Parise leaning toward testing Free Agent Market in Summer

This is Zach Parise's seventh year with the Devils and he has made it known many times that he wants to win the Stanley Cup. The question now is, will it be with the New Jersey Devils? Well, right now it is tough to say, but many analysts expect Parise to test the free agent market when noon hits on July 1st. For once, there will be a large number of suitors making an all out pitch for his services especially because there is not much talent afterwards. Zach Parise cannot legally sign a contract extension with the Devils until January 1st of 2012 at the earliest, but they can agree to one before then, but Lou Lamoriello has a closed door policy on negotiating contracts during the season, so it will be interesting if that policy will apply to Parise.

One reason Parise might leave the Devils is all due to the uncertain future of the organization on the ice particularly in goal. This year could potentially be the last for Marty Brodeur's storied career and the Devils do not currently have a goaltender that could be his full time successor, so they could be aggressive for one in the summer. But, Parise has made it known he wants to stay with Devils as well as the team has said they want him here long-term. However, if the Devils do not make the playoffs or make a long playoff run this year, it might just spell the end of Parise in a Devils uniform.

As mentioned above, Parise will have many suitors, likely the same teams that tried to sign current Devils teammate Ilya Kovalchuk a year ago in 2010. Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings are likely to make the biggest push for his services after failing to sign Brad Richards this past summer. Parise is represented by the same agents which represent Richards. Plus Leafs GM Brian Burke knows Parise well, since he played for his 2010 US Olympic team. Other teams likely to make a play for Parise will be the NY Rangers, NY Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and basically every other team in some capacity. But, my guess is that he ends up staying with Devils, but it will be a very tough process.

Devils use 3 goal second to get past Lightning, Power Play showing some positive signs

A 3 goal outburst in the 2nd period plus 1 in the third was all the Devils needed to squeak out a victory in Tampa 4-2. The Devils got goals from Dainius Zubrus, Patrik Elias, David Clarkson and Ryan Carter sealed it in the 3rd. Martin St. Louis and Ryan Shannon scored for the Lightning. The victory improves the Devils record on the road trip to 3-1 as it will conclude Monday in Florida.

Shots were 24-23 Devils, but Brodeur was outstanding again in goal. The Devils power play had some life today going 2-8, but it still have a very long way to go. However, the penalty kill continues to be stellar as it is now ranked first in the NHL. Zubrus's goal was almost short-handed with a 1 second differential. Anyway, another good effort by Devils as they now are 10-7-1.

Kovalchuk's return sparks Devils in 5-3 win in Buffalo

After playing the night before, you would think the Devils would play flat, but they did quite the opposite scoring 5 goals in a 5-3 win in Buffalo. Most of all, the Devils special teams came through in a big way. Zach Parise scored short-handed and Ilya Kovalchuk scored on the struggling Devils power play and Patrik Elias, Mark Fayne, and David Clarkson added the other goals. Tyler Myers scored twice and Jordan Leopold added the other for Buffalo.

Martin Brodeur made 29 saves on 32 Buffalo shots, while Jhonas Enroth had 14 in 19 Devils shots. Overall, it was another great road effort by the Devils as they will go home, practice before heading to Florida to face both the Lightning and Panthers. For the first time since Spring of 2010, the Devils occupy a playoff spot in the East.

How to Fix Devils struggling power play?

Back in 2002-2003, the New Jersey Devils had the worst ranked Power Play in the National Hockey League and the best Penalty Killing Unit and managed to win the Stanley Cup. However, this time around, power play success means everything in this league. In 02-03, the center red ice line was still in effect, which allowed for a neutral zone trap and prevented breakout passes or setup on the power play. But ever since that year, the Devils power play has had little success and it all points to one thing, no mobility on defense for a successful power play.

Lou Lamoriello's unwillingness to get the Devils some mobility on defense has cost the team dearly. After the losses of Scott Niedermayer, Brian Rafalski and Paul Martin on defense, the Devils power play has been anemic to say the least. It does have good setups and rushes, but it does not have any good finishers. Brian Rolston, Ilya Kovalchuk are all forwards and usually struggle on defense if they have odd man rushes against Short-Handed. The Devils power play cost them dearly in 2009 against Carolina, particularly in Game 7, when they had a 4 minute one to extend a 3-2 lead to a 4-2 lead and we all know what happened.

Adam Larsson will be a great Power Play leader some day, but I feel Lou Lamoriello needs to get 1 or 2 more mobile defensemen to help. Mobile and Puck moving D-Men are critical to a successful Power Play.

Devils rally twice for shootout victory over Flyers in Philly, Kovalchuk hurt

After being down 2-0 midway through the 2nd, it appeared the Devils were headed for another defeat, but the top line finally showed up as Zach Parise and Adam Henrique got goals to tie the game at 2. It was Henrique's first NHL goal, although he scored in the preseason. However, Maxime Talbot broke the tie on a penalty shot goal, but the Devils never gave up and David Clarkson has suddenly become Mr. Clutch for the Devils tying the game at 3. Zac Rinaldo and Claude Giroux had the other Flyers goals.

The Devils and Flyers failed to score in overtime and Zach Parise and Patrik Elias scored shootout goals, while Danny Briere scored a controversial shootout goal against the Devils, but that was not enough as the Devils won 4-3. Shots were 39-23 Devils as both goalies were sharp in Johan Hedberg and Sergei Bobrovsky. Both teams played yesterday.

However, this victory was costly for the Devils. Andy Greene missed the game with a lower body injury, but he took warm ups, so he should be ok. Ilya Kovalchuk left in the end of the game after what appears to be a groin injury in the early analysis and the reports are that he is day-to-day. He is unlikely to play Saturday against Winnipeg it seems, but they will see tomorrow. Nevertheless, great win for the Devils.

Devils likely to stay the course until Zajac returns, despite offensive woes

The Devils are off to a 4-5-1 start unlike last year when they were 2-7-1 in their first 10 games, but the same offensive woes continue. But with injuries to Zajac and Josefson, the center position has been very depleted thus far. Josefson is expected to be out until at least February or even March after surgery to repair a broken clavicle. Zajac is expected back in 4-6 weeks, but that could also be too optimistic.

Lamoriello said after the injury to Josefson, he will look into making a trade for a veteran center, but also said he will give every opportunity to stay the course. However, the Devils are 1-4 since Josefson went down. As of now, the only known center on the trade market is former Devils center Scott Gomez, who is injured for the Canadiens, but expected back very soon. However, he is earning a hefty $7.1 million dollar cap hit and has 2 years left on his deal and the asking price for him could be huge in Montreal.

The Devils did claim Ryan Carter for 4th line duty, but he is still assimilating himself into the Devils scheme. Centers who are on the free agent market of note are John Madden and Mike Comrie. Comrie is reportedly still being bothered by hip injury and does get hurt a lot, but he does have some skill which could help the Devils if he is healthy. Madden is more of a defensive forward. So, with not much out there for the Devils to look at, Lamoriello is likely to rely on Henrique until Zajac returns. We might see some call-ups from Albany like Zharkov for offensive upside. But, expect the Devils to stay the course, but they have to stay a bit above .500 mark until Zajac returns.

Devils come out flat, get shutout by Flyers in opener

Hoping to avenge the 2009 opening loss to Flyers, the Devils did quite the opposite by showing zero offense, just like they did early last season. Claude Giroux, Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds scored the goals by beating the Devils 3-0. New Flyers ace goalie Ilya Bryzgalov made 20 saves in the shutout. Marty Brodeur was arguably the Devils best player in the losing effort making 26 saves on 29 Flyer shots.

The most depressing aspect was that the power play continued to be suspect, going 0-5 and allowing 2 short-handed breakaways, both turned away by Brodeur. Rookie defenseman Adam Larsson played well despite being a -1. The Devils play host to the Carolina Hurricanes today at 1, and will rely on Johan Hedberg in net.

Devils trade center Dave Steckel to Toronto Maple Leafs, to sign Petr Sykora

The New Jersey Devils have traded faceoff expert Dave Steckel to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 4th round draft pick in 2012. Steckel's trade clears up a roster spot for camp tryout Petr Sykora to return for a 2nd stint with the Devils. In 18 games for the Devils since the trade from Washington, Steckel has just 1 goal and nothing else.

Sykora is expected to be signed to a contract tomorrow by the deadline to finalize 23 man rosters and be under the Salary Cap. Sykora's first tenure with the Devils was from 1995-2002 followed by stints in Anaheim, the NY Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota Wild. He won the cup with the Devils in 2000 and one with the Penguins in 2009. He has 302 goals and 375 career assists in 935 career games followed by a +54 career rating. Sykora is expected to start the year on one of the Devils top 2 lines most likely with Parise and Elias.

2011-2012 NHL Awards Predictions

Here are my Awards Predictions for the 2011-2012 NHL Season:

Calder Trophy (rookie of the Year): Adam Larsson (NJ)

Ted Lindsay Award (equivalent of Hart Trophy, but voted by Players): Alexander Ovechkin (WSH)

Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman): Shea Weber (NSH)

Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward): Pavel Datsyuk (DET)

Lady Byng Trophy (Sportsmanship) Martin St. Louis (TB)

Vezina Trophy (Goaltender): Ryan Miller (Buffalo)

Jack Adams Trophy (Coach of the Year): Lindy Ruff (Buffalo)

Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed): Marc-Andre Fleury and Brent Johnson (PIT)

James Masterton (Comeback POY): Manny Malhotra (VAN)

Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (Most Goals): Alexander Ovechkin (WSH)

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Evgeni Malkin (PIT)

Hart Trophy (MVP): Evgeni Malkin (PIT)

2011-2012 Official Standings Predictions and Cup Finals Predictions

Obviously, this will most likely not be the case, but I think the top 8 in each conference will make the playoffs.

