The day after the Stanley Cup gets skated around an arena, I always feel the need to kind of look back at the season that just was. The playoffs and the season are a distant memory and this is the point where every team in the league now focuses on the task at hand, which is being the team to skate that cup next June.

Last September had so much hope and promise for Devils fans. Arnott was back in town and ready to reignite Patrik Elias and there was so much anticipation about the Kovalchuk/Zajac/Parise combination. The Devils were supposed to set the world on fire (not in the same way that the Canucks set the city on fire last night) and John MacLean, who once led the Devils on the ice was now supposed to do it from behind the bench. The signings of Volchenkov and Tallinder were supposed to give the Devils defense a look that we hadn’t seen since Stevens and Niedermayer patrolled the blue line.

When the puck dropped on the 2010/2011 season, the ZIP line as it was being called came out blazing but then all of the sudden, the Dallas Stars crawled their way into the game and eventually took the game in OT. The Devils would continue losing games and start to lose players to injuries and it was extremely obvious to everyone that an NHL team can’t really compete when you have a short bench, as was the case with the Devils who carried 18 skaters early in the season. In a few short weeks, the Devils would learn of an injury that would sideline Zach Parise for the rest of the season.

Truthfully, the beginning of the season is a blur because all I can remember is that the Devils were playing bad hockey. The puck never bounced are way and while there were moments of good hockey, like a 5-2 win against SJ and a 5-0 shutout against the Caps, those moments were few are far between. Before I knew it, it was a few days before Christmas, the Devils were a dismal 9-22-2 and MacLean was shown the door.

When Lemaire came back, I wasn’t overly thrilled as this was the guy who quit on them immediately after a disappointing show in Round 1 against the Flyers last spring. I always felt like, and still do that if he had just taken time to himself in June, July and August, maybe he would have been ready to finish his contract and we wouldn’t have wasted 33 games to begin the season because let’s be honest, when you throw away 33 games, you really can’t be successful.

Eventually though Lemaire had us believing that the playoffs were possible. It was such a huge hole to climb out of but the Devils really made the effort and Lemaire really proved to everyone that the problem with the NJ Devils from October to January really was the man behind the bench, which really proves the point I made in the paragraph above. If Lemaire would have stayed, what could have been this season?

As for the playoffs, it was a weird feeling not having the Devils in it. They’ve been in the postseason for so long and most Devils fans aren’t used to them not being there. When you talk hockey, the 2011 postseason was exciting, even for us Devils fans. You had a number of matchups featuring rivals, a number of series go the full length finished off by a very good series and matchup in the Stanley Cup Finals. I congratulate the Boston Bruins on their championship and I am certainly happy for Claude Julien., who I always felt that the Devils organization didn’t give much of a chance when we he was fired with a few games remaining in the 2006/2007 season. After the whole Rome/Horton incident, I didn’t know how the Bruins would respond and whether or not the Bruins could replace his offensive contributions. I do look at this Bruins team like I looked at the ’95 Devils. Both teams didn’t really have many superstars but had guys with superstar potential. Both teams were led by one man, Claude Lemieux then, Tim Thomas now and both teams succeeded because there were guys you didn’t expect to step up but did.

I’ll be honest; I am a little sour on the Vancouver Canucks, fair or not. I don’t think they carried themselves very well on and off the ice. Their play in my opinion was dirty, they came across as a bunch of whiny cry-babies and they were constantly trying to embellish situations to gain a call. The fans weren’t much better than their team. I’ll hate on Gary Betteman as much as the next guy but to boo so loudly that you can’t hear what he was saying during the cup presentation and to throw bottles and cups on the ice in his direction isn’t what makes this sport great. Then to take to the streets of your own city and burn and destroy things, you’ve left a mark that is big, black and ugly and this is what non-hockey fans will remember.

Again, congratulations to the Boston Bruins for a championship that was a long time coming and while this little fact doesn’t mean anything at all, at least I can say the Devils ended the 2010/2011 season by beating the eventual Stanley Cup Champions.

It doesn't matter what team you root for. Look at us, our team hasn't played meaningful hockey in god knows how long but as a hockey fan, which we are, you can't help but be excited for Game 7 of the Stanly Cup Finals. This is it, the one game that matters. We get to see the cup tonight. Now, I can't speak for Debra, but myself, I am pulling for Boston, as I have been all spring (go back to my post when the playoffs started!!)

Our father who art in Boston. Hockey be thy name. Thy will be done. The cup will be won. On ice, as well as in the stands. Give us this day our hockey sticks. And forgive us our penalties, as we forgive those who cross-check against us, Lead us not into elimination. But deliver us to victory. In the name of the fans, Lord Stanley, and in the name of the Bruins. Amen.

