

He did, however, still seem to really love hockey and want to contribute to the success of a team. He just sorta wishes that his current team would use him the way he’s played for his entire life. He’s right, and at 35, it’s a little late to ask a guy to change his game. You move him to a place where he can succeed.

And if you watch the Devs this year, they are an aggressive forechecking team that encourages their D to get involved with the offense. He’s got a rep as a powerplay QB and a puck mover, both of which the Devs could use. The closest players thay have with those skills on the blueline are Taormina and Foster, and neither is particularly good at playing D (although I think Tao is getting better/luckier positionally). And the PROVEN offensive upside of Zids is better than that of Foster or Taormina.

If the Devs plan on letting him play the game the way he knows how, and get him some defensive coverage, and if he really still is emotionally invested in playing, competing and winning, he could be a useful piece for the team. He’s going to have to memorize the playbook on the stuff you’re allowed to say to the media, and shave a little more often, but it could work. I just hate the idea paying him next year if he doesn’t wok out.

sounds like Lou made a “WTF dude, quite your peeps down.” phonecall.

over taormina, i really think he is. besides, it’s not about upgrading, it’s about our having so many stay-at-home-terrible-at-passing guys that still aren’t doing great skating the puck out of the zone. this would be more of a lateral movement, switching pieces that aren’t quite fitting right now but are probably worth the same.

problem is all of these guys are old. it’s so hard to know what upside, if any, they all have. visnovsky’s cap hit alone would be tougher to take i think even if his actual salary is less.

i dunno, i’ve followed zidlicky for years cause i always liked him, was great in nashville. i think right now we could really use the puck movement. palmieri, taormina, mayyyybe fayne, pick, i’ll take zid.

The Devils don’t need a amnesty clause next year to buy out Zidlicky, in fact that’d be the worst thing for them. The Devils aren’t going to be a cap team – they could buy Zidlicky out if they wanted. And maybe there’s no season and it doesn’t matter.

Visnovsky’s price would be way higher. I’m not in favor of a Zidlicky move, but it’s better than getting Visonvsky.

We have guys like Parise, Fayne, Taormina that must be signed. Poni is also someone I want back next season (Bernier too maybe?). Salvador (as well as he’s been without having the puck) is gone.

Parise might get a raise, but it won’t be more than $1.5M a year and frankly I don’t think he’s played like a $7M player this year.

Fayne is an RFA, which gives him little negotiating leverage. He gets signed for $2M.

Taormina, if re-signed, is a borderline NHLer and therefore earns the league minimum.

Ponikarovsky’s scoring will probably slow down but he’s likely to earn himself a raise – I say $2.5M.

Salvador (personally I think he kills our offense and our breakout even if he has played well defensively of late) and Foster will be off the books, Brodeur (if he doesn’t retire) will be taking a pay cut, and a million dollars in buyout penalties will expire as well. The cap is not an issue.