Gomez Could Be Available

[trucks 0]

Talks have broken off between the Devils and Gomez's agent, his father Carlos. They are going to arbitration and there's a very good chance that Gomez could win which would force him over the Devils cap meaning he'll be out of NJ. Should be interesting to watch where he goes because in my mind he is a very good and productive centreman that would help any team in the league.

[odp 0]

Could be - arbitration is an ugly process. Bobby Clark used to trade every Flyer who went to arbitration, win or lose.

[DarkStar50 679]

If Gomez wins arbitration, can't the Devils just cut other players in order to keep him with the salary cap? In the long run this would hurt the team but I'd rather have the better player to work with.

[trucks 0]

You cant just cut players, have to buy them out in which case the buyout works against the cap. Not sure exactly how it works but I know it does so its a lose-lose situation for the Devils if he wins arbitration which I sense he will. Only option to keep him would be a bunch of trades to keep cap space.

[Eazy_b97 1]

They are already over the cap at this point. You can only ever be 10% over, so 4.4 over. He's likely to get at least that much so they'd need to make the moves now or before they sign him. In addition, they have some unmovable space. Mogo and Malakhov are tying up $7 million. Then you have Elias, Brodeur, White, Rafalski, Madden. Gionta and Gomez both going to arbitration could mean trouble.

[McCabe24 0]

Looks the Central is now the worst division in hockey, the Islanders seem totally screwed while NJ and Philly seem to be headed to the cusp of the playoffs for years to come with their salary commitments. Add that two the Rags and Pens in the rebuild and we have the new SE if the Devils are unable to retain Gomez and Gionta through this situation.

[EBondo 233]

Could be - arbitration is an ugly process. Bobby Clark used to trade every Flyer who went to arbitration, win or lose.

Bobby Clarke is also a moron, IMO.

[trucks 0]

Looks the Central is now the worst division in hockey, the Islanders seem totally screwed while NJ and Philly seem to be headed to the cusp of the playoffs for years to come with their salary commitments. Add that two the Rags and Pens in the rebuild and we have the new SE if the Devils are unable to retain Gomez and Gionta through this situation.

Well if the Central is the new Southeast you can chalk the Rangers up for a Cup this year and the Penguins the year after that.

[McCabe24 0]

Looks the Central is now the worst division in hockey, the Islanders seem totally screwed while NJ and Philly seem to be headed to the cusp of the playoffs for years to come with their salary commitments.  Add that two the Rags and Pens in the rebuild and we have the new SE if the Devils are unable to retain Gomez and Gionta through this situation.

Rangers have improved this summer.

But I'd agree w/ the others

I never said they didn't. The Rangers are rebuilding and got lucky last year, they made smart signings to try and maintain that level of success this year, last season struggles aside. You can have success and rebuild if the kids perform, like Lundqvist, Prucha, etc. did. Rebuilding to me isn't sucking, it is taking a back seat for a year or two to reload on the non-core players and taking another true run at the Cup.

EDIT: I realize we are talking the Atlantic here, not the Central, good job I was the first to catch the mistake.

[kosydar 0]

Rangers didn't get lucky, they were good. The fact that they had a poor showing in the playoffs doesn't take away from their regular season accomplishments.

[fastmiele 59]

If Gomez wins arbitration, can't the Devils just cut other players in order to keep him with the salary cap? In the long run this would hurt the team but I'd rather have the better player to work with.

sure, you walk away simple as that and make him an unrestricted free agent.

example - Dimitri Khristich

oh.............the pain. bad memories for Leaf fans.

[trucks 0]

That was in the old non salary cap nhl, not this one.

[fastmiele 59]

That was in the old non salary cap nhl, not this one.

to be quite honest I am not 100 % up to date with the new NHL rules, but it wouldn't make much sense not being able to walk away.

If that's the case, the Leafs would not able to get rid of players like Antropov and Pony even if they wanted to ?

[kosydar 0]

You can still walk away from an award. What he was saying was that the Leafs walked on him, even though they had unlimited money to spend.

[Vapor 0]

Its the Atlantic division, not the central?

[Adam91 0]

Anyone hearing who's interested?

[kosydar 0]

Its the Atlantic division, not the central?

He corrected himself.

Of course the Leafs are interested, especially after today's signing.

[zrez 0]

Its the Atlantic division, not the central?

We know. Try reading the whole thread.

[DarkStar50 679]

Either Lou knows something we don't or this Devil situation is headed for trouble city.

[Vapor 0]

He corrected himself.

Of course the Leafs are interested, especially after today's signing.

Didnt catch the late edit, buttttt, he didnt correct himself, someone else did :)

[supahdon 0]

Either Lou knows something we don't or this Devil situation is headed for trouble city.

He's just being patient. Wait for the arbitrator's ruling and then go from there.

As a Devils fan, I'm not sure there really was any intention to keep Gomez long term anyways. In 2003/04, we spent our top picks on centers (Parise/Zajac). In past years, the Devils allowed guys like Gilmour, Thomas, Andreychuk to sign free agent deals elsewhere and then replace them with cheaper and equally effective guys like Morrison, Elias, and Sykora.

Ideally, I think the Devils would love to keep Gomez here one more year since Parise and Zajac both need another year of development. Next offseason, Malakhov and Mogilny's contract come off the books, so there would be money to give Gomez an extension. But unless Lou pulls off a great move (like dealing the M+M boys with a first round pick to Washington), I can't figure how we're fitting Gomez and Gionta under the cap right now.

[Adam91 0]

Lou has pulled off a lot of magic in the past but I just can't see how he can keep this all together. Zajac is at least a year away. He won't be able to straight from college to the show without some time in the minors and Paul Martin is due for a big raise aswell