I can't argue against what Lou Lamoriello has done for this organization. He's delivered 3 Stanley Cups, a lot of post-season appearences and some of the best players in the league but I really do question if he still has the gift. It's been close to two months since he said that the Devils would do “everything we possibly can as expeditious as possible” to re-sign Zach Parise but if by doing "everything" he meant "nothing" than Lou has been true to his word.

IF the Bruins can manage to get a win tonight, that would mean the deadline for filing for arbitration gets moved to 5pm on Friday, otherwise the deadline remains 5pm Wednesday. The last we heard from Lou about anything, we got the ol' "Status Quo" nonsense that we usually get. It appears the two sides aren't really talking about contracts, which means the Devils are probably going the team-elected arbitration route with Parise. That's a brilliant move that makes complete sense because the one thing you want to do with your young two-way superstar is really piss him off before you try to get him to sign a big contract at below market value.

I am frustrated with the way Lou does business over the last few summers. Two years ago, we didn't sign Lemaire until well after the draft and after the July 1st Free Agency Frenzy. I think it is important to have your coach in place by July 1st, this way free agents know who they are going to be playing for. Last summer we made a mistake in hiring John Maclean (but at least it was before July 1st!!) but lets be honest, none of us really saw that signing as a mistake until we saw the product on the ice. While I wasn't thrilled with the signing of Kovalchuk, not because of the player but because of the length and cost, at least Lou actually did something.

So far this summer, a summer which has been longer than most for Devils fans, there hasn't been any news on the Devils. No news about a new coach, which we can even take a step further and say the top candidates for the job appear to be interviewing elsewhere and not doing so in NJ. Parise looks to be headed to arbitration which certainly wasn't the correct route to take with Holik or Gomez and those two can't even hold Zach's jock strap, let alone come close to the importance that Zach plays in the future of this organization.

Before people jump on me about the knee issue with Parise, I get that might be point of concern for the Lou and company as is the Salary Cap but I just see this whole thing going horribly wrong. All I can see is taking Parise to arbitration, pissing him off by the things said during arbitration because a team can't go into an arbitration hearing and praise the guy, and then watching him take off as an UFA next summer. We've seen it happen before and it doesn't seem that we've learned from the past.

What are your thoughts? If the Devils do take Parise through the arbitration process, can he get over whatever is said and sign a long-term deal with NJ by the July 1, 2012 deadline?

As I watched Nathan Horton lying on the ice, eyes rolling into the back of his head, my initial reaction was that Rome hit him high and that the hit was extremely late. After a million replays, I didn't really change my mind on my initial reaction. Sadly, I feel this is just another example of players not having respect for each other on the ice. Sure, Nathan Horton did something wrong but Aaron Rome DIDN'T have to drill him into the ice. You want to hit Horton, put the shoulder into his chest, not up high. Horton, like many other before him, paid a price for admiring a pass he made. He didn't make the pass an immediately look up ice. His head was down, he didn't see Rome coming and we know the result. When we start playing this game, its drilled into our heads NOT to do what Horton did last night but at the same time, it should be drilled into our heads NOT to do what Rome did.

The funny thing is that whenever we see hits like this, especially in the post-season, somehow Scott Steven's name always seems to come up. Yes, he played the game like a linebacker. Yes, he injured a number of people and yes, I truly believe that he would have probably been victim to Rule 48 a few times as there is video of Stevens issuing a lateral side hit where the head/chin seems to be the target. If this blog had existed while Stevens played the game, I don't doubt that I would have thrown the "respect of other players" around at him as well BUT the fact is, Stevens doesn't play now, the NHL was a different back then so when guys like Matt Cooke or Aaron Rome put a guy into a stretcher, don't bring up Steven's name into the conversation because Stevens was never the type of player that broke the rules with his hits. Had Rule 48 existed, Stevens would have followed the rules, I truly believe that. Despite all the punishing hit, how many elbowing Penalties did Stevens get in his career? FOUR!!

An observation from last nights game that I would love the Devils to put into their game plan was the hitting. I've mentioned this a few times in various post-season posts and discussions. The Devils are a team that doesn't hit much. Surprisingly Vancouver and Boston weren't really those kind of teams either this season (Ranking 20 and 21 in total hits last season, where NJ ranked 28th) but I have no doubt that the way Boston punished Vancouver against the boards last night opened up oppurtunities for their offense to put in some goals. If the Devils would become a little more aggressive in the hitting department, I do believe it would allow the offense to generate some chances. I got on them during the season that they didn't hit enough and hope that whoever comes in to coach this team, brings along a more aggresive approach to the hitting aspect of the New Jersey Devils.

