Devils have finally stemmed the flow of injuries

The Devils actually made it through last week without losing any more players to injury and got back Paul Martin, Brian Gionta and Bryce Salvador.

Devils coach Brent Sutter said he can feel that the team has finally settled down a little after a stretch in which it seemed someone new would be injured every day.

"I think we have," Sutter said. "Things were happening so quickly and you try just to weather through it. You always are under the understanding that injuries are part of the game, but it just seemed like it was every game or every practice something was happening to us. And if it wasn't happening here, it was happening to the American League team (in Lowell). But the players have done an outstanding job and the guys that are healthy, their focus is just to play and let the coaches and the management worry about the other things. The players need to play and do their jobs playing and play up to their potential.

"When you've got guys coming in and out of your lineup and you don't know the next day what your lines are going to look like or how things are going to look, that can get disruptive towards your team. But, like I said, the guys have handled it pretty well. I think we've settled in here pretty good.

"Obviously Marty's (Brodeur) situation, just because of the stature of the person who got injured and there is so much talk and hype about it, it can be a distraction to the guys. Just every day you're hearing about it, But I thought the guys handled everything very well. It just hasn't been a situation with Marty, it's how it (combined) with Brian (Rolston) and Bobby (Holik) and (Andy) Greene and it was just like, wow. Those guys were very important parts of this team. Yet, it's given other guys now an opportunity to step up. And that's what we've settled into. Guys have kind of accepted the adjustment to their new roles.

 "Yet, we're going to get guys back and it's going to happen very soon. How soon I don't know. But it's going to happen where guys will get back and ,hopefully, if things stay and we don't run into the bug again, we can get somewhat of a healthy lineup going again.

"When you really think about it, I was telling Lou (Lamoriello) this the other day: we're going to do the best we can and yet we're never going to be healthy. Marty's not back for three or four months, so you're never going to be a 100 percent team, but you make the best of what you have. And we've moved past that now with Marty. We know Marty is going to be gone for this long period. This what we need to do from here to then and forward.

"It is what is. It's been a great opportunity for the guys too and that's what Jamie (Langenbrunner) said. We have an opportunity to show that we've been a very good team with a great goaltender and we can still be a very good team. Yet, now we've got two guys (Scott Clemmensen and Kevin Weekes) that have to step up and cover that great goaltending part of it for us."

***

Sutter said defenseman Sheldon Brookbank will play right wing again in Thursday night's game. It looks like Petr Vrana will be a healthy scratch again.

***

Thursday's game will be Sutter's first coaching in the NHL against first-year Florida Panthers head coach Pete DeBoer. The two became close when DeBoer, who coached Kitchener in juniors, assisted Sutter on the Canadian World Junior team in 2005 and also worked with him in the Super Series against Russia before Sutter's first season with the Devils.

"Pete and I get along very well," Sutter said. "We're good friends. I have a lot of respect for him as a coach. Our working relationship we had was as coaches, but we worked well together and through it all we became good friends. So, there's a lot of mutual respect." 

Sutter said he and DeBoer are similar as coaches.

"He's intense. He knows the game. He's demanding, but fair. He's about accountability and holds players accountable. And he's surrounds himself with good people. He knows how important that is."

Although the Panthers are practicing at Prudential Center today, Sutter said he didn't plan to get together with DeBoer today. He joked, however, that he might stop by the Panthers' practice to spy on him.

Comments

[Shtikl]

You don't believe in jinxes, do you?

[Jason]

Looking at Florida's spot in the standings, I agree with Brent. They appear to be very similar coaches.

[JJ]

I really hope this isn't just a rumor.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Death-to-the-trapezoid-NHLPA-talks-about-dumpin?urn=nhl,123227

[FTC]

TG, did you talk to Clarkson about playing against DeBoer. He played for him in Kitchener.

[Pando20Rules]

i like how he pointed out Andy Greene is a vital part of the team...compared to last year, I find that to definitely be promising

[modnarm]

YESSSS I HOPE ITS TRUE AND COMES TO PASS NEXT SEASON!!!!!!!!
F THE FREAKING TRAPEZOID!

why stop a goalie from using one of his skills???
why hamper the goalie from creating offense by shooting the puck up ice...? cuz the NHL LIVES for offense u know...
why allow for mad dashes into the end boards giving people pelvic, back, groin, neck, head injuries when the goalie can just play the puck?!??!

