Martin Brodeur’s quest for a fifth Vezina trophy fell short tonight as Ryan Miller took home the Vezina at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

Miller recevied 23 first-place votes, three-second place votes and two third-place votes. Ilya Bryzgalov finished second with five first-place votes, 16 second-place votes and six third-place votes.

Brodeur finished in third place with one first-place vote, six second-place votes and nine third-place votes.

This was the first time Miller won the Vezina trophy. It’s the second year in a row an American goaltender picked up the trophy (Tim Thomas won last year).

It was pretty shocking that Brodeur finished third. Going into the night, I figured that Miller would win the award, especially because the voters would take into account his Olympic performance. The Olympics don’t matter to the vote, but playing that well will get noticed no matter the rules. I know Bryzgalov played well, but I believe Brodeur outplayed the Phoenix goalie last season. Maybe the whole “Devils defensive system” caught up to Brodeur this year. Either way, he somehow finished third.

If there was one event I could change about the New Jersey Devils over the last 5 seasons, it would certainly be the day that Scott Niedermayer decided to go play hockey in Anaheim. Without a doubt, that was a sad day for Devils fans but I can understand exactly why he did it. Even though he left NJ, Scott Niedermayer in my mind is a Devil through and through and will always be a part of this family. I wouldn't be surprised to see him involved with this organization at some point in the future. It seems too early for him to retire but if you look at the list of his accomplishments, there is little left to motivate him through an entire NHL season. It is a sad day for the NHL to watch a guy like Scott Niedermayer walk away.

Before I go into sharing some of my own memories of Scott's time in NJ, I wanted to touch on the subject of sending #27 to the rafters. There was talk around the internet yesterday that the Devils shouldn't retire his number because he didn't finish his career here. To me, there is a core group of New Jersey Devils that have have been extremely important to this franchise and deserve to have their number hanging in the rafters. Two members of that group already do have them up there. The other two members that make up this core are Niedermayer and Brodeur. (Insert your argument here that Elias is part of that core group as well). It doesn't matter that he left NJ to play elsewhere. What matters is that he was an important part of the 3 Stanley Cups that were won during his time here and that he was a leader on and off the ice and that I can sit here and honestly say that if he didn't play for NJ at all, we might not have 3 cups. Let us know how you feel by taking our poll over in the sidebar. Apply

After the jump, I look back at the memories I have of Scott Niedermayer during his time in NJ.

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As July 1st approaches, I’ll take a look at the two biggest free agents coming off the roster for the Devils this offseason – Paul Martin and Ilya Kovalchuk. I’ve already taken a look at Martin, stating my case as to why the Devils should keep the young blueliner. Today I’ll profile Kovalchuk, whose presence would no doubt fuel the Devils’ offense next season.

When Devils’ general manager Lou Lamoriello executed a trade on February 4 to bring Kovalchuk to the Devils, a shockwave of excitement ran through all Devils’ fans. Here was an extremely talented left-winger who was a proven goal scorer. Thoughts raced through the fans minds, picturing Kovalchuk complete the Devils’ offense and immediately improve their powerplay. I believed Kovalchuk could solve the Devils’ scoring woes, and his ability would help bring the Devils out of their funk.

But things didn’t quite work out that way. Kovalchuk didn’t vastly improve the powerplay, and we never really saw him flash his offensive brilliance. At the end of the season, word came from the locker room that players struggled with the way Kovalchuk played. The switch never seemed to click, and Kovalchuk played good, not great, hockey.

In order to give an in-depth look at Kovalchuk, I’ll use stats from Behind The Net to show his impact during 5-on-5 play, powerplay opportunities and on the defensive side of the puck. In looking at these stats, I’ll show that Kovalchuk is still an elite winger who should be pursued, for the right price, by Lamoriello this offseason.

Kovalchuk During 5-on-5 Play

As we all know, Kovalchuk is a strong offensive player. Last year’s statistics only serve to strengthen this point. Kovalchuk averaged 1.46 goals per 60 minutes, 1.45 assists (primary or secondary) per 60 minutes, and 2.91 points per 60 minutes. These numbers ranked first on the Devils by a longshot. The only other Devil close to his per game production was, not surprisingly, Zach Parise.

