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Posts Tagged Jacques Lemaire

Zach Parise Likely to Play Elsewhere

Dec 6

Posted by EB in Rumors | 1 Comment

Zach Parise may be a New Jersey Devil today, but come trade deadline or free agency, expect him to be on the move.

New Jersey Devil fans have it tough, real tough. If it is not bad enough that the Devils are currently sitting 12th in the standings in the East, young superstar Zach Parise is likely to play for another team come trade deadline or in the off-season.

The Minnesota native Zach Parise is coming into his production years at the age of 27. Playing 7 seasons with the Devils, it is time for some new scenery. With a Silver medal under his belt from 2010, Parise wants a Stanley Cup ring, that of which the Devils won’t do for quite some time.

The Devils of old were once a powerhouse team. Hard hitting defender Scott Stevens, a younger Martin Brodeur between the pipes and head coach Jacques Lemaire made every team cringe. How the years have passed, as the Devils of new are nothing but a pushover. Last year the team missed the playoffs by 12 points. To this day the team is once again sitting on the outside looking in. An argument could be that they are only 2 points back from 8th, but the Eastern Conference is a tricky beast.

My how a few acquisitions, trades and years makes a difference. The Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs have surprised the hockey community as both are currently sitting in playoff spots. It seems Brian Burke’s master plan to take over the hockey world is finally taking form. (insert lightning/thunder/evil laugh now) On the flip side, the Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, all three teams who made the playoffs last season, are currently on the outside looking in. The Devils competition is only going to get tougher.

Over a quarter way in, Parise has only 16 points in 25 games. His total is from a combined 7 goals and 9 assists, a rather poor total for such a player of his caliber. On top of that, Parise has a plus minus rating of negative 10, second to worst on the team, that of which belongs to Ilya Kovalchuk with a negative 11.

Devil fans enjoy the season while it lasts, despite the slow plummet to miss the playoffs yet again. Parise is on the move come trade deadline or free agency. If you are lucky another team will be offering a trade and you can get some depth and draft picks.

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: New Jersey Devils

Sep 1

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Additions: None

Key Offseason Losses: Brian Rolston

Last Season Ranking: 11th in the East

Offense: With recent headlines of, “Devils Sign 12 Players, Mostly Minor Leaguers”, you begin to wonder what the organization is thinking to turn this sinking ship around. Oh, that’s right, the team will heavily rely on Ilya Kovalchuk and his 15 year, $100 million dollar deal.

Kovaluchuk is coming off of a down year with only 60 points in all. The plus side, a 60 point season for many players is a good

Can both Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise turn this team around this season?

season. His point production will likely get back up in the 90 point range this season, especially if teammate Zach Parise can stay healthy from a knee injury. Parise currently is in his last year before becoming an unrestricted free agent. Many predict after an off-season with tough contract negotiations, the talented young player will test the free agency market for not only more money that the Devils cannot offer, but a better chance at winning the Stanley cup.

If that is not enough drama to make General Hospital look sane, the Devil’s organization are now faced with who to give the Captaincy to. Many believe Kovalchuk is the only option, with the length of his contract with the Devils until bites the dust, but because Parise won’t be a Devil after this year. Is Kovalchuk the right player for the job? It is still not known, but I would not put my money on it.

Supporting cast will be made up of Travis Zajac, Dainius Zubrus and Patrik Elias. Zajac and Zubrus are both coming off of down years and need to step it up for the team to succeed. Elias, on the other hand, put together a 21 goals and 41 assists for a 62 point season. Elias is still capable of meeting and possibly exceeding those numbers this year, but at age 35, how much endurance does he really have? Side note, Zajac will miss a month and a half of the season to heal from a left Achilles tendon surgery.

Defense: The Devils, despite not having any really big named defensive players, were 9th overall in goals against average with 2.52. This is in part due to the strong effort of Andy Greene, Henrik Tallinder and Andy Volchenkov. But with a combined plus/minus rating of  -26, to say they need to do better is an understatement.