Looks like this site will start having a more positive outlook on Kovalchuk with the addition of a new pro-Kovalchuk writer!!The Canucks are 2 wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup and everyone is wondering if it will take them more than 2 games to get the remaining 2 wins. Once the cup gets lifted and parade takes place and the awards are handed out, maybe then there will be some Devils news for us to talk about. That's right, I said "us."

I've been looking for another writer to join this site for quite some time and I finally found her. She has quite a bit of Devils and hockey knowledge in her head and I am sure she'll bring a lot of good things to the table. So please help me in welcoming Debra to Running With The Devils. I asked her a few important Devils questions so that we can all get to know where she stands on the important issues!! (We all know where I stand with the answer to question #2 but I didn't hold it against her!!)

1. How long have you been a Devils fan?
  - I've been a Devils fan since 1994.
 
2. Who is your current favorite Devil?
  - My current favorite Devil is Kovy.

3. Who is your favorite Devil of all time.
  -  I could have easily answered this question prior to the trade deadline.  Jason Arnott has always been my all-time favorite Devil.  (well, at least since the culmination of the A line).  I was so thrilled last summer when I heard he was going to be a Devil once more but the fact that he wanted to be traded to a playoff contending team rather than stick out the remainder of the season with the Devils broke my heart and, obviously, didn't sit well with me.  Other than Jason, i really don't have one that just stands out.  There have been so many quality and talented Devils that all rank about the same with me.  It's too soon to say so now, but I'm fairly certain that by the end of this season Kovy will rightfully take that honor.

4. What is/are your favorite Devils moment(s)?
   - The Stanley Cup winning goal in double OT in 2000 (by none other than my ex-favorite devil himself) takes the cake just by virtue of the excitement with which it was won. The Cup win (and subsequent party where I touched the Cup!) in 1995, the Cup win in 2003, that short, euphoric day last summer when it was revealed that Kovy chose to be a Devil before all the NHL bs started about it, and Marty becoming the winningest goaltender of all time.

5. We've been through a lot of coaches, so who was your favorite coach?
   - Obviously, any coach that coached us to the cup would be my favorite but, no offense to Larry Robinson or Pat Burns (may he rip), after witnessing what Jacques Lemaire was able to do when he stepped in to coach the second half of this season, i'd have to say it's him. No, they didn't make the playoffs, but they accomplished so many other important things.  They salvaged the season for the fans, they actually seemed like they could make the playoffs for a while there (they had me believing), and they once again drove fear into the minds of their opponents. What all of that means is that Lemaire was able to restore a sense of pride and dignity to the Devils. He gave them back their confidence...mojo...whatever you want to call it. They were a broken team when Lemaire came in... broken as a unit and broken individually and lemaire was able to lift them up from the depths of despair, and he gave the entire Devils community (players & fans) hope.  In my opinion, Lemaire pretty much proved that the main problem with the team in the first half of the season was John Maclean.  Lemaire was able to come in, take the reins and get respect from both the vets and rooks alike. It's also no secret that Kovy considers Lemaire the best coach he's ever had. Lemaire knew all the right buttons to push to save the Devils. I believe that, had Lemaire not stepped in and done what he did, it would have taken years for the Devils to rebound from the atrosity that was the first half of the season. It's critical that the next coach be able to sustain what lemaire accomplished, but that's a discussion i'm sure we'll be having for many more days to come.
  
  
 See, she's got some good stuff. I can't wait to see what she writes in the future but for now, back to a hockey season where the Devils news and talk has been very quiet.



Pending an approval vote by the NHL’s Board of Governors on June 21, the new owners of the Atlanta Thrashers will move the team north, WAY NORTH to Winnipeg. Atlanta has become the first city in the NHL's modern era to lose two hockey teams. Interestingly enough, both Atlanta teams have relocated to cities in Canada.

I'll be honest, I feel bad for the Thrashers fans out there. Sure, they've never been considered a good team, they lost one of their young prospects in a car accident which caused another young prospect to ask for a trade out of Atlanta. Marion Hossa eventually got his wish and was shipped out of town and Ilya Kovalchuk turned down a very large contract and also was eventually shipped out of town. Hockey and Atlanta really never took off. Look at the names that have once played in an Atlanta Thrashers uniform. Dany Heatley, Marion Hossa, Marc Savard, Ilya Kovalchuk, Kari Lehton, Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd to name a few. The problem hasn't been the players on the team, the problem has always been management. The Thrashers have never had an owner and a GM operating on the same page and at the end of the day, it is the city of Atlanta and its fans that loses.