Eastern Conference:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Washington Capitals
3. Buffalo Sabres
4. Philadelphia Flyers
5. Boston Bruins
6. NY Rangers
7. New Jersey Devils
8. Tampa Bay Lightning
9. Montreal Canadiens
10. Toronto Maple Leafs
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. Florida Panthers
13. Winnipeg Jets
14. NY Islanders
15. Ottawa Senators

Western Conference:

1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. Vancouver Canucks
3. San Jose Sharks
4. Detroit Red Wings
5. Los Angeles Kings
6. Anaheim Ducks
7. Nashville Predators
8. St. Louis Blues
9. Phoenix Coyotes
10. Dallas Stars
11. Colorado Avalanche
12. Minnesota Wild
13. Calgary Flames
14. Edmonton Oilers
15. Columbus Blue Jackets

Stanley Cup Pick:

Eastern Conference Winner: Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference Winner: Chicago Blackhawks

Stanley Cup Winner: Chicago Blackhawks

Jacob Josefson hoping to shine for Devils this season, Larsson eager for start of camp

The term sophomore slump is a very common thing in the National Hockey League, everyone goes through it, but it only applies to those who have had very successful rookie seasons and not so good 2nd seasons. Steven Stamkos had a terrible rookie year, but a great sophomore season. Jacob Josefson did not have the rookie campaign he envisioned of having. He started out the 2010-2011 season in the minors in Albany and was called up a week later to make his NHL debut against Colorado. His debut did not go all too well as the team fell 3-2 to the Avalanche. But, Josefson in a game against the San Jose Sharks suffered a broken hand and would miss 6-8 weeks only to return to practice and be sent to Albany once more.

Josefson was called up eventually, but played 4th line duty for the most part until some key injuries moved him up. He finished the year with 3 goals and 7 assists in 28 games, but his body language looked disappointing a majority of the time. With the injury to Travis Zajac that will likely keep him out until Thanksgiving, Josefson will play a huge roll for the Devils and is likely to be paired up with Zach Parise or Ilya Kovalchuk one of the top two lines. This will be a huge chance for him to prove his worth to the Devils and why he was a steal in Round 1 of the 2009 Draft.

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As, it turns out 4th overall pick Adam Larsson was skating at the Devils practice facility attached to the Prudential Center for most of August and now September. Larsson wanted to get used to the ice surface and rink size and is eager to start his first training camp with New Jersey. He went back to Sweden after the draft and returned to Jersey for the Devils prospects camp from July 11-July 15. After the camp, he flew back to Sweden for a few weeks and returned back to New Jersey to get ready for training camp. The Devils rookies took their physicals this morning and will take it to the ice tomorrow morning while Devils veterans take their physicals. Devils veterans will take to the ice on Saturday when Larsson will get a chance to mix it up with them. He had no contact with new coach Peter DeBoer while preparing for training camp.

Devils hope to overcome adversity and return to playoffs (2011-2012 Season Preview)

Since the lockout, no NHL team has faced more adversity than the New Jersey Devils. Not only did the Devils have 2 separate salary cap messes in 2005-2006 and Summer of 2010, but they have had 7 different head coaches since the work stoppage ended. The Devils have also not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since the 2007 playoffs and last year was rock-bottom as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 1996. However, despite missing the playoffs, expectations remain very high in New Jersey as it always has, Stanley Cup or bust.

This year, the Devils will hope to return to their dominant form that made them a staple in the NHL for the past 20 years. In comes their 7th new coach since the lockout in Peter DeBoer as he will be charged with the task of turning the Devils around. The Devils biggest off-season move was drafting Swedish phenom Adam Larsson with the 4th overall pick in the draft. He will be given every opportunity to make the team in training camp. Other than that the team also brought in some toughness in Cam Janssen and Eric Boulton, who will battle it out for the enforcers roll. Boulton will likely beat out Janssen, but Cam will definitely be up and down from Albany and back.

Another factor that will determine the Devils success will be their health. Zach Parise who missed 69 games last season is finally healthy as well as defenseman Bryce Salvador, who was missed last year. The Devils will be without top-line center Travis Zajac until late November or even a bit longer, but GM Lou Lamoriello believes the Devils can still be very effective without him. Its likely that Patrik Elias, Jacob Josefson or Dainius Zubrus will be asked to play center on the top-line until Travis returns.

Obviously, the biggest questions facing the Devils are how will Kovalchuk play this year, will they lock-up Parise long-term before season's end, and how many games will Marty play. I think Kovalchuk will have a much better year this season. Last year was the getting used to year for him and he was relied upon way to heavily to provide 95% of the offense, which is unacceptable for a first-class organization such as the Devils. My guess is that Parise will end up a Devil long-term, but I think there is a good chance he will test the free agent market next summer. He will have a huge market for him since after him, there are not many big free agent names. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Los Angeles Kings are likely to make the biggest push for Parise after failing with Brad Richards this past summer. Other that could make a push are the Sabres, Wild, Blues, Canucks, Predators, Red Wings, Stars, Islanders, Sharks, Panthers, Lightning, and Canadiens. But, having said all of that, if Lou Lamoriello changes the "Status Quo" of having a closed door policy on any contract negotiations during the season, I believe that Zach will be locked up sometime before the deadline in February. If by any reason, Parise tells the Devils there is no long-term guarantee, they might be forced to seek a trade. Finally, on the Brodeur front. It is evident that Marty Brodeur has faced an extremely heavy workload in the past years, but I think this year it will change. My belief is that he will start in at least 60 games, but they have to manage him very carefully.

I think the Devils success will ultimately depend on how they start and finish the year. They cannot start 9-22-3 like the did last year. They need to win 50% of those games and most of them were winnable games. Yes they had a hot stretch from mid- January to mid-March by going 21-2-3, but still their start hurt them. My belief is that Peter DeBoer will be around for a while and this time Lou Lamoriello will have no-one to blame but himself should the Devils struggle. However, I am picking them 6th or 7th in the East with a good potential for a first round playoff win.

Devils invite 5 to training camp

Petr Sykora is back with Devils, well sort off. He was one of five invited to attend Devils training camp on a tryout basis. Others invited are former Maple Leafs defenseman Anton Stralman, former Sharks, Canucks, Sabres and Panthers forward Steve Bernier, and junior players Justin Barnett and Thomas Nesbitt. Sykora was first drafted by the Devils in 1995, but was traded in Summer of 2002 to the then Anaheim Mighty Ducks in exchange for Oleg Tverdovsky and Jeff Friesen. 4 other players were involved in the deal, but they were all minor leaguer's. Although Mike Commodore has evolved as an everyday NHL defenseman.

Stralman, a defenseman has 11 goals and 63 assists in 212 career NHL games with Toronto and Columbus as well as 11 goals and 15 assists in 98 Swedish Elite League games. Bernier, a 2003 first round pick of the Sharks played last year for new Devils coach Peter DeBoer in Florida and has 76 goals and 83 assists in 385 career games. Sykora has 302 career goals and 375 assists in 935 games in the NHL and won the cup with the Devils in 2000 and with the Penguins in 2009. He has 32 career goals and 37 assists in the playoffs in 115 games.

Sykora has struggled to make and play in the NHL in the past 2 seasons ever since Pittsburgh won the cup. With the depth at wing for the Devils, it will be tough for him to make the team, but he will get every opportunity to do so along with Steve Bernier, who I think has a great shot to make the team if he plays well in the preseason. Stralman might make it since the Devils are sort of thin on defense, but might be back and forth between minors much like Sykora and Bernier could be. The other two in Barnett and Nesbitt will likely make Albany. Devils veterans will report for physicals on Friday and open practice this Saturday at Prudential Center.

Is this finally the year the Washington Capitals make a very deep playoff run?

The Washington Capitals in the past 3 years have been the most underachieving team in the NHL. In 2007-2008, they had a late season run to make the playoffs, but fell in Round 1 in 7 games against the Flyers, but that year they were the underdog in the series. However, since that playoff, expectations for the team grew and grew to the point where they finished 2nd in the east the following year and had to rally from a 3-1 deficit against the Rangers in Round 1. But, they were embarrassed by rival Pittsburgh in Round 2 at home in Game 7.

In 2009-2010, the Capitals won the President's Trophy for the NHL's best record, but they ran into a very hot goaltender in Jaroslav Halak of Montreal. Last season, the Capitals focused on one thing and that is improving their defensive play and penalty killing unit, which plagued them in their past playoff failures. They went on to have a top 5 penalty killing unit in the NHL and went on again to finishing 1st in the Eastern Conference. However, after they beat the Rangers in Round 1 in 5 games, they were embarrassed again in Round 2 and were swept by division rival Lightning. Many though that last season was the last straw for GM George McPhee and Head Coach Bruce Boudreau, but they are both back for another year and make no mistake, this year is for sure their last straw.

The Capitals needed to address many areas in the offseason including most of all, they need to be 100% healthy and ready to go. They went on to finally sign a goaltender they tried to acquire for so many years in Tomas Vokoun. Stability in goal was one of their main downswings in the playoffs. Also, they brought in some cup winning pedigree in acquiring Troy Brouwer from Chicago and signed Nashville's playoff standout Joel Ward. Others brought in were former fan favorite in Jeff Halpern and defenseman Roman Hamrlik.

Now, the next focus is which of their players can step up at the right time. The most scrutinized players besides Ovechkin are Alex Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green, who all need to put up the numbers they are accustomed to putting up when it counts most, which is in the playoffs. Tom Poti is questionable to return this season, but they do have Dennis Wideman and youngster John Carlson. There is not doubt they have the talent to win the cup, but they need to work on the will part and wanting to win more than the other team. The Pressure is on the Washington Capitals, now let's see if they can finally live up to all the hype.

After losing in conference finals in 2 straight years, Sharks look to finally reach Finals and win

The San Jose Sharks are the 2nd of three teams in the league who need to win the Cup now. Back in the 2004 playoffs, the Sharks seemed destined to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, but ran into a hot goaltender in Mikka Kiprusoff of Calgary, yes the same Kiprusoff who backed up Evgeni Nabokov in San Jose. They lost to Calgary in 6 games in a series which saw the road team win every game until Game 6, when Calgary defeated the Sharks in Alberta.

Ever since that year, expectations grew for San Jose as they are still seeking their 1st Stanley Cup in Franchise history. Also, since 2004 they saw their in-state rivals Ducks win the Cup in 2007 and upset them in Round 1 of the 2009 playoffs. In November 2005, the Sharks made a blockbuster trade with Boston getting star center Joe Thornton, but based on the Bruins winning the cup this past year, that deal turned out as a loss for the Sharks despite the Bruins not having any of the return pieces playing for them anymore.

