Devils off-season outlook

June 27, 2008   ·   Hasan   ·   Jump to comments

 

Well, hockey’s silly season – a.k.a unrestricted free agency – is about to begin.  Even in their glory years the Devils seemed to suffer key losses every summer but since the lockout the losses have hurt more.  Captain-in-waiting Scott Niedermayer left despite a supposed five-year offer at max salary, and he got to have his cake and eat it too, winning a Stanley Cup while enjoying a much ballyhooed family reunion.  Last offseason Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski leave, which was bad enough considering the impact on the team itself.  Worse, Gomez tormented the Devils for 13 games this season (eleven Ranger wins), particularly in the playoffs while Rafalski helped his hometown team to their first Stanley Cup in six seasons. 

So will this UFA cycle be any different for the Devils?  The good news is Jay Pandolfo and supposed rental Bryce Salvador are the biggest names to hit the UFA market.  While losing either would hurt, it would not be the crippling blow the Devils have received in recent offseasons.  But there’s also much less margin for error now, not only do the Devils need to keep who they can but they have to add this offseason.  Even Martin Brodeur spelled out the urgency during the NHL Awards show when he alluded to being excited over changes that will be made to bring the Devils back to being a Stanley Cup contender.  Heady words for a normally mundane speech. 

Granted said improvements probably include a trade or three, but the Devils have precious little both in the farm and on the big club that can be classified as a tradeable asset.  And as much as other Devil fans want to kick Brian Gionta out the door I don’t think trading one of the few goalscorers on an offensively-challenged team will solve any problems.  I still say he’ll be an effective scorer again if you give him a real NHL centerman and he crashes the net more than he did last season.  Not to mention you can always count on Gio for maximum effort – although sometimes it’s misplaced (even I started counting the number of times he shot while stationed next to the boards).

Assuming they can’t get what they need in the trade market, the Devils will have to make a play for a big name through free agency.  Does that mean Pittsburgh’s Marian Hossa?  San Jose’s Brian Campbell?  I won’t believe either in Devil red and white until I see it, especially after how badly GM Lou Lamoriello got burned in UFA two years ago with the Unholy Trinity of Mogilny, Malakhov and McGillis.  But if there’s ever going to be an offseason for a big Devils splash it’s this one.  Brodeur isn’t getting any younger – neither is Lou for that matter – and time is running out for the Devils to enjoy having the dual advantage of the best goaltender in the world and (post-lockout performance aside) one of the shrewdest GM’s out there.  Not to mention there are seats to sell in a new arena, novelty won’t sell them forever.

More likely there probably will be two or three mid-level additions.  Brian Rolston gets mentioned for obvious reasons, being an ex-Devil for one, not to mention he was one of Jacques Lemaire’s favorite players in Minnesota (with a similar system) for the last several years.  John-Michael Liles from Colorado has been mentioned as well.  I wouldn’t mind either in a Devil sweater.  God knows the Devils can use offensive help in the worst way on the blueline and Rolston instantly becomes one of the top three goal-scorers on the Devils (sadly).  And odds are there will be a couple of people added that nobody would think to predict in their right mind – Lou seems to do this a couple of times every year to keep the fans and media honest!