Who actually thinks the devils will make the POs

[Big#D]

I think Devils fans are in for a frustrating season of being in and out of playoff position. At the beginning of the season, I figured the Devils could finish anywhere from 2nd to 12th in the East, with the most like spot being 7th to 10th. I still think that's about right, other than I'm starting to think 2nd to 5th is going to be a little too tough. The Devils still have a chance to win the division and they still have a chance to completely collapse and get a shitty draft pick.

It's all about managing expectations.

[Getzo5]

I think Devils fans are in for a frustrating season of being in and out of playoff position. At the beginning of the season, I figured the Devils could finish anywhere from 2nd to 12th in the East, with the most like spot being 7th to 10th. I still think that's about right, other than I'm starting to think 2nd to 5th is going to be a little too tough. The Devils still have a chance to win the division and they still have a chance to completely collapse and get a shitty draft pick.

It's all about managing expectations.

Agreed. I went with 7th-11th though.

[ILikeItVeryMuch]

[Devilsfanatic]

Anywhere from 7-13 is where they can be this year. I think Zajac coming back helps, but there needs to be changes in the D. More AV minutes, for starters.

[Lord Ned Stark]

lets just hope the teams that are in the running with us keep kicking themselves in the ***

[Big#D]

I'm not even sure how to fix the d-man problems anymore without taking two steps back. Larsson will be good some day, but right now he lets himself get caught behind the play too much. Fayne is probaly the only really reliable d-man we have and he's really no more than a second pairing d-man at the best of times. The Devils can survive with him getting top pairing minutes in the short run, but they'll never be anything if he's their long-term solution.

Tallinder, Volchenkov, and Greene are all second pairing d-men with little upside. Salvador is a third pairing d-man. The Devils need a d-man that'll step up and those are hard to find in the trade/free agent markets. They're going to have to luck into one.

[Lord Ned Stark]

i don't think anyone would disagree that larsson has #1 dman potential but you are right. it is a glaring weakness

[devilzrule27]

I'm not even sure how to fix the d-man problems anymore without taking two steps back. Larsson will be good some day, but right now he lets himself get caught behind the play too much. Fayne is probaly the only really reliable d-man we have and he's really no more than a second pairing d-man at the best of times. The Devils can survive with him getting top pairing minutes in the short run, but they'll never be anything if he's their long-term solution.

Tallinder, Volchenkov, and Greene are all second pairing d-men with little upside. Salvador is a third pairing d-man. The Devils need a d-man that'll step up and those are hard to find in the trade/free agent markets. They're going to have to luck into one.

Time and patience.

[Getzo5]

Time and patience.

We don`t have it. Despite what Jim says, and I couldn`t agree with him more (development), we can`t afford to miss the POs again, possibly multiple times. Just can`t.

Something has to be done. Just like BigD said, such a move would probably take us one (IMO) back long term, but we`re not Edmonton. We can`t just sit back and wait while having a superstar player(s) and fairly solid roster. All this team needs is one ******* PP QB PMD and depth (RW, D) (+ a solid stop-gap goalie next year). You can add depth anytime you want. While it`s much tougher to get a real PMD, it`s really necessary at this point.

DATW has his agenda, but he`s absolutely right about this.

[devilzrule27]

Thats where we fundamentally disagree. If this team wants to be actual contenders they need to have patience and if that means being a bubble team for a few years so be it.