However, the 2009 loss to the Ducks was seen as a huge missed opportunity for the Sharks considering they won the President's Trophy that season for the league's best record. They went on to acquire Dany Heatley that summer from Ottawa and reached the Conference Finals where like in 2009 when they ran into a hot Jonas Hiller, they could not solve Antti Niemi of the Blackhawks and were swept out of the playoffs in 2010. This past season with a cup winning goaltender in Niemi, they could not get past Vancouver, but they were a huge underdog against them.

After two straight missed opportunities, the Sharks decided to change their chemistry and went on to trade Heatley to the Wild for Martin Havlat. Heatley was seen as a disappointment in the playoffs for San Jose and they also made two more deals with Minnesota acquiring Brent Burns for Devin Setoguchi and James Sheppherd for a draft pick. They also brought in veteran center Michal Handzus and locked up Niemi long-term. So, hopefully the changing of the guard helps San Jose win their elusive Stanley Cup.

After embarrassing Game 7 loss to Bruins, Canucks begin long journey to return to Finals

No team is more disappointed about how last season ended than the Western Conference Champions Vancouver Canucks. After an embarrassing 4-0 Game 7 loss to the Bruins on home ice, which was followed by outside riots that resulted in millions of dollars in damages, the Vancouver Canucks begin a long and more difficult road to return to the Finals and seek redemption. There is no doubt in my mind or anyone's in Canada, that the Canucks are still Canada's best hope to bring the Stanley Cup back to its country. The Montreal Canadiens were the last Canadian team to win the cup in 1993.

2010-2011 began as a year of destiny for Vancouver. They had a very busy offseason which brought them the biggest defenseman on the market in Dan Hamhuis as well acquiring Keith Ballard from Florida. The Canucks thought they finally had the toughness and depth to win the cup. They easily won the President's Trophy for the best record in the NHL, but it was a late season injury to its biggest checking center Manny Malhotra that made fatigue set in a bit quicker.

The Canucks added forward depth at the trade deadline getting Maxim Lapierre and Chris Higgins in separate deals. The additions helped them in the playoffs. After exorcising their playoff demons the Chicago Blackhawks in Round 1, it seemed the story would end perfectly with the Canucks winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup in its 40th anniversary season. They managed to overcome a hot goalie in Pekka Rinne in Nashville in Round 2 and exorcised their 2010 nemesis in Antti Niemi in the conference finals against San Jose, who I will write about sometime this week. But, on their road to the final they suffered key injuries and some players were not 100% like Ryan Kesler and even the Sedin's.

However, the Finals presented their biggest test in Tim Thomas of the Bruins. The Canucks jumped out to a quick 2-0 series lead against Boston after winning the first two games on home ice. However, the Canucks barely won their two home games and the Bruins actually managed to play well in Vancouver and never seemed to lose any confidence heading home. Also, the Canucks lost their #1 defenseman in Dan Hamhuis to injury. During period 1 in Game 3, both teams were even in the frame, but after a hit to the head of Nathan Horton by Canucks Aaron Rome, the series seemed to change. The Bruins felt motivated and Tim Thomas started to play out of his mind, stopping shots a great NHL goalie would not stop. Boston trumped Vancouver 8-1 in Game 3 in Boston and the Canucks confidence began to suffer. Rome would be suspended for the rest of the final. They followed up a Game 3 overwhelming victory with a 4-0 shutout of Vancouver in Game 4. Roberto Luongo's confidence was simply shattered.

In Game 5, the Canucks returned home determined to go back to Boston up 3-2 with a chance to close out the series. They did just that, but yet again it was only a 1-0 victory so Boston was still confident. Despite an extra day to prepare for Game 6, the Canucks lost Game 6 in Boston 5-2 and the rest of the story told itself.

So, now comes the healing and redemption part. The biggest question is can Luongo rebound from a terrible series against Boston as well as the Canucks. As mentioned above, they still are Canada's best hope for a Stanley Cup, but it will be more difficult for them. They did add some toughness and lost toughness. Torres, Ehrhoff, Bolduc and Glass are gone. In come Marco Sturm, Andrew Ebbett and Byron Bitz. They also brought in Owen Nolan and Todd Fedoruk for a professional tryout. Nolan if healthy and effective can be a 20 goal scorer although with his age those days are likely over. But if he can get at least 15 it will be good for Vancouver. Fedoruk is an enforcer and will be a plus for Vancouver along with Bitz. Ebbett is also a physical presence.

Luongo can bounce back and I think he will feel more motivated than ever. He does have a large cloud of pressure on him to win the Stanley Cup for Vancouver and prove his long-term contract is worth it, otherwise Cory Schneider is ready to step in at any moment. One person who should feel a lot of pressure and motivation is Head Coach Alain Vigneault, who was out-coached by Claude Julien in the Finals. But, why is there pressure on him? Well the Canucks have hired former Oilers coach Craig MacTavish to be the Head Coach of their minor league affiliate in Chicago. MacTavish led the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006 and was a finalist for many coaching vacancies this year. If the Canucks get off to a rough start or are not in the right state of mind to go for another cup run or victory, Vigneault could be on the chopping block and MacTavish will most likely be his successor.

However, I think their road back to the finals will be much more difficult than what they went through this year. I think teams like Chicago, Detroit and San Jose got better and they are the #1 target in the tough Western Conference. But, they have another very good chance. If they can avoid the Blackhawks in the playoffs, they can certainly return to the finals and if they do, I think they will win the cup even if this years final is a rematch of this past years.

Breaking Down new Head Coaches

There are a few new coaches in the league this season, some first time and some former coaches in new places, so here is my breakdown of all new coaches in the league.

Claude Noel (Winnipeg):

He finished the 2009-2010 campaign as the interim coach in Columbus and coached the Canucks minor league affiliate in Manitoba last season. Now he is the coach of the Winnipeg Jets and due to his familiarity with the city and Arena, he can make the former Thrashers organization get accustomed to new surroundings easier. But for him it will be a struggle all year long, but there will a time when the Jets will be on fire this year. I think this is an experiment year for him and the organization.

Kevin Dineen (Florida):

Many thought he should have been a coach two years ago, but was passed over by many teams even being in the final two for a few positions like in Columbus last summer before Scott Arniel got the job and Tampa Bay before Guy Boucher got it. He also was a candidate in Colorado before Joe Sacco got the nod. Now he gets the shot he longed for in Florida. He is a first time Head Coach, but is known to have played the game very tough. The Panthers have the most new pieces to work with and he will have a challenge to build multiple chemistry's together. He might get off to a slow start, but come mid-season the Panthers could gel and be a force to reckoned with. He does have to find consistent goaltending, which will be his Achilles heel.

Glen Gulutzan (Dallas):

Don't know much about Glen, but the Stars went for a first year coach rather than an experienced veteran. They almost hired Kirk Muller, but went for one that can work with young players. Dallas will be tough to play against and you cannot take them lightly, but the question is can he mesh rookies and vets together. It will be tough.

Paul MacLean (Ottawa):

Ottawa has had lots of respect for the Detroit Organization and Paul MacLean was Mike Babcock's right hand man there. Many also thought he would be a coach already and Devils fans though that Lou hired the wrong MacLean last summer. Ottawa might be in a rebuilding year, but if he follows the Detroit philosophy and creates his own identity with the Sens, lookout for Ottawa in a year or two.

Mike Yeo (Minnesota):

Won the Cup as an assistant in Pittsburgh in 2009, but coached the Minnesota Wild AHL affiliate in Houston last season. He is in the same boat as John MacLean was with NJ, can one year in the AHL payoff? I think it will simply because he can learn from past first year coaches with 1 year of AHL coaching experience.

Peter DeBoer (New Jersey):

He enters an organization with the most dangerous coaching job in the NHL considering he is their 7th coach since the lockout ended in Summer 2005. Brent Sutter and Jacques Lemaire have been the most consistent and he is known as a continuation of the Sutter philosophy or an extension. I think he will have success and learn from his mistakes in Florida. Devils fans will grow to love DeBoer as a coach, Yes he is no Lemaire simply because you cannot compare any coach to Jacques Lemaire. I think the players will respect him and not quit on him like they did with John MacLean.

2011-2012 Atlantic Division Preview (Could be 4 team race)

NY Islanders:

General Manager: Garth Snow
Head Coach: Jack Capuano

Key Additions: Marty Reasoner, Brian Rolston (Trade via NJ)

Key Subtractions: Trent Hunter (Traded to NJ, then bought out), Jack Hillen (Nashville), Radek Martinek (Columbus), Zenon Konopka (Ottawa), Nathan Lawson (Montreal)

Are the Islanders ready to take the next step and finally make the playoffs? They certainly can with their potent offense and high-end skill. However, they have to stay healthy and that mostly applies to goaltender Rick DiPietro, who is often injured. He has to stay healthy and be very consistent. Also, Kyle Okposo and Mark Streit have to be healthy and John Tavares has to step up his game and hopefully reach his potential of being a 40 goal scorer. Finally, the play of Michael Grabner will also determine their destiny. Again, I think they have the skill and firepower to win, but can they do it on a consistent basis.

New Jersey Devils:

General Manager: Lou Lamoriello
Head Coach: Peter DeBoer

Key Additions: Cam Janssen, Eric Boulton, Trent Hunter (Trade via NY Islanders, bought out), Maxim Noreau (Trade via Minnesota)

Another year, another new coach for the Devils. Their biggest move for a 3rd straight offseason was naming a coach. This time its Peter DeBoer, who I think is exactly what the Devils need. They wanted for a long time to finish what Brent Sutter started and they will get a chance to do so with DeBoer. However, they will have to find success without top center Travis Zajac, who will be out until November. But, their success will depend on Brodeur, Parise's and Kovalchuk's play as well as secondary scoring of players like Elias, Clarkson, Tedenby, Josefson and Zubrus. I think they will be back in the playoffs and will make some noise.

