The Malik Report
Devils’ resiliency among Friedman’s ‘30 Thoughts’
by George Malik on 02/11/13 at 01:21 PM ET
Comments (0)
Update: Whoops, wrong blog! Sorry! The CBC's Elliotte Freidman's penned another excellent "30 Thoughts" column, and he leads the affair off by duly noting that the rumors of the New Jersey Devils' Zach Parise-less demise were at least slightly exaggerated:
The New Jersey Devils lost Zach Parise for nothing and we were quick to write them off. Boy, do we look dumb.
"Part of it is the history of the organization," Devils head coach Peter DeBoer said minutes after the defending Eastern Conference champions finished a weekend sweep of the the Pittsburgh Penguins. "They've done this a half-dozen times and the mandate is always the same: fill the holes as best you can and continue moving forward. It's not even an option to feel sorry for yourself. One thing about the Devils, there are no irreplaceable parts. We do it by committee."
Since 2000, they've lost Scott Gomez, Bobby Holik, Alexander Mogilny, Scott Niedermayer, Brian Rafalski and Parise to free agency (Don't forget Scott Stevens to retirement, too).
There were dry years, though, by New Jersey's standards. After winning their third Stanley Cup, the Devils won just two post-season series between 2004 and 2010 and missed the playoffs in 2011. DeBoer's first season was a rousing success, getting within two wins of another Cup conquest, but when Parise walked, many of us thought fun time was over.
A coach, however, is expected to believe otherwise.
"We had a lot of guys step up [last season] and I thought it was big enough of a sample size ... that it was not a fluke," DeBoer said. "We could do it again, build on it."
Filed in: | The Malik Report | Permalink
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Jimmy Williams, Detroit’s secret weapon
Red Wings arrive in Chicago wary of desperate Blackhawks
Watching Game 4 Chicago/Detroit
Jonathan Toews wants you to know that Jonathan Toews is a great player, and Toews will be fine
Red Wings-Blackhawks Friday practice post and/or travel day news: Hawks look on the bright side
Red Wings-Blackhawks Game 4 tailings: Wings still respect Hawks despite authoring improbable upset
Red Wings raised over $15,000 for fallen firefighter’s family
Sovetsky Sport reports that Pavel Datsyuk’s made up his mind regarding future with Red Wings
Red Wings forward Joakim Andersson’s playing understatedly superb 2-way hockey
Grand Rapids Griffins to battle Oklahoma City Barons in AHL WCF, stand with Oklahoma City tonight
About The Malik Report
The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.