WHY THE TRAPEZOID!

MAY IT BURN IN HELL!!!! and may Marty return to handle the puck once again!

[SonicDude]

Despite the very low hit rate of Eklund, his barker and khabibulin to devils rumour makes sense if its elias going the other way both for salary cap space and to get him to waive the ntc to play with comrade havlat.

if so, i would probably ask hawks for a pick as well. barker would be awesome here and fill out the defense, and getting elias off our cap could help us, altho i dont know the duration of khabi's deal.

[Jack]

Sign Shanny!

[Kevin]

Yeah, that rule is a disaster... In my opinion, it will certainly help the Brodeur's of the league improve the team wholisticly. We shall see, purely speculative for now I assume.

[Puckster]

Maybe I'm just cynical, but I get the feeling they'll keep the trapezoid until Marty retires.

[NJSwampdragon]

yes let's trade our second leading scorer for a D-man and a rent-a-goalie on a team that has trouble scoring. Brilliant

[John]

Trading Elias for a goalie at this point is stupid, he and parise are the only ones i see putting it in the back of the net consistently this season.

[shredder29]

Why hasn't someone went out and bought Boumeester a sweet piece of jersey's finest AS* and maybe a manicure aswell!!! Hello we need to be all but goin down on this man. BYe GIO!! Bye Colin!!
Bring back Burns!!!!!

[Jersey Mike]

The Trapezoid is the stupidest thing in hockey next to a Dwayne Kessel aka Eklund rumor.

[Just Some Guy]

This is the last year of Khabibulin's contract ($6.75M). Cam Barker makes about $1M and Brodeur $5.2M. If nhlnumbers.com is to be believed, the Devils have about $500k in cap space, so if Brodeur's salary can be covered by the LITR, they would still need to move about $2M in order to fit both NK and CB under the cap. Brian Gionta would seem the likeliest bet to be moved if that trade ever came to be. However, I am not sure what happens when Brodeur is ready to play. Can they just waive Khabibulin? If they activate Brodeur late in the season, can they keep both of them since the salaries are pro-rated? I do not know. I do know that there is no salary cap in the playoffs.

[Pearl Jammed(RJ Arditti)]

i would love to see the trapazoid taken away as well that would be a great move......

please no more shanny talk, and Barker and Khabibulin for Elias....i doubt anything that comes from Eklund's mouth. Is his site worth reading?... absolutely for comedic value, but for information you might as well check the funny pages for the Devils box score for all the good it does you

[Just Some Guy]

And according to Bob McKenzie at tsn.ca, the Blackhawks are prepared to acquire Michael Nylander from the caps, but need to clear up cap space (Khabibulin) in order to do that. So, while the Devils need a goalie (in my opinion), the Hawks don't have as much leverage as they would hope.

[Jeff]

Elias isn't going anywhere

[J-Remy]

Hey, TG. Can you possibly confirm whether or not Claude Lemieux has signed in China? I know NHL.com has it, but it is still impossible to believe.

[jules]

LOL @ Shtikl.

If they take away the trapezoid, maybe next season Marty can be our leading scorer.

[Puckster]

Elias is the second best forward on our team right now and we don't exactly have an overabundance of scoring. Why would anyone want to trade him for a rental goalie and a dman?

It's an interesting rumor, but it's not one that should come to pass. And I doubt it will.

[Jim B]

@ TG, With Brodeur on long term IR does that open up enough cap space to get a guy like Khabibulin without having to give up a lot in salary?

[TG]

Last I was told, Brodeur is only on regular IR -- not long-term IR.

And if Brodeur were to go on long-term IR, the Devils would be allowed to spend over the cap by the amount of Brodeur's contract, so they would have the cap space to add Khabibulin while Brodeur is out.

But when Brodeur comes back, you'd have to create enough cap room to activate him.

[Jim B]

http://www.thefourthperiod.com/news/njd081116.html this seems like an interesting rumor about the devils on fourthperiod.com, says they are interested in Olaf Kolzig

[Mike]

TG,

In regards to bringing someone off LTIR, does the returning players remaining salary count against the cap, or the whole thing. For Example, if Marty came back with 20% of the season left, do the devils just need to have 20% of his total contract available, or is it the whole thing?