But it’s not only his game statistics that prove his offensive worth. In the on ice/off ice plus/minus ratings (explanation here), Kovalchuk once again showed his offensive force. His +0.90 shows Kovalchuk, when on the ice, provided a positive impact on his team’s offensive production. When off the ice, the team’s production slipped, as Kovalchuk’s off-ice plus/minus sat at -0.33. These statistics continue to support Kovalchuk’s offensive abilities, even on a struggling offensive team like last season’s Devils.

Kovalchuk During 5-on-4 Powerplay

After acquiring Kovalchuk, former coach Jacques Lemaire stuck him right out on the point on the first powerplay line. Eventually, the forward spent the entire two minutes out on the ice, trying to maximize the powerplay’s efficiency. But the plan never seemed to work. The team only connected on 16.53% of their opportunities after acquiring Kovalchuk, dipping from the 19.02% success rate before the trade. While that lack of success doesn’t squarely sit on Kovalchuk’s shoulders, his powerplay stats from this past season show he wasn’t as valuable as many predicted he would be.

While on the ice during 5-on-4 opportunities, Kovalchuk put up solid numbers, with the goals for per 60 minutes at 6.17 and the shots for per 60 minutes at 38.3. While these are good numbers, they weren’t even the best on the team. Parise outplayed him last season, with his goals for at 9.02 and his shots for at 51.3. Kovalchuk wasn’t even the best offensive player on the team with the man advantage. Whether it was a lack of comfort or a lack of unfamiliarity with the system, Kovalchuk just couldn’t bring the Devils special teams to the next level and make them great.

Continue reading for an analysis of Kovalchuk’s defensive performance and my take on whether or not the Devils should resign the dangerous left-winger.

June 16th isn’t a particularly important day in the lives of many NHL fans.

But for Devils fans, it should ring a bell and hold a special place in our hearts. Because, 20 years ago today, the team drafted their biggest star ever – Martin Brodeur.

On June 16, 1990, the Devils pulled off one of the greatest draft day trades of all time. The teams exchanged five draft picks, including first-round selections, which moved the Devils from the 11th slot down to the 20th.  The Flames went on to use the 11th pick to draft Trevor Kidd. The Devils, eyeing Brodeur throughout the draft, got their goalie at #20.

After drafting the future Hall of Famer, the Devils began to build the core of their three Stanley Cup championships. The previous October the team acquired a first-round draft selection, which brought in Scott Niedermayer. Scott Stevens came to the team from St. Louis as compensation, giving the team two of the best defenders to ever suit up for the franchise.

Brodeur took over the number one role during the 1994 season, leading the Devils to the conference finals. The next year, the team won the Stanley Cup. And the rest has been history.

Since Brodeur became the Devils number one goalie, the team has only missed the playoffs once. They’ve won three Stanley Cup titles, four Eastern Conference championships, and nine Atlantic Division titles. During this time, Brodeur has also achieved several individual milestones. He tops the goaltending record book in wins (602), games played (1, 076), shutouts (110) and minutes played (63,521). He enters the 2010-2011 season 1,013 saves shy of Patrick Roy’s all-time saves record (25,803).

When he was drafted, Brodeur could never imagine the impact he’d have on his position.

“You don’t realize it when you get drafted what path you’re going to take,” Brodeur said in an NHL.com interview. “This is the first step into doing something. I think you have to get drafted, to a certain extent. That’s the easiest way to get to the NHL. Definitely, when you do get drafted in the first round, usually teams will do everything they can to give you a chance to make it or be part of the organization, so I was really excited about that.”

Growing up in the 1990s, I began to embrace the Devils. One of the biggest reasons for choosing the Devils over my family’s team, the Rangers, was because of Brodeur. Whether it was the incredible saves or his steely confidence in net, he always seemed to be the team’s rock. No matter the situation, “Marty” always stood tall. Those qualities drew me in, and they continue to astound me today. Whenever he makes an incredible glove save or flares out his pad to deny a goal, I get that childhood giddiness and jump out my seat.

So Devils fans everywhere should celebrate today and remember today as a turning point in the history of the New Jersey Devils.

Photo Credit: NewJerseyDevils.com

As free agency quickly approaches, the Devils face a significant question – which big-name free agent do they pursue, Paul Martin or Ilya Kovalchuk? Both are impact players, and both are a huge asset to the team. While the Devils have almost $16 million to spend, both will command big money. Facing this decision, I’ll debate the pros and cons of deciding to sign either Martin or Kovalchuk. Today’s post focuses on Martin, a homegrown talent who's shown he can produce at the NHL level.