Key Subtractions: Colin White (San Jose), Mike McKenna (Ottawa), Anssi Salmela (KHL), Pierre-Luc Letourneau-LeBlond (Traded to Calgary)

NY Rangers:

General Manager: Glen Sather
Head Coach: John Tortorella

Key Additions: Brad Richards, Mike Rupp, Tim Erixon (Trade via Calgary)

Key Subtractions: Evgeny Grachev (Traded to St. Louis), Matt Gilroy (Tampa Bay), Vaclav Prospal (Columbus), Chris Drury (retirement)

The NY Rangers in my mind could be either a deep playoff threat or a huge disappointment as they usually are. However, I expect them to reach Round 2 of the playoffs and even take their opponent to 7 games, but their success will depend on Henrik Lundqvist.

Pittsburgh Penguins:

General Manager: Ray Shero
Head Coach: Dan Bylsma

Key Additions: Steven Sullivan, Jason Williams, Alexandre Picard

Key Subtractions: Maxime Talbot (Philadelphia), Mike Rupp (NY Rangers), Eric Godard (Dallas), Corey Potter (Edmonton)

The Penguins will reach the Finals in my view, but again if both Crosby and Malkin are healthy and effective, simply put.

Philadelphia Flyers:

General Manager: Paul Holmgren
Head Coach: Peter Laviolette

Key Additions: Ilya Bryzgalov, Jaromir Jagr, Maxime Talbot, Brayden Schenn (Trade via Los Angeles), Wayne Simmonds (Trade via Los Angeles), Jakub Voracek (Trade via Columbus), Andreas Lilja, Michael Nylander (Tryout)

Key Subtractions: Mike Richards (Traded to Los Angeles), Jeff Carter (Traded to Columbus), Sean O'Donnell (Chicago), Dan Carcillo (Chicago), Kris Versteeg (Traded to Florida), Ville Leino (Buffalo), Danny Syvret, Brian Boucher (Carolina)

A huge makeover involving their two core players getting traded will take a while to mesh and create new chemistries. They will be a cup contender, but I think the division will be a 4 team race and I am picking the Penguins to win this division.

2011-2012 Pacific Division Preview (Can the Kings unseed the Sharks?)

Dallas Stars:

General Manager: Joe Nieuwendyk
Head Coach: Glen Gulutzan

Key Additions: Eric Godard, Sheldon Souray, Michael Ryder, Vernon Fiddler, Radek Dvorak, Adam Pardy

Key Subtractions: Brad Richards (NY Rangers), Jamie Langenbrunner (St. Louis), Jason Williams (Pittsburgh), Jeff Woywitka (Montreal)

The Dallas Stars got off to a very strong start last season, but struggled down the stretch leading to Marc Crawford's firing as coach. But with current ownership problems, the Stars will still be very tough to beat, but are still in a rebuilding year.

Phoenix Coyotes:

General Manager: Don Maloney
Head Coach: Dave Tippett

Key Additions: Patrick O'Sullivan, Justin Pogge, Mike Smith, Kyle Chipchura, Curtis McElhinney, Alex Bolduc, Boyd Gordon, Raffi Torres,

Key Subtractions: Ilya Bryzgalov (Philadelphia), Andrew Ebbett (Vancouver), Eric Belanger (Edmonton), Vernon Fiddler (Dallas), Ed Jovanovski (Florida)

The Phoenix Coyotes had another year of making the playoffs, but this year will be tougher for them die to losing veteran leadership and a goaltender in Ilya Bryzgalov. I say they fall slightly short, but they will be in a battle for the 8th and final playoff spot.

Anaheim Ducks:

General Manager: Bob Murray
Head Coach: Randy Carlyle

Key Additions: Andrew Cogliano (Trade via Edmonton), Kurtis Foster (Trade via Edmonton), Matt Smaby, Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers

Key Subtractions: Andy Sutton (Traded to Edmonton), Kyle Chipchura (Phoenix), Andreas Lilja (Philadelphia)

After getting bounced in Round 1 by Nashville, the Ducks will have no easy road this year. Even though having reigning Hart Trophy winner Corey Perry and Jonas Hiller healthy, they are a playoff team, but not Stanley Cup bound.

Los Angeles Kings:

General Manager: Dean Lombardi
Head Coach: Terry Murray

Key Additions: Mike Richards (Trade via Philadelphia), Ethan Moreau, Simon Gagne, Colin Fraser (Trade via Edmonton)

Key Subtractions: Alexei Ponikarovsky (Carolina), Michal Handzus (San Jose), Brayden Schenn (Traded to Philadelphia), Wayne Simmonds (Traded to Philadelphia), Ryan Smyth (Traded to Edmonton)

The Kings were very busy making over their team this offseason and are thus pumped for a chance to win the Pacific Division. However, they are likely to fall short, but with the goaltending of Jonathan Quick, they will be a threat in the Western Conference.

San Jose Sharks:

General Manager: Doug Wilson
Head Coach: Todd McLellan

Key Additions: Michal Handzus, Martin Havlat (Trade via Minnesota), Brent Burns (Trade via Minnesota), James Sheppard (Trade via Minnesota), Colin White, Andrew Murray, Jim Vandermeer

Key Subtractions: Devin Setoguchi (Traded to Minnesota), Dany Heatley (Traded to Minnesota), Scott Nichol and Kent Huskins (St. Louis), Charlie Coyle (Traded to Minnesota), Ben Eager (Edmonton), Ian White (Detroit), Jamal Mayers (Chicago), Niclas Wallin and Kyle Wellwood (TBD)

The Sharks underwent a complete makeover and are poised to end all the years of playoff disappointments and not only reach the Stanley Cup Final, but win the Cup. MY feeling is that they are on track, but this year is still not the year, but maybe in the next 2-3 years everything will fall into place for them.

2011-2012 Northeast Division Preview (Why Buffalo will rise)

Toronto Maple Leafs:

General Manager: Brian Burke
Head Coach: Ron Wilson

Key Additions: Tim Connolly, John Michael-Liles (Trade via Colorado), Cody Franson (Trade via Nashville), Matthew Lombardi (Trade via Nashville)

Key Subtractions: Brett Lebda (Traded to Nashville), Tim Brent (Carolina), JS Giguere (Colorado), Christian Hanson (Washington)

The Leafs are the most scrutinized team in the NHL and in Canada especially. They are the biggest market in the league and have yet to make the playoffs since the lockout ended in Summer 2005. Its no secret Brian Burke is still cleaning up the mess left by former Leafs GM John Ferguson Jr. However, this year is expected to be very different as the Leafs will definitely battle for the final playoff berth in the east. In 2006-2007, they missed out on the final day. However, they will likely fall slightly short again.

Ottawa Senators:

General Manager: Bryan Murray
Head Coach: Paul MacLean

Key Additions: Zenon Konopka, Mark Parrish, Alex Auld, Nikita Filatov (Trade via Columbus)

Key Subtractions: Cody Bass (Columbus), Ryan Shannon (Tampa Bay), Curtis McElhinney (Phoenix), Ryan Potulny (Washington)

The Senators success will depend on a healthy Daniel Alfredsson, a consistent Jason Spezza and the goaltending of Craig Anderson. However, they will fall short once again as they are still rebuilding, but they are not far away from returning to their 2007 Cup Form.

Montreal Canadiens:

General Manager: Pierre Gauthier
Head Coach: Jacques Martin

Key Additions: Erik Cole, Jeff Woywitka, Brian Willsie, Nathan Lawson, Peter Budaj, Mark Mitera (Trade via Anaheim)

Key Subtractions: Tom Pyatt (Tampa Bay), Alexandre Picard (Pittsburgh), Benoit Pouliot (Boston), Curtis Sanford (Columbus), Alex Auld (Ottawa), Roman Hamrlik (Washington), Brent Sopel (KHL), Paul Mara (TBD), Jeff Halpern (Washington)

The Canadiens probably provided the biggest scare in the playoffs to the eventual Cup Champion Bruins. However, after a disappointing defeat in Game 7 in overtime, the Canadiens hope to return to the form that carried them through the 2010 playoffs all the way to the Conference Finals. As usual Carey Price will have to be relied upon as he usually is. He did live up to expectations in 2010-2011 and had a bounce back year.

Buffalo Sabres:

General Manager: Darcy Regier
Head Coach: Lindy Ruff

Key Additions: Ville Leino, Robyn Regehr (Trade via Calgary), Christian Ehrhoff
Key Subtractions: Tim Connolly (Toronto), Mark Parrish (Ottawa), Chris Butler (Traded to Calgary), Rob Niedermayer (Switzerland), Mike Grier (TBD)

For the first time since 2006-2007, Sabres fans have something great to feel about possibly going for the Cup. They will be healthy and have a fresh new owner in Terrance Pegula, who has said he will spend big to bring the Stanley Cup to Northwest New York State. They have finally build themselves a defensive core that will be tough to play against with Ehrhoff, Myers, Regehr and Sekera. Ryan Miller will be in the Vezina conversation and the Sabres are healthy with Derek Roy back at 100%. My prediction is that they will win the Northeast and will make it to Round 2 of the playoffs, but I think they are my dark horse pick to go all the way to the Stanley Cup.

Boston Bruins:

General Manager: Peter Chiarelli
Head Coach: Claude Julien

Key Additions: Benoit Pouliot, Joe Corvo (Trade via Carolina)

Key Subtractions: Tomas Kaberle (Carolina), Michael Ryder (Dallas), Mark Recchi (retirement)

Fresh off their Cup Win, the Bruins will look to repeat, but I think it will be very tough for Tim Thomas to do this again. I think the Bruins will be major targets by all 30 teams and will likely suffer a Round 1 defeat this season. I think they will be a Top 5 team in the East, but like I said unlikely to go far in the playoffs.