A big blow to the defense happens to not be a player, but the news that Jacques Lemaire will not return as Head Coach. Lemaire was previously retired, but after the Devils sunk last season under John McLean, the soon to be 66-year-old Lemaire came back to help out. In the 48 games he coached last year, he led the team to a 28-17-3 record.

Perhaps new Head Coach Peter DeBoer can mimic some of Lemaire’s winning ways, but coming off of two losing seasons as Head Coach of the Florida Panthers and eventually being fired with one year left on his contract, it looks like he might have his work cut out with this Bad News Bears bunch.

Goaltending: Need I really say anything on goaltending? Martin Brodeur is still the number one goalie and will be backed up by Johan Hedberg. If the Devil’s are smart, and want to make the playoffs, they need to give Hedberg 20 games. Brodeur is no longer a spring chicken and is 39 years old. Factor in that he missed games last season to knee problems, elbow problems the year before that, the Devils need to start looking at reserving his energy as well as possibly replacing him in one of the upcoming seasons.

Hedberg is only a year behind Brodeur at 38 years of age but will be the deciding factor for the Devils if they make the post-season or not. Never really having a bad nor good season, mainly staying at .500 each year, Hedberg needs to find the Tim Thomas fountain of save-my-career-and-make-me-the-king-of-the-world.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Playoff bound.

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Minnesota Wild

Sep 23

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Minnsota's third jersey is but one of many changes to the upcoming Wild season.

Minnsota's third jersey is but one of many changes to the upcoming Wild season.

The Minnesota Wild, who finished only one spot out of the playoffs last season, looks to take the ice with a drasticly different team this year.

Head coach Jacques Lemaire announced he will not return to coach the Wild on April, 13 2009 and will be replaced by Todd Richards. Richards was once a professional hockey player, and since retiring from playing, has been the assistant coach of the Milwaukee Admirals and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL, as well as an assistant coach of the San Jose Sharks last NHL season. Richards looks to invigorate the team by transitioning from Lemaire’s defensive minded play style to a more aggressive, up-tempo style of play.

To carry out the transition, the team has decided not to resign wingers Stephane Veilleux and injury prone Marian Gaborik, but to replace them with veteran Petr Sykora and Martin Havlat. Sykora won the Stanley Cup last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, contributing 46 points in 76 games played in the regular season, as well as 1 assist in the 7 games he played in the playoffs. The high flying Havlat is coming off of a career high 78 points with the Chicago Blackhawks. He scored 29 goals in 81 games played during the regular season, with 48 assists and a very good +29 rating. In the playoffs he averaged just under a point per game with 5 goals, 10 assists for a total of 15 points in 16 games played.

The team has a solid core of players, with veterans Owen Nolan and Marek Zidlicky, young talented Brent Burns, and hard hitting Cal Clutterbuck.  Just in case any rough stuff happens, the Wild also have heavyweight enforcer Derek “The Boogeyman” Boogard. The Wild were lead last season by center Mikko Koivu with 67 points; 20 goals and 47 assists in 79 games played.

Lastly, the team has goaltender Niklas Backstrom. Backstrom, who surprisingly only became the Wild’s starter in the ’07-’08 season after Manny Fernandez was traded to Boston. Backstrom has won the William M. Jennings (lowest goals against) and Roger Crozier Saving Grace (best save percentage) awards. Last season he went 37 wins and 24 losses in 71 games played. He was in the top 3 amongst goaltenders in all three categories of save percentage (.923%), goals against average (2.33) and shut outs (8).

The Minnesota Wild are a competitive team, who have seen the playoffs in 3 of their 8 seasons in the NHL. With a new coach, a new strategy as well as a few new stars among the team, this year they look to make it year 4. Look for the Wild to be fighting hard for the first place within the Northwest Division against the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames.

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