When Martin came into the league in 2003-2004, the defenseman was expected to become one of the team’s better defenders. Ex-Devil David Hale and Martin were tagged as the next Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer, respectively. Martin enjoyed a successful rookie campaign, playing in 70 games and recording 24 points (six goals, 18 assists). After returning from the lockout in 2005-2006, Martin increased his total games, skating in 80 games. He upped his point total to 37, with five goals and 32 assists, his highest point total in his career. Since then, he’s been a consistent producer, totaling 25+ points until last season, when he missed significant time with injury.

Martin has continually improved not only his own play, but the team’s play as well. Some advanced hockey statistics, such as Corsi %, tag Martin as one of the better unrestricted free agents of the summer. He’s been a workhorse for this team in his career, playing significant time even strength and skating on both the power play and penalty kill. As his stats show, Martin has offensive potential, and he shows a knack for setting up teammates. A look further at his stats can give more depth to Martin’s skills.

Martin At Even Strength

One of the first areas I’ll discuss is Martin’s play during 5-on-5 situations. Since last year provided such a small sample size, I’ll refer to 2008-2009 as my basis for analysis. In his own zone, Martin played sound hockey. As you can read at Behind the Net, when Martin was on the ice, shots against and goals against both went down. Only Mike Mottau had better goals against statistics than Martin. Clearly, Martin is a responsible defenseman in his own zone. But what about his offensive zone play?

Martin’s 2008-2009 offensive zone play was subpar at best. His 14 even-strength points ranked third on the team behind ex-Devil Johnny Oduya (23) and White (15). Martin’s 14 even-strength points tied him for 81st in the league. His shots on goal weren’t impressive either. His 107 shots ranked one behind team leader Johnny Oduya and 59th in the league. By looking at these stats, you could figure that Martin didn’t contribute much to the team’s goals for per 60 minutes. And he didn’t, only providing a -0.3 differential. But he did improve the shots for per 60 minutes, giving them an average of 2.5 shots when he was on the ice.

Martin’s offensive numbers don’t overwhelm you, and that’s one of the main drawbacks for the defenseman. We’ve all expected Martin to become a Niedermayer-like player, leading the offensive charge on the blue line. But the only stat he’s really improved is the team’s overall shots. During even strength play, Martin hasn’t had an immense impact offensively. But maybe the powerplay will show some different statistics.

Continue reading after the jump for Martin’s powerplay and penalty killing statistics!

A Few Devils things floating around the news wires this morning. I don't usually like reporting rumors because they can always come back and haunt you but the Cup hasn't been skated yet and it has already been a long off-season in my opinion.

Mottau and Devils close to a deal.

According to columnist Mark Everson it appears that the Devils and Mr. Hoby Baker winner Mike Mottau are close to signing a deal that would keep Mottau in a Devils uniform. Of course numbers aren't really being talked about in this story but Mottau made $775K with the Devils last season and really doesn't warrant anything more than that. With the injury to Ansi Salmela, I don't see this story being untrue. I also wonder what kind of player Mottau could be if we could get him away from Colin White. Yup, you read that right, I blame someone else for Mottau's shortcomings.

Paul Martin Just Waiting

Paul Martin has informed Lou Lamoriello, to which Lou agreed, that he would like to wait until the Devils have hired their new coach to discuss a possible contract with the Devils. This certainly makes a fan worry a bit because the Devils entered the Free Agency period last summer without a head coach. Paul Martin is going to be a wanted commodity by many teams. Jaques Lemaire signed on as the Devils coach last summer on July 13, well after a number of top free agents were off the market.

Kovalchuk News

No shocker here that Ilya Kovalchuk has informed the Devils that he is going to test the open market on July 1st. Kovy is going to find big money from some team and my gut tells me that team isn't the one this blog follows.

Parise Goal

I'm a little late to the party on this but the NHL is running a bracket-style competition for the 16 best goals of the year and Zack Parise was pegged as having one of the 16 best this season. His shorthanded goal against the Flyers in the Playoffs was nominated but beat out in Round 1 of the competition.

Please view it on the NHL site here:

http://goalsoftheyear.nhl.com/

Devils’ general manager Lou Lamoriello confirmed that Devils’ defenseman Anssi Salmela will miss 12-16 weeks after undergoing surgery Friday to repair a torn ACL.