2011-2012 Central Division Preview (Still Detroit and Chicago's to lose)

Columbus Blue Jackets:

General Manager: Scott Howson
Head Coach: Scott Arniel

Key Additions: Jeff Carter (Trade via Philadelphia), James Wisniewski, Vaclav Prospal, Cody Bass, Radek Martinek, Aaron Johnson, Curtis Sanford

Key Subtractions: Ethan Moreau (LA), Nikita Filatov (Traded to Ottawa), Andrew Murray (San Jose), Sami Lepisto (Chicago), Mike Commodore (Detroit), Jan Hejda (Colorado), Scottie Upshall (Florida), Mathieu Garon (Tampa Bay)

The Blue Jackets got off to a strong start under new coach Scott Arniel this past season, but faltered down the stretch. However, the team made a huge splash in free agency signing unrestricted free agent defenseman James Wisniewski to a 6 year $33 million dollar contract. This was seen by many as a very steep price to pay for a top 4 defenseman who has not played like one in recent years. However, he is familiar with the Central division having played with the Blackhawks earlier in his career. They also made a huge splash up front by landing star center Jeff Carter from the Flyers, but it cost them Jakub Voracek, who was one of their top prospects. Carter at first was not as excited about the deal, but since has conformed to being a Jacket. Carter will finally give Columbus their center-man for Nash. I think the Blue Jackets success will depend on Steve Mason and the health of Rick Nash. My prediction is that they will fall short again, but they can pull off an element of surprise especially with Prospal on the team.

St. Louis Blues:

General Manager: Doug Armstrong
Head Coach: Davis Payne

Key Additions: Evgeny Grachev (Trade via NYR), Jason Arnott, Jamie Langenbrunner, Scott Nichol, Kent Huskins, Brian Elliott, Jonathan Cheechoo, Danny Syvret

Key Subtractions: Cam Janssen (NJ), Tyson Strachan (Florida), Paul Kariya (retired)

The St. Louis Blues once again found themselves lacking any success in the season. But, this year I think with the veteran additions they made and some toughness and depth they are primed for the playoffs. They not only have a good chance to make the playoffs, but do some damage especially with Jaroslav Halak in net.

Nashville Predators:

General Manager: David Poile
Head Coach: Barry Trotz

Key Additions: Jack Hillen, Tyler Sloan, Niclas Bergfors, Brodie Dupont (Trade via NYR)

Key Subtractions: Cody Franson (Traded to Toronto), Matthew Lombardi (Traded to Toronto), Marcel Goc (Florida), Shane O'Brien (Colorado), Joel Ward (Washington), Steve Sullivan (Pittsburgh)

The Nashville Predators took a huge step forward in 2010-2011 by reaching Round 2 of the playoffs for the first time in team history before being beaten by the eventual Western Conference Champs Vancouver Canucks. I think that they can surprise many and reach Round 3 this year, because of one guy "Pekka Rinne." They did however suffer some big losses in leadership from Cody Franson, Joel Ward and Steve Sullivan, so Rinne will be heavily relied upon. Also, it will be interesting to see how Shea Weber plays after being taken to arbitration by the team. They will be a playoff team.

Chicago Blackhawks:

General Manager: Stan Bowman
Head Coach: Joel Quenneville

Key Additions: Sami Lepisto, Dan Carcillo, Andrew Brunette, Sean O'Donnell, Jamal Mayers, Steve Montador, Rostislav Olesz (Trade via Florida),

Key Subtractions: Chris Campoli (TBD), Mary Turco (TBD), Jordan Hendry (TBD), Fernando Pisano (TBD), Brian Campbell (Traded to Florida), Tomas Kopecky (Florida), Troy Brouwer (Traded to Washington)

A year after winning the Cup in 2010, the 2010-2011 version of the Blackhawks core was still intact, but they took a step back. However, they almost became the 4th team in NHL history to rally from an 0-3 playoff deficit in Round 1 against their heated Western rival, the Vancouver Canucks. This year the Blackhawks are now more focused an re-energized to make another deep playoff run and win their 2nd cup in 3 years. I think they will be a major threat this year based on their offseason additions of veteran leadership and toughness. Dan Carcillo will add more fuel to the both the Wings-Hawks rivalry as well as the Canucks-Hawks rivalry. I think Corey Crawford has established himself as a future franchise goaltender and Toews is quickly becoming the best captain in the NHL as well a a great two-way player. Kane will need to have a much better season and stay healthy. Watch-out Vancouver, the Blackhawks are on their way back to re-claim the Western Title. My Prediction is that they will win the Stanley Cup and be the first 2 time Champ since the lockout, they are that deep. And they do have the best defensive pairing in the NHL with Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Yes, they lost some valuable pieces, but they added some grit and passion they lacked. Lookout for Ben Smith as well.

Detroit Red Wings:

General Manager: Ken Holland
Head Coach: Mike Babcock

Key Additions: Ty Conklin, Ian White, Mike Commodore

Key Subtractions: Brian Rafalski (retirement), Chris Osgood (retirement), Derek Meech (Winnipeg), Ruslan Salei (KHL)

It will be between the Red Wings and Blackhawks for the division crown, but I think the loss of Brian Rafalski will hurt them, but I think with their revamped coaching staff of Mike Babcock, who is the best coach in Hockey and veteran leadership, they will be in the conference finals against Chicago. I think Chicago is slightly stronger, but I think Detroit and Vancouver are the biggest threats to them.

2011-2012 Northwest Division Preview

Colorado Avalanche:

General Manager: Greg Sherman
Head Coach: Joe Sacco

Key Additions: Shane O'Brien, JS Giguere, Chuck Kobasew, Simeon Varlamov (trade via Washington)

Key Subtractions: Phillipe Dupuis (Toronto), Brian Elliott (St. Louis), Tomas Fleischmann (Florida), Peter Budaj (Montreal), John-Michael Liles (Traded to Toronto)

After a surprising 2009-2010 campaign which almost led to a first round upset over the Sharks in the playoffs, the Colorado Avalanche found themselves back in the NHL cellar in 2010-2011. But, this year they hope some new toughness and fresh blood can lead them back to the playoffs. They do have another potential star in Gabriel Landeskog coming into camp and two new goaltenders. One thing is certain, Joe Sacco is back on the hot seat as an NHL coach. I think they will be better than this past season, but will fall short. But falling short does not rest well with Team President Eric Lacroix, who still expects the Avalanche to be cup contenders. However, with little or no identity on defense, the Avs might need to stay in the lottery.

Minnesota Wild:

General Manager: Chuck Fletcher
Head Coach: Mike Yeo

Key Additions: Darrol Powe (Trade via Philadelphia), Dany Heatley (Trade via San Jose), Devin Setoguchi (Trade via San Jose)

Key Subtractions: Patrick O'Sullivan (Phoenix), Chuck Kobasew (Colorado), Cam Barker (Edmonton), Andrew Brunette (Chicago), Jose Theodore (Florida), Brent Burns (Traded to San Jose), Martin Havlat (Traded to San Jose), James Sheppherd (Traded to San Jose), Antti Miettinen (KHL), John Madden (unsigned)

The Minnesota Wild underwent many radical changes much like the Florida Panthers did. They have a new coach and a new fresh offensive scheme. I think they are going to be a dangerous and tough team to play against with the likes of Stoner and Clutterbuck. They will have to be very healthy though especially team captain Mikko Koivu, who will play on the line with Heatley and Setoguchi. The Wild will definitely be a player this year in the tough west, but again will likely fall short of the playoffs. A lot will again depend on the play of Niklas Backstrom.

Edmonton Oilers:

General Manager: Steve Tambellini
Head Coach: Tom Renney

Key Additions: Ryan Smyth (Trade via LA), Eric Belanger, Corey Potter, Josh Green, Ben Eager, Darcy Hordichuk, Cam Barker

Key Subtractions: Colin Fraser (Traded to LA), Andrew Cogliano (Traded to Anaheim), Jim Vandermeer (San Jose), Sheldon Souray (Dallas)

The Oilers again found themselves at the very cellar of the NHL and chose Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the #1 overall pick. This year they hope with the veteran leadership of Ryan Smyth, who returns after 5 years away from Edmonton will lead them out of last place and hopefully close to the 8th spot. However, they will once again fall short this season despite adding toughness and checking ability.

Calgary Flames:

Key Additions: Scott Hannan, Chris Butler (Trade via Buffalo), Pierre-Luc Letourneau-LeBlond (Trade via NJ)

Key Subtractions: Robyn Regehr (Traded to Buffalo), Adam Pardy (Dallas)

General Manager: Jay Feaster
Head Coach: Brent Sutter

The Flames had a nice late year run this past season, but still fell short of the playoffs and thus have not made it there since Brent Sutter took over the helm at coach. However, with a fresh voice at the front office of Jay Feaster and a hungry roster, they are eager to prove their skeptics wrong. They will definitely be a huge factor in the very difficult but yet unpredictable Western Conference.

Vancouver Canucks:

General Manager: Mike Gillis
Head Coach: Alain Vigneault

Key Additions: Marco Sturm, Byron Bitz, Alexander Sulzer, Andrew Ebbett

Key Subtractions: Tanner Glass (Winnipeg), Lea Sweatt (Ottawa), Alex Bolduc and Raffi Torres (Phoenix), Christian Ehrhoff (Buffalo)

After an embarassing Game 7 loss to the Bruins in the Finals, the Canucks have found themselves still being one of the NHL's elite. They did suffer some losses in toughness with Torres, Glass and Bolduc leaving via free agency as well as Christian Ehrhoff, but they did manage to add toughness in Bitz, Ebbett, and possibly Todd Fedoruk if he makes the team. They managed to lockup Kevin Bieksa long-term this past summer, who rounds out the top defensive shut down pairing for the Canucks with Dan Hamhuis. I think the Canucks will once again be Stanley Cup Contenders, but they will have to try to avoid the Blackhawks at any cost in the playoffs, who will be very hungry to return the favor. My guess is that they once gain win the Northwest Division and make it to Round 2 of the playoffs at the very least, however their road to finally win the elusive cup will be much tougher this year than it was this past season.

2011-2012 Southeast Division Preview

Winnipeg Jets:

General Manager: Kevin Cheveldayoff
Head Coach: Claude Noel

Key Additions: Tanner Glass, Randy Jones, Derek Meech, Eric Fehr (trade via Washington), Kendall McArdle (Trade via Florida)

Key Subtractions: Eric Boulton (NJ), Anthony Stewart (Carolina), Radek Dvorak (Dallas)

The NHL is back in Winnipeg where it ended somewhat 15 seasons ago when the Jets bolted for Phoenix. Now the Jets will be the most displaced team with likely the farthest distance to travel for most of their road games, but only for this season. That is because the Jets are back, but not from Phoenix, this time from Atlanta. They will need to make three trips to Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay and Florida. All will require more than a thousand miles. The Vancouver Canucks usually are the team with heaviest travel schedule, but Winnipeg will top that this season. Next season they are expected to join either the Northwest or Central Divisions in the Western Conference if NHL decides to realign using 6 divisions with 3 in each conference.