Look at the Tampa Bay Lightning. They've finally gotten an owner and a GM working together and they've turned that team around quickly. Every team in the NHL can learn from the Lightning. In a salary cap era, the guys who run the team are critical to the success of that team. Yes it takes the right players but it takes the right owner allowing his GM to make moves and having his coaches back who in turn is allowed to get the best out of his players. It is not a complicated cycle to understand, yet it never happened in Atlanta.

Like I said, I feel bad for the fans of Atlanta. They've lost their hockey team and in my opinion, they did so for some pretty bad reasons. Winnipeg can celebrate as it looks like they are getting a second chance and having the NHL in town. Hopefully for them it goes better than it did for Atlanta but there is a part of me that just doesn't think any hockey fan can really celebrate over a team failing, whatever positive comes from it.

We are interested, what are your feelings?

We know Brian Rafalski chose to sign with the Detroit Red Wings over the New Jersey Devils back on July 1, 2007 but that doesn't change what he did while he was a member of the New Jersey Devils. The 37-year-old Dearborn, Mich. native won Stanley Cups with the Devils in 2000 and 2003 and then went on to help Detroit win another in 2008. 

Brian Rafalski has announced his retirement from the NHL. Rafalski had one season at $6 million left on the five-year, $30 million contract he signed with Detroit on July 1, 2007 but battled injuries all season long. According to reports, Rafalski even played in the playoffs with an ACL injury and decided that his body wasn't able to withstand the everyday of being a professional hockey player.

Whatever roads lie ahead of Brian Rafalski, we know that the Devils nation certainly wishes you the best of luck and thanks you for the time you gave the New Jersey Devils.

As you can see we've made a few changes around here lately with the colors and design of our site. Our site used the be red with a white banner on the top but we figured that a year and half of looking at the same thing was long enough and since the Devils aren't doing anything but sleeping in, golfing and fishing right now, this was a good time to make changes.

That hopefully isn't the only thing changing around here.

Writers - We are looking for guys and girls that want to write about the Devils for next season. You don't have write everyday and even multiple times in a week. If you want to write, we will find a way to put your stuff up there.

PodCasters - I am going to try and do some type of podcast next season. Whether it be a weekly or monthly segment will be determined in the future but if you want to join in on the fun, please contact us via email or twitter.

Graphic Artists - If you love the Devils and love doing graphical things about the Devils, contact us, we could use the talent!!

and finally...

I was recently contacted by the company MLX Skates about testing out and reviewing their new skates. Currently, there are no NJ Devils that use their skates but there are some big name NHL players lacing up MLX Skates for every game. Players such as Tim Thomas, Dustin Byfuglien and Sergei Gonchar with a list that goes on and on. I've gladly said that I would try out their skates and let everyone know what I thought. Keep an eye out for the review in the coming weeks. Please, go check out everything they offer as I know many readers play hockey and are always looking for good hockey equipment. The story about how the company came together is extremely interesting.

With the 2011 off-season moving along at a snails pace (especially since there is still hockey to be played for other teams) I thought I would spend today looking at buyout options for the New Jersey Devils. It's no secret that the Devils have very litle room in their cap space and have a pretty important player to try and sign. That is, of course, unless the Devils go the arbitration route with Parise in an effort to buy more time to sign a long term deal.

The period in which a team can buyout the remaining part of a players contract for a reduced penalty is coming up. That period is from June 15 - June 30th (and of course again once a team is finished with all arbitrations but you can only buyout players that have gone through arbitration.)

So are there any Devils that I would buy out in order to create room? I believe there are but please keep in mind that buying out a player doesn't create an enormous amount of cap space and leaves a team trying to replace that player.

Colin White

Current Cap Hit: $3,000,000, 1 year remaining

Colin White is 33, not even close to being the physical defenseman that he once was and contributes nothing offensively to this team. When you're a defensive defenseman and your team is coming off a year in which they really struggled defensively, you can pretty much guarentee your name is coming up in this conversation. Not that I am a proponent of signing Andy Greene, but buying out Colin White would give the Devils the money to do so. A veteran presence on the blue line is important and I am for buying out Colin White if and only if Bryce Salvador is healthy enough to return to the Devils blue line. Alexander Urbom is young, physical defenseman that could give the Devils what they once had with Colin White.

