Who should be on the bench for the Devils?

I would like to take this moment to express my opinion of who I believe should be on the bench for the 2010-11 season.

If you do not understand the who should be on the bench next year, it means who should be the backup goalie next year. As the backup goalie, he will be sitting on the bench most of the time (there is nothing wrong with this, I do it all the time on my team to Grant Mitchell. Look him up colleges he’s good!)

Anyways, Brodeur is unquestionably the starting goalie for the Devils. With a 45-25-6 record, .916 save percentage, 2.24 GAA, and a whopping 9 shutouts, and a finalist for the Vezina trophy, he has had a spectacular year. While many blame Marty for the Devils early exit this year, he is not the reason. He made highlight reel save after highlight reel save that prevented the devils from being blown out in every game this series. The lack of the devils scoring, and lack of skilled defenseman on the team is the reason for their early dismissal for the playoffs, not Marty.

However, Marty is getting older. He will be 39 next year. He will still be an elite goaltender, but the Devils need to start looking for somebody who will not only be the successor to Marty, but fill in for 20 games to let Marty have enough rest to prepare for a long playoff run. Marty is not Brett Favre. He won’t be playing in 2020.

Here are a few possible solutions to help Marty rest, and to find his eventual successor.

1) I personally like Yann Danis. He has been able to do his job as a backup goalie pretty decently, posting a 3-2-1 record, with a 2.05 GAA, and a .923 save percentage (compliments to Yahoo stats). However, he will be 29 this summer and he is not the long term solution for the team. He has also not shown me enough to be able to trust him to play in 20 games, which could be the difference between home ice advantage throughout the playoffs, or missing the playoffs all together.

2) Jeff Frazee. The young goaltender from the USA U-18 development program, University of Minnesota, and Lowell Devils was drafted in the second round (38th overall) in 2005 by the New Jersey Devils. Frazee is pretty well sized at 6’0″ and around 185 pounds (by the way, Devils, is my size.) He is super athletic and super flexible. Despite for a terrible Junior year at the University of Minnesota, he has turned it around in Lowell and his maturity level and calmness under fire had improved vastly. There is no question in my mind that he should be the Devils backup goalie for next year. I believe that with some development, he can become an above average starter. I believe he is the devils best hope to replace Brodeur.

3) Drafting a goalie in this years draft. The devils have the 38th overall pick in this years draft. I think the Devils have a small chance of trading up in the draft if top goaltending prospects Jack Campbell and Chet Pickard fall down in the draft. If this happens, I think the devils should trade up. If not, the devils should sit back until their pick. I do not have a lot of information myself on the goaltending prospects, but from what I’ve read, I would say Kent Simpson from the Western Hockey League and Mike Visentin from the Ontario Hockey League are the best two choices for a second or a third round pick for the Devils.

4) Probably the most interesting possibility is trading for Carey Price, the young, fallen superstar from Montreal. A former fifth overall pick, the 22 year old has oodles of potential but has so far struggled to maintain a starting job in Montreal in a competition with Jaroslav Halak. Being the goalie for the Canadiens possibly has the most pressure for any team in sports, which reminds me of former Canadiens goalie quote “How would you like a job where when you made a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo?” That is life as the Canadien’s goalie. Being so young, he is unable to handle the situation. A new start, perhaps, is what he needs. I am not sure if the devils have enough to trade for the young goalie. The Canadiens will most likely offer ask for a first round pick. However, if the devils can make a package deal that includes some medium to low level prospects, Brian Rolston or Colin White (who, as I said in my last post, need to be traded anyway), and maybe a mid level draft pick (2nd, 3rd, or 4th), the Devils can pull him away from a Canadiens team that is desperate to get rid of him, especially after his poor play and even worse behavior in game 4 against the Capitals. In a lower pressure situation in New Jersey, he may be able to flourish and turn his potential into reality. I believe he can definitely play the 20 or so games necessary to allow Marty to rest and allow the devils to find Marty’s eventual successor. However, in order to get Price, the devils will have to give up more prospects and more draft picks, and will also gain a lot of drama from Price. However, at the end of the day, if the devils ARE able to gain Price’s services, they will gain a potential future superstar and an almost sure replacement for Marty down the line. However, it is still a major if for the devils to trade for him.

Overall, the easiest and best plan overall I think would be to develop Frazee over next season. However, if the Devils are able to gain Price without giving up too much, the Devils should make the trade. Drafting a goalie at their current position (38th), would take too long to develop and you would not be getting a goalie of much greater caliber than Frazee, as he was also picked at the 38th spot.

I hope you all enjoyed this post and continue your very much appreciated support. My next post will be about who should be behind the bench for next season as the Devils Head Coach.

Thank you for your support!