An eventful summer and the Niedermayer effect

After a long summer, too long in my opinion, here comes September, and the excitement of a new hockey season. The early exit in the second round of the playoffs against Ottawa was painful like every playoff exits. Only the ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup, can make a hockey fan go through the summer peacefully.

I have been fortunate to celebrate Stanley Cups in 2000 and 2003, but playoff losses are really hard to digest. Free agency, trades, nothing can make up for it. I have only been posting about the Devils news and notes over the summer and didn't feel like blogging. The first post of the new season will deal with all the things that happened during an eventful summer, from free agency, to signings, from a new coach, to new expectations.

The end of the 2006-2007 season saw a significant raise of the salary cap for the upcoming season. The cap is now at $50.3 million. The lockout we went through seems so far away now that the numbers are almost back to what they were before. Teams that were at both extremities of the payroll are still far away from from the cap numbers but the Devils are pretty close. If I am correct the team payroll was about 52 million before the lockout and now they can spend up to $50.3 million.

The new number was a sign that free agency was going to be a busy time. And it was indeed. The Devils lost two of their best players in Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski. These players were some of the best free agents available this year alongside Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. Drury and Briere left Buffalo to join the Rangers and the Flyers respectively. This year's free agency was nerve wracking for the Devils since we lost Gomez and Rafalski on the first few days. Rafalski signing with the Red Wings came as a shock since everything indicated he was going to stay. He clearly expressed his will to remain a Devils but things turned out differently.

The Niedermayer effect
When Scott Niedermayer left the Devils to play with his brother for less money than what Lou offered, Rafalski inherited a big contract. He was now the Niedermayer's heir as the offensive defenseman on the Devils. Rafalski was no Nidermayer but he took his place and some of his money. Niedermayer's departure also led to the signings of McGillis and Malhakov. We all know how that ended up: a cap mess. Well Niedermayer also had an effect on Rafalski leaving. As good as Scott is on the ice, he is a pain when it comes to knowing what he wants. After he won a fourth cup with the Ducks, He started considering retirement, and still is 3 months later. The Ducks nabbed Matthieu Schneider from the Wings to counter Niedermayer's possible retirement and the Wings replaced Schneider by Rafalski.

Rafalski was making $4.2 million and Lou didn't think he should be making a lot more. So we had to say good bye to Brian. That's fine by me. I always liked Brian but considering the contract he signed with Detroit, I don't think it would have been wise to keep him. Six million for 5 years is definitely a lot of money considering his age, he will be 40 by the end of his contract.

Then we lost Scott Gomez to the Rangers when he signed a seven-year deal worth $51.5 million (including $10 million next season). The Rangers acted like before the lockout when they went after Gomez and Drury. I liked Gomez as a Devil but now that he went accross the river, I can't care less. You know how it is courteous to wish someone good luck, well Gomez is going to need more that luck. With that kind of contract, he'd better have a career year or else Rangers fan are going to be on his case. I am like other Devils fans and this is so reminiscent of the pre-lockout when the Rangers were signing "big name" free agents. That never worked out and it could be the same this year to. At least I hope. With the contracts the Rangers signed with Drury and Gomez they are stuck with them for the remainder of their contracts since their salaries will likely not allow the Rangers to trade them.

We lost two players who have been successful as Devils. I still believe we are better off without them if you consider how much money they would cost towards the salary cap. We have lost many valuable players over the past few years (Daneyko, Niedermayer, Stevens, Holik, Mogilny, Arnott) and we always managed to remain competitive. The salary cap mess we have been through until last year is definitely over and Lou Lamoriello was definitely seeking financial stability.

After all the summer signings we are now under the cap with some significant room for a free agent or a trade. The past two years have been really hard to deal with cap-wise and even if Lou was able to maneuver to remain under the cap, it really bothered the team since we had to rush prospects to the big team, start training camp with players unsigned and play with a shorter bench most of the year. I think it definitely took its toll on the team in the long run when Gomez, Elias and Madden went down with groin injuries. So all this belongs now to the past and I am sure it will benefit the team to have a full roster and some cap room. It will definitely take commitment from everyone to survive the much improved Atlantic Division. Last year four teams from the Atlantic made the playoffs and when you play each team from your division 8 times, it is going to wear you down. So we need depth.

