(no subject)

[nmalifeguard]

Aside from Martin Brodeur, there is no New Jersey Devil that was more integral to their 3 Stanley Cup championships than their captain, Scott Stevens. Yet, reading the stat sheets, it's hard to imagine this is true. He wasn't a big goal scorer, and he didn't factor into the offense much. But, it was his intensity, grit, and determination that rank him among the best. Ask Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya, Mike Modano, and Marian Hossa what it's like to take a Scott Stevens hit in the playoffs. Find out how weary people are to go up against him along the boards because they fear the big hit (which is absolutely going to come). Talk to his goalie, Martin Brodeur, who admits to feeling a lot better when he's on the ice. Talk to the fans, who can all breathe a sigh of relief when he touches the puck, because you know he won't cough it up. With the announcement of his retirement, the Devils defense now has a gaping hole to fill. His retirement creates the biggest void in the Devils defense, not the abrupt departure of Scott I'm a Pussy Neidermeyer, who left because he couldn't bear to play against his brother anymore, so he joined hteir team. More important than that though, they've lost the undisputed leader of the team, the guy who called all the shots in the clubhouse. Stevens was respected by all, and was a guy the younger players could look up to know. Now, John Madden (expected to be named the new captain) will have to fill that void. Madden is a young player who plays the game a lot like Stevens did. He's got big shoes to fill, as do the entire remaining defensemen- Brian Rafalski, Colin White, Paul Martin, Dan McGillis, Vladimir Malakov, and David Hale.

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Does Braden Looper ever save games anymore? Can he do ANYTHING? Why is he still on this team? Honestly, ANYTHING or ANYONE is better than him. The Mets wil never make the playoffs with a hack like him in the bullpen. He's a true disaster.