But, now to the Jets team as a whole. They do have a new front office staff as well as coaching staff as they basically got rid of everyone who used to be in the Atlanta Organization which include Don Waddell as Team President, Rick Dudley as General Manager and Craig Ramsay as Head Coach. They brought in Kevin Cheveldayoff as GM and Claude Noel as coach and have a new minor league affiliate in St. John's, Newfoundland. They made some low key quality additions to their roster for toughness, but mostly went with development from within the organization. They are yet to lockup Zack Bogosian, their top defenseman to a new deal, but still have a lot of talent in their club. However, they are a young team with not much offensive upside and I think that they will have a relatively tough first season back in Winnipeg, but at least the NHL is back there. Hopefully with the long travel they will be able to bond. That will be up to captain Andrew Ladd to get them to that level.

Tampa Bay Lightning:

General Manager: Steve Yzerman
Head Coach: Guy Boucher

Key Additions: Tom Pyatt, Ryan Shannon, Mathieu Garon, Matt Gilroy

Key Subtractions: Sean Bergenheim (Florida), Mike Smith (Phoenix), Simon Gagne (LA), Randy Jones (Winnipeg)

The Lightning made a statement this past season under rookie coach Guy Boucher by upsetting the Penguins and Capitals in the first two rounds of the playoffs and nearly defeating the eventual Cup Champion Bruins in 7 games in Round 3. Now, I think they are healthy and hungry to go one round further and they are close to returning to the top form they had in 2004 when the won the Cup. They did lose Sean Bergenheim to division and state rival Panthers, but I think that they have the youth in Steven Stamkos and talent to still be very effective in the unpredictable Southeast division despite their losses like Gagne. They again will be a playoff team in my mind and I think with the correct management of Dwayne Roloson, they can go to the Finals.

Carolina Hurricanes:

General Manager: Jim Rutherford
Head Coach: Paul Maurice

Key Additions: Brian Boucher, Tomas Kaberle, Anthony Stewart, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Tim Brent

Key Subtractions: Erik Cole (Montreal), Joe Corvo (Traded to Boston)

The Hurricanes nearly missed the playoffs by one game when they lost their season finale on home ice against division rival Lightning. This past offseason they added some quality determined to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. They will again have to rely on the effective goaltending of Cam Ward.

Florida Panthers:

General Manager: Dale Tallon
Head Coach: Kevin Dineen

Key Additions: Matt Bradley, Tomas Fleischmann, Scottie Upshall, Ed Jovanovski, Marcel Goc, Sean Bergenheim, Kris Versteeg (Trade via Philadelphia), Tomas Kopecky, Jose Theodore, Brian Campbell (Trade via Chicago)

Key Subtractions: Byron Bitz (Vancouver), Niclas Bergfors (Nashville), Darcy Hordichuk (Edmonton), Tomas Vokoun (Washington), Marty Reasoner (NY Islanders)

No team in the NHL made more radical changes than the Florida Panthers. They had the most money to spend and they opened their wallet's immediately when the offseason started. GM Dale Tallon brought in a lot of familiar faces in Campbell, Versteeg and Kopecky that he had while he was GM of Blackhawks. All of them won the cup in 2010 and he is attempting to do the same with the Panthers. He has a new coach in Kevin Dineen after firing current Devils coach Peter DeBoer. Dineen will have a roster with proven winners. But, I think that they will be a bit thin in the goaltending position with Theodore and Clemmensen. However, I think they do have scoring depth and will be a fun team to watch with players like Mike Santorelli, Evgeny Dadonov, Dmitry Kulikov, and Stephen Weiss expected to have big years. This team can make a huge statement this year in the Southeast, but I think they will fall a bit short, but look out for Florida in the next 2-3 years.

Washington Capitals:

General Manager: George McPhee
Head Coach: Bruce Boudreau

Key Additions: Jeff Halpern, Roman Hamrlik, Tomas Vokoun, Christian Hanson, Ryan Potulny, Joel Ward

Key Subtractions: Scott Hannan (Calgary), Jason Arnott (St. Louis), Brian Willsie (Montreal), Marco Sturm (Vancouver), Boyd Gordon (Phoenix)

No team in the NHL has more to prove than the Capitals. Plain and simple, they have been the most underachieving team the past 3-4 seasons. They have yet to make it to the Conference Finals and if they fail to make it to at least the Finals this year, it could bring major radical change both at the top and at the coaching position. Alexander Semin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom will be key to any success they have this season both in the 82 game frame and the playoffs. Last season they tightened up defensively and sacrificed offense, but this season they have to combine a great defense and goaltending with productivity from the offense driven by Alexander Ovechkin. I believe they will win this division this season with a viable goaltender in Vokoun and with the additions they made. Hamrlik will add veteran leadership on defense and Joel Ward will hope to have another playoffs like he did with Nashville this past season. He does not need a good regular season, but a good productive Playoff. I say the Capitals will finally make it to at least the Eastern Final.

NHL unlikely to adopt any major rule changes experimented in this weeks Research and Development Camp

This past week in Etobicoke, Ontario the National Hockey League conducted its 2nd annual Research and Development Camp testing any new potential ways to improve the game both in a statistical and safety perspective. NHL coaches Dan Bylsma and Dave Tippet got to experiment these rules first hand by coaching their respective teams made up of top prospects eligible for the 2012 & 2013 NHL Entry Drafts. They tested dozens of new potential rules that might go in effect as early as this season, but most likely in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Some of the rules are:

-Shallower Nets for more wraparound goals
-Goal Verification Line for video review
-Offside and Face-off infraction consequences
-icing rules (no-touch and hybrid)
-curved glass on benches to prevent another Chara-Pacioretty incident
-removal of goaltender trapezoid
-new headshot rules (an off-ice discussion)
-new safer ways to follow through on checks into the boards
-tie-breaking formats (3 on 3 if 4 on 4 fails

Other rules were tested out as well. However, most of the rules will not likely go into effect until the 2012-2013 season at the earliest if there is even a season. I think the verification line, shallow nets and redesigned goal's will go into effect this year, but from a statistical view, those rules will likely wait. The removal of the trapezoid is something that might happen as well this season, but yet again most likely in next CBA.

Devils Zajac to miss 3 months with torn Achilles Tendon

The New Jersey Devils struggling offensive corps suffered an early season blow. Top center Travis Zajac tore his Achilles Tendon during offseason workouts and underwent surgery early this morning. Zajac had played in 401 consecutive games, so his Devils Iron Man streak will end. He is scheduled to return sometime in November from injury.

Lamoriello today said, he has no plans to sign anyone to fill in for Zajac or bring anyone in for a tryout. This likely means that Elias will start the year as the top line center with Josefson moving to the 2nd line, Steckel will move to the 3rd line and Adam Henrique will likely make the team out of camp. So, the decision to sign a center might come towards the end of training camp if their current line-up does not produce in the preseason as its capable.

The decision not to sign someone probably means that Lamoriello will not use the created $6 million dollars in cap space after the Colin White and Trent Hunter buyouts. This means that he is setting the Devils up to be buyers at the trade deadline or be very aggressive on the Free Agent Market in Summer 2012. So, with the Zajac injury the Devils projected forward line-up is:

Kovalchuk Elias Palmieri
Parise Josefson Tedenby
Zubrus Steckel Clarkson
Boulton Henrique Zharkov
Extras: Janssen, Pelley

Will NHL have another work stoppage?

The 2011-2012 season will be the last season in this new post-lockout Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and it is set to expire in the end of September 2012 unless the NHL and the Players (NHLPA) reach a new deal or extend the current deal for another given amount of time. There is no doubt that if the a new CBA is not reached by July 1, 2012 it might affect the way some or all of the teams conduct their business in the offseason. Zach Parise might not have a huge market for him with the possibility of the labor uncertainty.

But, there is a bright spot in the sense that two professional sports leagues, the NBA and the NFL just had their own labor uncertainties and the NBA one is still ongoing and there is a huge feeling that there will be no basketball this season. The NFL Lockout ended in the end of July and it went on for almost 160 days, which is almost 6 months and came within weeks of wiping out some games. Basketball on the other hand is likely to call an impasse and the sides a still very very and extremely far apart. So, will the NFL and NBA lockouts impact what happens with the NHL. I think the NHL should look at the two cases very closely and try to come up with a resolution as quickly as possible.

There is no doubt that the current system in the NHL has some flaws, but it is working much better than the old one. In the old system only big spending teams succeeded and small market teams struggled dearly. The NHL revenues are increasing every year due to the rising salary cap every year. If revenues fall, the cap will fall, but it has not. The NHL has just entered into a new 10 year deal with Comcast/NBC worth over $2 Billion dollars and that should be a blueprint as to why there should be no work stoppage.

NHLPA head Donald Fehr must educate the players on the current system and see what he and the players would like. My feeling is that the Salary Cap and Linkage (Cost Certainty) should remain intact. I think that the two sides will reach the CBA and look at the NFL and NBA as the reason to avoid a work stoppage. Here are 5 issues that will likely come up in CBA talks:

1. Salary Cap Format
2. Front-Loaded Contracts/Maximum Yearly Salary/Term Lengths on Contracts
3. Head Injuries/Player safety
4. Rules
5. Season Format

What happens if Devils lose Zach Parise to Free Agency next year?

While we do not as Devils fans and analysts want to even think about next year's free agent frenzy as the current season has not even happened, we do know that there is a possibility that Zach Parise might leave the team as an unrestricted free agent. Which leads to the question, what might or might not happen if it becomes reality?

While, I do think that the two sides will eventually come to a long-term agreement at some point during the season, because I do expect Lou to negotiate a contract for him while the season is ongoing, there is still that negative possibility. Lou Lamoriello has been known as a GM that loses big name marquee free agent talents to other teams that in some cases are also hated division rivals. But, instead of going out to sign free agents to pluck holes, Lou decided to built through youth and develop his prospects even though they might not have been even ready to play in the NHL. Lamoriello's reputation around the league is not to overpay and hard line negotiations, which scared off a lot of his own players from staying in New Jersey. He has had to deal with a lot of these headaches this past decade.