David Clarkson

Current Cap Hit: $2,666,667, 2 seasons remaining

I'm tired of waiting for this guy to come around. Every year I think this could be the year of David Clarkson. I've thought that the best way for Clarkson to produce for this team is to play Randy McKay style hockey, camp out in front of the goalie and pound home rebounds but he doesn't do that often enough for me and more times that not, he disappears offensively. He contributes very little on the power play and isn't very good on the defensive side of the puck. The one thing David Clarkson is good at, is throwing fists. He has led the Devils in Major Penalties since his arrival in 2007 and I certainly don't want to downplay the importance of fighters in the NHL but it isn't enough for me. The problem is, when David Clarkson shows up at the rink to play and bang bodies around and help his team win, he does a very good job at it but he doesn't do it consistantly enough to warrant such a large contract, therefore he has to go.

Dainius Zubrus

Current Cap Hit: $3,400,000, 2 seasons remaining

This is one I go back and forth on all the time. The truth is, Zuburs was never a guy that was going to light the lamp as much as his contract dictates that he should. I never really understood why so much money was thrown at a guy thats a 15/20 goal scorer and 25/30 assist man. If there is anything that Zubrus brings to the table, it would be his size but while I wish he threw more open ice body checks, he's fantastic at using his size against the boards to battle for puck possesion. He is certainly one of the better faceoff guys on the team.

I honestly only listed him here because he has buyout potential. I'm not sure I am willing to pay the cost of the buyout vs just keeping him on the team and using the few things he does well for us. As for White and Clarkson, I am sold on getting them off of our team. If the Devils could trade Clarkson, I believe they should but I don't think the trade value for him is very high and even less so for White and Zubrus. The real problem with buying out anyone is that the cap benefit is really minimal but when it comes to signing Parise, maybe that extra $1 million in cap room with make a differance.

What do you think?

I recently sat down one morning to eat my bowl of cereal for breakfast and picked up the sports section of the Star Ledger and right there, front and center was an article about a Devils goalie prospect. I actually wondered why so much was being made, and has been made about what will happen with this team once Marty decides to hang them up. Brodeur is 39 and entering the final year in his contract. Of course there are many questions that need to be answered but I ask you, why do the Devils have to replace Marty with a guy that has been brought up through the Devils organization? Why can't we just find a guy on the UFA market to fill our goaltending needs? Wasn't Hedberg hands down the best thing that happened to us last summer?

Of the teams still playing in the NHL Playoffs, only 2 of those teams are using goalies that have been groomed by the organization. You could even argue that Tim Thomas isn't really a guy that has been groomed by the Bruins organization as he was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in 1994, and spent a lot time playing in Europe before making his NHL debut with the Bruins during the 2002–03 season. Dwayne Roloson has spent time with A LOT of clubs over his long NHL Career. Antti Niemi made his rise in the NHL as the goalie that deliverd for the city of Chicago last season but during the offseason, Chicago had to walk away from Niemi because of salary cap restraints. Truthfully, Niemi really got his start in the SM-liiga as he spent 3 years there before signing with Chicago. Jimmy Howard has been the exception of the bunch, having been drafted by the Wings in 2003 and getting the occasional call up to the NHL starting in the 2005–06 season. During the 2010-11 season, Howard signed a 2-year contract extension with the Red Wings worth $2.25 million per season, so it would appear he is going to stay in Detroit for a while.

So Where am I going with this? Why does it appear that the Devils are so worried about finding a goalie that can be groomed from within the organization to take the place of Marty Brodeur once he's ready to leave the ice? Jeff Frazee has been in Albany for what seems like years now and appears that he won't ever be ready for the NHL. McKenna has been called up a few times but I'm not sure he's the right guy either. Looking at the year Marty becomes a UFA, goalies like Rinne, Mason, and Huet will also be joining him (although it is unlikely Nashville would let Rinne ever get away.)

Maybe the Devils organization should get away from the thinking that they need a guy who has paid his dues to the organization as a replacement for Marty. Look at the Sharks, for years they relied on their guy, Evgeni Nabokov but cut him loose last summer to go get Niemi and the Sharks are putting together a decent run, all be it they've allowed Detroit to climb out of a 3-0 hole.

I understand that NJ has to start thinking about life without #30 between the pipes, I just want them to realize that there are good stop gap goalies out there until the next franchise goalie comes along. And hey, you never know, one of those stop gap goalies could end up being the next franchise goalie.

So what are your thoughts? Should we be worried about replacing with Broduer from within or should we not worry to much about it because there is bound to be someone out there that can do what we need a goalie to do?