Lyle signs 3 year Devils deal

[Chris]

Im A little thrown by all these loyalty comments aswell . . .

Didnt Jarvis leave Bison also? . . . cant remember many people being unhappy due to loyalty when we signed him.

Mark Richardson left us for Panthers.

Tyson left us to play abroad.

Myers, Phillips, Sly, Smith and Max have all left us. . . yet many would appear to jump at the chance to have any of these back. I really dont uinderstand the difference with Lyle, perhaps im missing something?

Its a short career and most of these guys want to win and earn as much as they can, the reason most people sign one year contracts is because nobody is loyal!

Due to the fact the Lyle allows us another import makes me happy with the decision to sign him, if he was an import then id be dissapointed with the signing but he wins trophies and you cant argue with that.

To the people who are dissapointed with this signing though, dont worry because Lyle isnt loyal and will probably leave next season

I'm glad you posted that, was about to do the same myself.

Some of the comments on this thread are just absurd :roll:

Chris.

 

[Dwoods]

It is a great signing from an Import/Brit side of things - allowing us the extra import out on the ice could be huge - personally I would like to now see us Add Tyson AND McAlister to our D...now that would be exciting. We all know Tyson is probably THE best offensive D man to play over in the country, and McAlister is probably the toughest guy over here last season, but also a very good D man, especially in our rink - we found it sooo hard to break down Newcastle last season when Mac was on the ice, so I think he would be perfect for us in our rink - plus we do need to start adding some size to our team now methinks...

If I only think about the hockey side of things then I do worry about Lyle's consistency over a season - he can be a game winner, and one of the best on his day - just not sure if he is a Championship Winning NM...but lets hope the extra import we now have on the ice can make the difference for us...

 

[El Supremo]

UP until a month ago this guy was GB's no.1 netminder! This is a fantastic signing and I cannot wait to see him finally play again in a Devils shirt (I missed his last stint with us). I hope that if Lyle reads these forums (I hope none of the players do so!) he realises that he is appreciated and the few doubters will soon be silenced.

 

[Kipper]

May not have dawned on alot of people but Jody Lehmans main reason for leaving the UK was the falling pound on the global market had effectively left him with a near 33% pay loss. Hence good goalie unaffordable in this country and off he went to the euro zone. Other good goalies will not even entertain coming if the salery ain't right and you could find yourself deep in the off season holding on for a commodity that just isn't there.

It may just be that the overall standard of netminder in the eliteleague is about to fall due to an inability to pay competitive wages in the global hockey community and the Devils have just pulled off a very shrewd move in picking up what could be one of the best netties in the league next year on a competitive salery that allows them an extra import player and financial room to just get that game breaking forward everyone wants to see. There is afterall a far bigger picture to some of these things.

Coventry will have paid through the nose for there new guy but will have to loose out somewhere along the line. Namely less import skaters with some of them potentially off lower standard than others would like.

All signings are a gamble but at least give G credit for knowing his business market and making a judgememnt call accordingly. If it don't work I don't actually have a problem with it as he's shown he's trying to be proactive and that is the most you can ask from the guy.

Good signing. Possibly great one at the end of the year.

And to echo previous. Lilly never walked out or showed disloyalty to the Devils. There were reasons when he left. God knows even fans walked away for the same reasons. He did what he had to do for his career and family. No one can blame him for that so an apology is in order on that one.

That is a great post. Very good points made there

 

[Cookies_naughtyboy]

Im not slating Lyle for Leaving the Devils in the first place, Its like the Cruickshank situation, he had to leave Bison as he would not have been paid and he had to do it for his family,

I just feel that Lyle was to blame for some of the games Giants lost last year, but as people have stated that Giants has the most offensive D in the league which did leave holes at the back, If Devils manage to get the right 2 people for the job at the back then he will face less shots and make fewer mistakes so potentially this could work.

With an british Goalie then we can still run 3 import 1st line 2 import 2nd line 1 import 3rd line with 4 import D men or have 3 import D men now we have Richardson as well and role with 2 imports on the 3rd line as well, our team looks to have great depth next season and if we can manage to conceed the 2nd fewest or even the fewest goals next season then every person will be praising Adams for what he as done,

i have not been 100% sure about bringing in Lyle but if the potential is there then i cant wait to see how the first few games pan out with it

 

[Koop11]

I think Finny has put a lot of people back in their box when talking about loyalty. I'm surprised to here those comments given the circumstances of Lyle's departures from clubs throughout his career. The only loyalty card you could arguably pull out is him leaving Belfast with one more year on his contract but their loss is our gain.

With regard to Lyle signing, well its certainly a shrewd move by Gerad, signing the best British goalie out there. Not the best goalie in the league last year IMO and has a big gap to fill when you look at the last two goalies we've been blessed with at this club. That said, Lyle on his day is a very solid goalie indeed and he did pull out some decent performances against us. One thing nobody can argue about Lyle is that he is a proven winner. He's tasted silverware at almost every club he's been to. Welcome back Stevie and well done Gerad.

We all know what this means in terms of imports on the ice. If we have the defence to support Lyle we will have a chance at competing in all competitions next year no doubt.