In Summer 2001 after a devastating Game 7 loss in the Finals to the Colorado Avalanche, the Devils lost Sean O'Donnell to the Boston Bruins and leading goal scorer Alexander Mogilny to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lou Lamoriello only signed veteran defenseman Tommy Albelin to a contract, who was on the tail-end of his career. It seems that ever since that Game 7 loss, the Devils offensive struggles began and continues even to this day. Before that they were a team nobody wanted to play, but after a struggling 2001-2002 campaign which ended in a Round 1 defeat in the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes, the Devils were brought back to Earth.

In Summer 2002, the Devils lost Bobby Holik to the rival Rangers, who overpaid dearly for him. The Devils ended up making a blockbuster trade with the then Anaheim Mighty Ducks, which helped both teams since the Devils defeated the Ducks in the 2003 Finals. They traded Petr Sykora, a member of one of the most popular lines in Devils history to Anaheim for Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tverdovsky. So, in that sense Lou Lamoriello did not sign Free Agents, but improved his team through a trade. Lamoriello is more of a fan of making trades rather than free agency.

In 2003 after winning the cup, the Devils lost Joe Nieuwendyk to the Leafs and chose not to bring back Oleg Tverdovsky, who struggled in his lone season in New Jersey. The Devils did have a major cup hangover only to lose to the Flyers in Round 1 of the 2004 playoffs. 2004 was a pointless offseason as the Devils lost nobody, but did sign defenseman Richard Matvichuk and brought back forward Krzysztof Oliwa. However, there was no season in 2004-2005 due to a lockout.

But, since the lockout, no franchise has endured bigger struggles than the Devils. In 2005, Lamoriello probably lost his biggest core players in Scott Niedermayer to Anaheim. While, Lamoriello offered the biggest contract reportedly, Scott wanted to play with his brother in Anaheim. The Devils were not aggressive in a crazy free agent market, because they had limited cap space and due to Lou's ideology. They signed Malakhov, Rafalski and McGillis along with bringing back Alexander Mogilny. Only Rafalski lasted the whole season as the rest of the three struggled with poor play. The Devils were ousted by Carolina in Round 2 of the playoffs.

In 2006, the Devils lost nobody to free agency as they managed to keep Patrik Elias, but 2007 was probably the huge low turning point for the Devils. Also in 2006-2007 they watched Niedermayer captain the Ducks to the Stanley Cup. They lost both Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski in Summer 2007 to free agency. Gomez in 2006 went to arbitration with the Devils and won the case and made it known he wanted to be paid like a superstar and went for a 7 year $51.5 million dollar contract with the rival Rangers learning from Bobby Holik. Gomez used Holik as an idol while with Devils. Rafalski took a 5 year $30 million dollar contract from Detroit. He partnered with Nicklas Lidstrom and it was the top defensive pairing in the league and they led the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup. It took Lou two days to recover from the losses and he went against his philosophy and signed Dainius Zubrus and Karel Rachunek, two quality, but not star potential players to pluck those holes. The Devils were shutout 11 times the following year and lost to the Rangers in round 1 in the playoffs.

In 2008, the Devils signed Brian Rolston and brought back Bobby Holik in free agency and lost nobody but Arron Asham. However, they did not get past Round 1 again. In 2009, they lost John Madden and Brian Gionta and did not sign anyone but Rob Niedermayer in September. Madden won the cup with Chicago. In 2010, they were active, but lost another core member in Paul Martin to the rival Penguins. However this summer they signed Parise to a one-year-deal to avoid arbitration and now are working on a long-term deal. However, the CBA states that a new deal cannot be signed until January 1st, so anything could change.

So, now the question is, what will happen should Parise leave the Devils for free agency? Several teams will court Zach come July 1st, 2012 like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, both New York Teams in the Rangers and Islanders, the Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, LA Kings, Montreal Canadiens, and his home state Minnesota Wild. All will be up to Lou should he lose Parise. If he feels that there is somebody in Free Agency worth signing that could help the team, he might push to sign him, but lets keep in mind the CBA expires in September of 2012 and it could lead to some potential free agents to not sign anywhere until a new CBA or Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached. So, the Devils probably used that as the reason to avoid arbitration and only sign a one-year-deal.

If Parise leaves, I think that Lou Lamoriello will see how much salary cap space he has and decide his action, but do not expect him to do much. He will say that he believes in the depth that he has through the prospect system and might give his younger players a chance to prove themselves in bigger situations. Mattias Tedenby might be asked to play in the spot vacated by Parise. But, other than Parise, next years Free Agent Class seems weak, so with Parise likely to be locked-up sometime during the season, it might be a slow frenzy. But, like I said, do not expect Lou to go crazy on the free agent market if Parise is to leave. Expectations will remain the same in New Jersey. Parise is yet to prove himself in the playoffs as he only has proved himself during the regular season.

Will Devils return to playoffs this year?

Last summer, the Devils were involved in one of the most ugliest contract battles in league history and for some reason it created a huge distraction for a team trying to prepare for a huge season. Yes, most of the Devils were busy working out and preparing for a season which they and the fans thought would be a year of big opportunity and possibly glory. However, the Kovalchuk contract saga was a distraction for New Jersey and a huge motivating factor for all teams to punish the Devils on the ice. While the players did not admit it as an excuse simply because this is a no excuse league, it definitely showed that it was based on the chemistry's they failed to build and relationships they tried to establish. Zach Parise was hurt for most of the year and missed 69 games, which was mostly the reason that Lou Lamoriello signed him to a one-year-deal to avoid arbitration. I think they will keep him long-term, and Lou will break his rule of no negotiating during the season and lock him up in January 2012.

Most General Managers were unhappy with the Devils and Lou Lamoriello's handling of the saga and it probably ruined his reputation around the league. It was not until Jacques Lemaire came back to replace the fired John MacLean when Lou Lamoriello started to earn some respect back around the NHL. Lamoriello traded team captain Jamie Langenbrunner to the Stars and immediately changed the dynamic on the team. Langenbrunner could have also started the Devils demise when he was out for one game in March 2010 with what the team called rest, but he interpreted it as a healthy scratch. It was shortly after that the Devils started a miracle run, which only put them out of the playoffs by a small margin. Lemaire not only salvaged the season, but he fixed Ilya Kovalchuk, fixed the mindset of the team and he also made the Devils earn back the respect of the league.

Now to this season, Lemaire is once again gone into retirement and this time he won't return for good. The Devils did not hire a coach until July 18th when they named Peter DeBoer as their new coach. Many though the Devils were giving Lemaire time to enjoy the summer and then ask him to return for one more go around. However, it was not the case, Lou actually used his time wisely and carefully and was the last vacancy to fill the position. DeBoer said he plans to stick with what worked late last season, but definitely wants to find new creative ways to find more offense and fix the struggling power play, which has plagued the Devils since 2002. Yes, the Devils power play was actually worst in the NHL when they won the cup in 2003. Now, your power play has to be effective otherwise you will not win games.

So, there are many burning question to answer for the Devils this season.

Will Ilya Kovalchuk return to his 40-50 goal form and how will he co-exist with DeBoer and Parise?

If the Devils are going to rely on Kovalchuk and Parise for offense, they can think about the lottery again for 2012. Simply put the Devils need to get certain players like Elias, Zajac and Clarkson along with Zubrus going again. But that is not the question. I think Kovalchuk will score at least 35 goals this year, but I see him finishing with 43, but I can only base it off his play form the past season. He will definitely have a huge year under DeBoer and I think he can co-exist with Parise and get along with DeBoer. It will depend on his attitude and being able to adjust to being a Devil.

Will Parise stay healthy?

There is no question that Zach Parise was a huge loss for the Devils this past season and it plagued them offensively. The Devils struggled with Parise, but he entered the season with the injury and aggravated it in the end of October. This year I think he will stay healthy and be very effective in his role.

Who will have a breakout year offensively other than the big names?

I think David Clarkson will have a breakout year offensively and having past experiences with Peter DeBoer should help him. He was most excited to know that he was the new coach.

Will Larsson make the team and how effective can he be?

I think Larsson will make the team, but he will play some games in Albany during the middle of the season. He will be effective when he plays, but I think some Albany assignments will help his development.

Will they make the playoffs?

As I mentioned in the previous post, I have them finishing 7th in the East and I think if they make it past round one, the season will be a success.

New Ex-Devil Colin White signs with Sharks

Colin White's time as a free agent lasted all but less than 24 hours. The San Jose Sharks signed him to a 1 year deal worth $1 Million dollars. White was bought out along with recently acquired Trent Hunter yesterday saving the Devils almost $5.9 million in cap space.

White will give the Sharks some toughness that they lack come playoff time. He will likely be in and out of the line-up depending who the Sharks play and will be a 3rd line defenseman. There is no word today on what the Devils plan to do with the cap space the recent buyouts created.

Devils officially buyout Colin White and Trent Hunter

The best news entering the 2011-2012 season for the New Jersey Devils is that they will not have salary cap issues facing them like they did last year. Today the Devils officially bought out the contracts for defenseman Colin White and recently acquired forward Trent Hunter. Right now, the Devils have roughly a little under $5.9 million in cap space remaining.

Both players will have part of their salaries count against the Devils cap for the next two seasons, but its only a part. With White gone, the Devils now only have Patrik Elias and Martin Brodeur as the only two players remaining from their 2003 Stanley Cup Championship squad. Hunter was acquired last week from the Islanders in a trade for Brian Rolston.

It is not yet known whether Lou Lamoriello will make any further transactions to use up part of the space, but it might only be a small one. I doubt any further moves will be made, so here is their current projected line-up:

Ilya Kovalchuk || Travis Zajac || Nick Palmieri
Zach Parise || Patrik Elias || Dainius Zubrus
Adam Henrique || Jacob Josefson || Mattias Tedenby
Eric Boulton || David Steckel || David Clarkson
Extras: Vladimir Zharkov, Cam Janssen, Rod Pelley

Henrik Tallinder || Mark Fayne
Andy Greene || Anton Volchenkov
Bryce Salvador || Adam Larsson
Extras: Mark Fraser, Matthew Corrente, Alexander Urbom.

