Do the Devils need to move ANOTHER D-man?

[MCDevils]

It's a tough spot.

ATM (No Particular Order):

Greene-Lars
Volchenkov-Fayne
Salvador-Zid
Harrold

Lou and Pete say they want to carry 8 d-men. Great, here's the problem.

Right now Gelinas seems to have the inside track on making the team.

However, Urbom, who is still young, and apparently Albany's best defensive player, IS NOT WAIVER EXEMPT.

This means to send him down we risk losing a guy who before we drafted Lars, was considered our best prospect.

Gelinas/Severson/Merrill are all waiver exempt. It's a tough call. I guess they still have a bit of time and can take a closer look at Urbom who played a mammoth 25 minutes in the first game. Also, Gelinas played 10 minutes of PP time in the Isles game. Both these guys seem ready. Does it have to be Fayne, Harrold, or Zids? The other guys I'm either too scared to let go (Larson, Greene) or seem unmovable (Volch).

 

[Nasty_Magician]

I've stated it several times before but if one of the young guys can fill the role of "offensive defenseman" or if Larsson is ready to be that guy the 3 you mentioned are all expendable. I can't stand Zids so he'd be my choice. Fayne is young but if it's between him and a young guy Fayne is out.

 

[nj_cup]

They wouldn't risk losing urbom for sure. If they Did lose him its a massive fail for bringing Xzid backk

 

[DevilishWon]

They wouldn't risk losing urbom for sure. If they Did lose him its a massive fail for bringing Xzid backk

I don't see him with the upside of the other 3....don't know that it would be a "massive fail" but it wouldn't be good either

 

[MadCaptain]

8 Dmen SUCKED last year. it fucked with Tallinder, Larsson, and made the D Corp play like shit. Please no!

I hope Lou and Pete put out the best team possible. Not just the most experienced team. If Gelinas plays better than Zid, trade Zid. If Salvador or Volchenkov can't keep up 5 on 5, make them 6th/7th dmen pk specialists. Sal having the C should not give him priority to Larsson, Fayne, etc. if he isn't playing as well as them.

 

[CalamityX11]

whats the issue? for starters move Zids... we need to go into full rebuild with the defense... might as well start now.... get that douche Zids out! lol...sorry but i will apply harsh words with him....

I'd hate to move Vol simply because I know I'll get a 150% out of him... whether he has the tools or not, he has the heart and grit back there... he'll get messy and/or tough unlike the remaining defendors...

If Harrold has to go as well... so be it. I don't necessarily think he's one of a kind and could be replaced...

Gelinas & Urbom are the first two that come to mind to bring over, but if Merrill is a scorer or shooter from his position, I could be ok with that as well...

no more patch works, time to bring in the kids!

 

[MCDevils]

I don't see him with the upside of the other 3....don't know that it would be a "massive fail" but it wouldn't be good either

Offensively, not a chance, but defensively he might be the best of the 4. We'll need him one day.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Let's fast forward 2 years. Marty has retired, Cory is well entrenched and still in the prime of his career. Our D will look something like:

Larsson-Greene
Gelinas-Merrill
Urbom-Severson

The following guys do not factor into that picture: Salvador, A-Train, Zids, Harrold. Now we can't get rid of Salvador since he's the captain. A-Train is one of the few physical players and if he can return to form he's our best shutdown guy. Zids and Harrold are in no man's land, they're not all that vital right now and they play no part in the future.

Fayne is a wildcard. He showed promise during the cup run but I think he'll eventually be the odd man out. We can still be competitive this year and at the same time set ourselves up nicely for the future if we would just move some parts to get the young guys in the lineup.