How exciting is this off season so far. Not just off the ice but the things the management are referring to in this attached link.

http://www.cardiffdevils.com/newsheadline.aspx?cpid=383

I bought my season ticket yesterday. I would urge anyone thinking of doing the same to follow suit. Next year is going to be a great year for the club. Rock on!

 

[zoesdevil]

why are people so damn negative about lyle,yes he left devils, but yes he had a few dodgy saves last season,but so have other netminders for devils,if this was myers coming back nobody would have any problems and nobody would be moaning about him,just open arms???the fact he thinks we are going places and that he thinks we are going to do well gives me a positive feeling about what has been said to all players signing up for us?just think richardson from panthers who were 3rd in league and runners up in play-offs and lyle from giants who won 2 cups and finished higher than us!!!! just give him a chance before criticising him!

 

[phil PLT]

Yet another good signing by G as far as I'm concerned. Many people complained about the lack of quality in depth with the Brits we had in the squad last season, well that has certainly been addressed this season with Lyle and Richardson being added to Towe, and hopefully Hill and Davies still to be announced.

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome back Stevie, it'll be nice to see you back in a Devils shirt

 

[ASHIPP]

In reality, it matters very little what we think of individual players - we're not doing the recruiting! G knows what he wants/needs to achieve the Club's ambitions and he's obviously got a definite plan. G is a professional and if we support him then we trust him to recruit for the overall team. Only he will know whether he made the right choices when next season is underway.

 

[phil PLT]

Off topic, looks like someone has forgot to update the Devils site on this latest signing

 

[jodysstillagirlsname]

3 year contract? see what he is like after a season, if he don't fit the bill find someone else. You might think i'm being negative but he left us before for bigger things, why should we welcome him back with open arms now, not for me i'm afraid, but thats my opinion.

He left us before because he was offered a contract with Guildford, and with the uncertainty of the future of the leagues at that time, it was the off season before the EIHL started, he took it. You have got to remember this is the guys living, I am sure that most of us would do the same EG take a definite over a maybe where our living was at stake.

 

[schulersagoodun]

I'm sure Phill Hill would be classed as a british star, especially after the season he has just had.

Just who calls Phill Hill a 'star' British player......... other than Devils' fans. On the other hand, though they're not favourites of mind, real 'stars' in the last decade, recognised by a wide spectrum of supporters have been Hand, Longstaff, Clarke, Tait ,Meyers, Dowd etc.

Hill's improved. He's scored some goals - and that's useful for the Devils.....but a British 'star'. Talk about 'over-hype'!!!!

 

[matt1986]

Phil Hill has a lot more to his game than Jono Philips has these days... more goals, more points, more physical and doesn't whine as much

Plus he was only 5 points behind another 'star' you mentioned... the golden child ... Dowd.

 

[Cookies_naughtyboy]

Phil Hill has a lot more to his game than Jono Philips has these days... more goals, more points, more physical and doesn't whine as much

Plus he was only 5 points behind another star you mentioned... the golden child ... Dowd.

Phillips or Hill???

I would take Phil Hill every single day of the week,

He hits, He scores, he gets on with things and does not moan about anything really,
Phillips moans more than he plays hockey now, the only thing Phillips has over Hill is speed but Hill is better in all catergories,

He may not be the players Sheilds and Tait are but Hill does all the little things right, back checks and gets goals as well as being physical, He takes hits and gives them out, Tait cant take hits or Phillips without complaining, Hill gets on with hockey and doesnt moan at anything like Phillips does, every 2 seconds following the referee

 

[Wannabe2]

Welcome home Stevie, great to see you return to the club thats the closest to your heart. Dad Roy must be well pleased, as many many Devils fans are. Now we have a much better mix of brits on our roster, something that needed addressing, and that can only be good for our club. Great to see you back Steve, have a great season i for one think you certainly will.

 

[sniper13]

No point trying to defend Phil Hill when it comes to schulersagoodun as we dont hear from him/her for weeks and the minute someone posts about phil he/she is there sticking his oar in. I was taking to Phil today in the gym (thats right he has started training already) and we were laughing about this "fan" he was saying " what do i have to do to impress someone I go from 10 points to 50 and its still not good enough". His brother reads the forum and passes feedback onto Phil.

 

[Wannabe2]

Phil you have already impressed 99.9 % of us Devils fans, just keep up the great work mate, you had a awesome season and impressed most fans big time. Another season like last will be something else,One of the best brits in the league, your up there with the best, more of the same please.

 

[Cookies_naughtyboy]

Phil you have already impressed 99.9 % of us Devils fans, just keep up the great work mate, you had a awesome season and impressed most fans big time. Another season like last will be something else,One of the best brits in the league, your up there with the best, more of the same please.

I bet he will definatly be one of our best performers next season(im sure he will still be a Devil ), He was impresive not just in 1 or 12 games but all the games he played in, On that line with Jay and Voth has definatly brought the best out of him, Keep up the good work and Role on next season,

 

[R777GAB]

No point trying to defend Phil Hill when it comes to schulersagoodun as we dont hear from him/her for weeks and the minute someone posts about phil he/she is there sticking his oar in. I was taking to Phil today in the gym (thats right he has started training already) and we were laughing about this "fan" he was saying " what do i have to do to impress someone I go from 10 points to 50 and its still not good enough". His brother reads the forum and passes feedback onto Phil.

I hope hes started traning as a Devil