New Players
After losing Gomez, Rafalski and Lukowich who went back to the Lightning, the Devils added D Karel Rachunek (one-year deal, $1.4-million) and forward Dainius Zubrus (6-year deal, $18 million). The Devils also signed G Kevin Weekes (2 years, $1.375) to be Martin Brodeur's backup. I like this signing a lot because our new coach will be less reluctant to throw Weekes to give Marty some rest. Scott Clemmensen left the Devils to go to Toronto and I wish him good luck. It wasn't the easiest position for him and I am sure Weekes will be a good backup. Even if I love for Marty to play a lot and beat records, I'd like him to take some rest and be fresh in the playoffs. In fresh I mean being a money goaltender taking the Devils all the way. The Devils also signed D Vishnevski (3 years, $5.4 million) and Aaron Asham (one-year, $700,000). Rupp, Oduya, Greene, Janssen, Marshall, Parise and Paul Martin also signed to remain with the Devils.

Roster (including regulars, newly signed players and players who played last year)
Goalies: Brodeur, Weekes
Defense: White, Martin, Matvichuk, Andy Greene, Johnny Oduya, Karel Rachunek, Vitaly Vishnevski
Forwards: Elias, Gionta, Zubrus, Parise, Langenbrunner, Zajac, Brylin, Madden, Pandolfo, Asham, Rupp, Janssen, Pelley, Clarkson, Tallackson

The above signings give the Devils a lot of depth and will make training camp one of the most interesting in recent years. Whether it is on defense or offense, there are a lot of spots up for grabs. White, Martin, Matvichuk are pretty much a lock for the defense but after that it is anyone's spot. The first 3 lines on offense are also pretty much locked but the fourth line is a big question mark. The Devils have the opportunity to roll 4 lines and have many options on the fourth line. The above roster doesn't include prospects who could crack the roster in camp.

New Coach
The quest for a new coach ended on July 13 when the Devils announced the signing of Brent Sutter. A successful coach in the Junior ranks (one Memorial Cup, 2 World Junior Championships with Canada and more recently the Junior Super Series against Russia), Sutter has never coached in the NHL. He was tabbed as the best coach not in the NHL and it looks like a good choice for the Devils. He played over 1000 games with the Islanders and the Blackhawks, winning the Cup in 1982 and 1983. He played under Al Arbour in New York and is tabbed as a disciplinarian. Even though he never coached in the NHL, he will get support from Larry Robinson, John McLean and former Devils Tommy Albelin who know the team and players well. Laperriere will go to Lowell to help the young defensemen develop.

New Arena
The new arena in Newark will be ready by the end of October. It looks really nice and I am sure it will be a good arena for the team. I can't wait to be able to travel to the US and go there. It will definitely be a better place to go than the old Continental Airlines Arena. The bad news is that the Devils will open the season with 9 games on the road. Traveling early in the season is always good because it gives the new players a chance to bond with old players. Hopefully the long time away from home will help get a good chemistry among the team.

Awards
Over the summer, there have been a few achievements of note. Martin Brodeur won a third Vezina trophy after setting a new record for most wins in a season (48).
Scott Stevens will be inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in November. He will be joined by Mark Messier, Ron Francis and Al MacInnis in what is one of the most impressive class ever.
Bobby Carpenter, John Vanbiesbrouck and Aaron Broten will also be inducted in the US Hockey Hall of fame.
Chico Resch was inducted Into Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame over the summer.
Robinson will have his No. 19 retired in Montreal.

Around the league
Niedermayer
I named one of the paragraph "the Niedermayer effect". As much as Niedermayer brought to the team over the years he is a poor decision maker. He messed us up big time even before he left, because he couldn't make his decision whether to stay or leave before his contract was up. Then he held us up and forced us into emergency signings. And now he is doing the same to the Ducks. This is becoming ridiculous and it really hurts Niedermayer's reputation.

Offer sheets
This year has seen the first major offer sheets to Buffalo's Thomas Vanek and Ducks Dustin Penner. This tricky manoeuver can really mess teams up and in both cases Kevin lowe was the culprit. We were lucky Zach Parise wasn't one of those players who were tendered an offer sheet. Kevin Lowe could have gone after Henrik Lundqvist and obtained a skilled goaltender. But his friendship with Sather probably prevented him from trying. I think other GMs didn't want to mess up with Lou and that's why we didn't get to Buffalo's or to Anaheim's situation.

Training camp is just around the corner and we are all looking forward to it. It should be an interesting season with many questions to answer, new players, a new coach and a new arena. I will be posting the News and Notes every day over the course of the season as usual. I will also be sharing my thoughts on the team all season long. So I hope to see you around during what should be an exciting season.

If you want to read about your Devils even before the season starts, I suggest you visit In Lou We Trust. John has a deep and extensive preview.
Please visit these Devils blogs: Game On by Stan Fischler; On fire; 2 man advantage; Devils Due.
And if you want to meet, communicate and chat with other fans, check out Devilsrule.