Salmela injured his knee while playing for Finland in the LG Games earlier this month. At the time, Salmela’s agent, Jay Grossman, tweeted the defenseman would head back to New Jersey for tests on the knee.

Grossman first broke the news about the surgery on Wednesday, when he tweeted that Salmela would have surgery Friday. Lamoriello said the organization will not rush the defenseman back from the injury.

Salmela did not play in the Devils’ first-round loss against the Philadelphia Flyers. The defenseman, acquired in the Ilya Kovalchuk trade, only played in nine games for the Devils this season. He recorded one goal and two assists, but had a +/- rating of -5.

Ilya Kovalchuk is not heading to Russia to play for the KHL, at least not yet. According to various hockey sources, the KHL will be an option for Kovalchuk, but there is nothing imminent. Sovsports, a Russian sports website, is reporting that SKA St Petersburg made an offer to Kovalchuk that would see the sniper make $30 million over a three-year span. His desire is to reportedly play in the NHL and he won't consider the KHL until all of his options are on the table as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Until then, New Jersey owns his rights and may utilize it to re-sign him.

Kovalchuk's Numbers: As we all know, Ilya Kovalchuk played most of the season in Atlanta before coming to NJ on Feb 4th. In 49 games played in Atlanta he had 31 goals and 27 assists. In the 27 games he appeared in for NJ, he had 10 goals and 17 assists. In the series against the Flyers, Kovalchuk has 2 goals and 4 assists.

My Thoughts: Kovalchuk certainly got his fair share of critism during his time in NJ this season. When a guy of his talents only scores 10 goals for his new team combined with an early exit from the postseason, the critics are certainly going to show up. In my view the critism thrown his way was a little unfair.

Reason #1 - If you look at his numbers, he was basically a point-a-game type of player after his arrival. Sure, we'd all love to see that translated into the goal column but I personally don't care if you are putting the pucks in the net or creating oppurtunities for your teammates to do so, the bottom line is that he was contributing to his team.

Reason #2 - If you have ever played the game of hockey (or any sport really) you know how important chemistry is when it comes to success. Kovalchuk was never allowed to really find chemistry because of Lemaire's constant line shuffling.

Reason #3 - I don't care who you are, whenever you switch teams there is a learning period where your production numbers may go down. The Devils play a different game than Atlanta so Kocalchuk had to learn a whole new system, learn to play with new guys and off the ice he was away from a certain comfort he had come to know playing in Atlanta...home!!

Kovalchuk's Future: We don't know what it holds. He will certainly be the most sought after guy on July 1st and Lou has promised to do everything he can to try and keep him. I would certainly like to keep him and find a place for him on this team where he scores 50 goals a season, which he is capable of doing but at the same time, I don't want to be a team whos only threat consists of him because we overpaid for his services and can't afford to give him the support he needs.

Jamie's Numbers - In 81 games (YES 81!!! GRRR) he had 19 goals, 42 assista and spent 44 minutes in the penalty box. He scored 6 Powerplay goals, 2 Shorthanded goals and was resonsible for 4 Game winners. Against the Flyers, he only had 1 assist.

My Thoughts - Devils exited the playoffs much earlier than anyone had anticipated. When that happens, especially for the third straight season, one HAS to question the leadership of the team and that always starts with the Captain. Something isn't being done or said in the locker room to motivate this team into winning. I really thought I was over reacting when that thought floated around my head after the Flyers went up 3-1 in the series but the Devils where horrid in their final game of the playoffs.

His goal production was down by 10 this season which doesn't make me happy but the truth is that the Devils finished first in the division despite that. I'm certainly more bothered by the fact that he's just not as clutch as he once was when the post-season comes around. Jamie had issues with Lemaire and what those issues were, we don't really know. Lemaire has since retired and therefore those issues should hopefully be gone. Part of me would like to see a new coach come in and give the Captain's job to a player who is certainly more vocal than Jamie.

Jamie's Future - He has one more season with the Devils before he's free to test the Free Agency market. I believe he has a "No Trade Clause" in his contract which means Lou couldn't move him easily even if he wanted to. Time will tell if a new coach thinks he's fit for the position of Captain. Rumors are swirling that Ken Hitchcock is a possibility for the job meaning that Jamie would be reunitied with an ex-coach. Should that happen, let's hope it works out better for him then the Rolston/Lemaire reunion worked out.