2011-2012 Unofficial Standings Predictions

Ok, its August and the rosters are not set yet, so here are my early standings predictions:

Eastern Conference:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Washington Capitals
3. Buffalo Sabres
4. Boston Bruins
5. Philadelphia Flyers
6. NY Rangers
7. New Jersey Devils
8. Tampa Bay Lightning
9. Montreal Canadiens
10. Florida Panthers
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. Winnipeg Jets
13. Toronto Maple Leafs
14. NY Islanders
15. Ottawa Senators

Western Conference:

1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. Vancouver Canucks
3. Los Angeles Kings
4. Detroit Red Wings
5. San Jose Sharks
6. Nashville Predators
7. Anaheim Ducks
8. St. Louis Blues
9. Calgary Flames
10. Phoenix Coyotes
11. Dallas Stars
12. Columbus Blue Jackets
13. Minnesota Wild
14. Colorado Avalanche
15. Edmonton Oilers

Devils avoid arbitration with Parise, but fail to sign him long-term

Well the Devils will not be going to the dreadful arbitration hearing with Zach Parise, but they did not lock him up long-term. The Devils agreed to a one-year deal with Parise, which means he can become unrestricted on July 1, 2012. No financial details of the one-year-deal were released.

So, why only a one year deal for Parise. Well, for once there could be a lot of factors. His injury this past season might have been the biggest factor in his price. Another reason could be the consecutive season's of struggles for the New Jersey Devils and failure to get out of the first round. Parise might not be sold on the Devils long-term just yet. Devils better have a great year this year in order to sell him long-term. Also, the collective bargaining agreement expires in September of 2012, which also might have been a factor. The Devils will also have a lot of money going of the cap next summer which could give them much more flexibility than now.

Parise's one-year-deal might mean the Devils could play out this season without a captain. As per CBA, the Devils cannot sign him to a new contract until January 1, 2012, so it will be a 5 month wait at least until they can start negotiating a long-term deal. However, Lamoriello acknowledged the two sides will try to get a long-term pact worked out before July 1st of next summer.

Can Devils lock up Parise long-term if he goes through arbitration?

The word "Arbitration" in the National Hockey League has in most occasions been the equivalent of the "F" word in the English language. It has been particularly harsh to the New Jersey Devils. In Summer of 2001, Bobby Holik went to arbitration and left the Devils for the rival Rangers in 2002. Scott Niedermayer in 2004 went to arbitration and left the Devils in 2005 for Anaheim and he did not even get paid that contract. Finally, in 2006 Scott Gomez went to arbitration and left to the rival Rangers in 2007 taking the Holik route to get rich.

Other teams also suffered through arbitration, like the Buffalo Sabres, who had to walk away from JP Dumont's award in 2006. This summer the Chicago Blackhawks decided not to bring back defenseman Chris Campoli and opted out of any arbitration process making him an unrestricted free agent. Now, there is no way the Devils will walk away from the Parise arbitration award, and Lamoriello said trading him is not an option, but if come close to trade deadline and there are no indications that Parise wants to stay long term with Devils, Lou might have to seriously consider a trade. Parise will be worth a lot like 1 or 2 current roster players, a 1st round pick and a top end prospect.

Now to the big question, can the Devils still sign him next year. Arbitration as mentioned above is like the F word in a way. It ruins relationships between the team, player and his agents. It will be very tough, but obviously it all depends how Parise will feel after the hearing and if there are any hurt feelings. If there is not, chances are good that he resigns next summer for long-term. But if there are hurt feeling, a trade by the deadline might be necessary, because he could be as good as gone.

There are a lot of whispers that Zach Parise's close family and friends might be pressuring him to just sign for one year with or without arbitration. Also, there is the case of the disappointing season the Devils had from 2007 til now where they are yet to make it out of Round 1 of the playoffs. Maybe, Parise wants a one year deal and put some pressure on the Devils to make a deep playoff run to sell him in Jersey long-term and show him the commitment of winning. We shall see, but I still think they get something done before the hearing.

Devils clear space to sign Parise by dealing Rolston to Islanders

The Devils finally found a taker for Rolston's hefty $5.025 Million dollar salary and its the division rival Islanders. Rolston was traded in exchange for forward Trent Hunter. Hunter underwent major knee surgery in February but had 1 goal and 3 assists in 17 games for the Islanders this past season.

With the trade, the Devils now have $8.5 million in cap space left to try to sign Parise, who is scheduled for an arbitration hearing next Wednesday. But with today's move, the Devils got rid of their cap headache and their chances of signing Parise to a lucrative deal increased. This deal paves the way for Parise to play with Elias and Zubrus this season with Kovalchuk staying on the Palmieri and Zajac unit.

Trent Hunter is expected to take a physical with Devils in the next 48 hours. Lamoriello told reporters, he expects Hunter to be on the Devils this season.

Devils enter crucial 10 days as Parise hearing nears

These next 10 days are expected to be very busy for the Devils as they club attempts to sign Parise to a contract and avoid the dreadful arbitration process. Parise has made it known he and the Devils want to avoid arbitration and he wants a long-term contract. The Devils chose to take Parise to arbitration because they did not want him to field any restricted free agent offer sheets. Nashville did the same with their RFA captain Shea Weber.

The Devils currently have close to $4 million remaining in cap space to sign Parise. Therefore Lou has made it known he will likely need to make a trade in order to be able to sign Zach. Lou could also send players to the minors or put injured players like Salvador on LTIR to get some cap relief. But chances are high that he makes a move or two to make room for Parise.

Parise is the favorite to be named the new captain of the Devils assuming he signs an extension. Kovalchuk could also get the honor if Parise is only signed for one year. Other candidates for captaincy could be Henrik Tallinder, Andy Greene, Patrik Elias or Dainius Zubrus. One thing is for certain Devils are in a battle against time to sign Parise and make a trade. But chances are high that they avoid the process which ruins the relationship between the team, player and agent.

Does the hiring of DeBoer as coach bode well for Parise extension?

There is no question that fans want to see or already would have loved to see Zach Parise signed to a multi-year deal and have the "C" taped on his jersey. But that is not how business works in the NHL and a good example is the Steven Stamkos situation in Tampa. Many reporters around the NHL thought Stamkos could be traded, because he was demanding so much. Yes, he was, but Tampa locked him up for 5 years at $37.5 million dollars, with a $7.5 million dollar cap hit. Stamkos was not headed to arbitration though unlike Parise.

Now the question is, Will the surprise hiring of Peter DeBoer as Head Coach sell Parise on an extension? In many cases I think Yes, because DeBoer represents a little of what Brent Sutter started when he was Devils coach from 2007-2009. Though Parise is not familiar with DeBoer, he did tell Tom Gulitti of the North Jersey Record that DeBoer's Panthers were one of the toughest teams to play against. Parise also thrived under Sutter and is expected to do so under DeBoer if he can stay healthy.

DeBoer was an assistant coach under Brent Sutter for Team Canada in the World Juniors. But when Sutter took the leap to the NHL, DeBoer became the most sough after coach from Junior and thus took the job with Florida in 2008. So, I think it should be a good sell for Parise.

But back to the business end, whenever a player goes to arbitration or a team elects to take him there, it prevents him from fielding offer sheets from other teams. I believe that the Devils would have matched any offer sheet signed by Parise, but it would have questioned his loyalty. Usually if players go to arbitration and want to avoid it, deals get signed at the wire, so look for a contract to be signed sometime around August 1st or 2nd. I believe something will get done.

Devils end suspense, name Peter DeBoer Head Coach, shift focus to Parise

It might not be a big surprise, but the Devils ended their 100 day search for a Head Coach and named former Panthers Coach Peter DeBoer to that position. In 246 game coached, DeBoer finished with a 103-107-36 record over 3 season in Florida. He was also the coach of the Plymouth Whalers and the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) prior to coaching Florida.

DeBoer also has had past relationships with some of the current Devils. They are David Clarkson from 2002-2004, Mark Fraser and Travis Zajac. All have already endorsed DeBoer today and are very excited to play for him.

In my opinion this was a great hire, risky, but great. All the five guys I have mentioned were more of the obvious, but DeBoer is a coach who will mix blend veterans and youth very well. Although he missed the playoffs in his years in Florida, there is a huge difference between coaching the Panthers and Devils. Florida had lots of ownership problems, Jacques Martin was not passionate about the GM job and left in Summer 2009 to coach the Montreal Canadiens. The Panthers had no full-time GM as Randy Sexton was the acting GM. And new GM Dale Tallon wanted to go in a different direction and hired Kevin Dineen as his coach.

With coaching search over, Lou's attention turns to locking up Zach Parise long-term. I think Parise will be happy with DeBoer as the coach and so will Kovalchuk. With Stamkos signing a 5 year $37.5 million dollar deal with Tampa Bay, this could be the blue-print for a possible Parise deal to avoid arbitration.

Devils coaching suspense will end at 3:30 PM today

The New Jersey Devils have scheduled a 3:30 PM ET Press Conference at Prudential Center to announce a new Head Coach. Multiple sources are reporting that the new coach is either Michel Therrien or former Panthers coach Peter DeBoer. But stay tuned for a later post, because we might be in for a surprise.

No coach yet today for Devils

The bad news is that Lou has not hired a coach yet today. The good news is that unlike last Monday when Lou told reporters he was not hiring a coach the week of developmental camp, he has not told reporters that yet today. However, it can change any time. Although there is no guarantee a coach will be named this week, many feel that the time has been overdue for Lou to break his silence and the suspense.

There has been enough speculation already for Lou to break his silence. However, Lou has been known for the unknown. Maybe he will tell the media, you will have to wait til our first on ice session of training camp to see who the coach is. That will not happen until Saturday, September 17th. I doubt that will happen in fact it definitely won't. So, I say something will happen this week, so by Friday.

Is this finally the week that Lou Lamoriello breaks the silence and hires a coach?

When Lou Lamoriello was asked about this week at the end of the Adam Larsson contract conference call on Friday, he did not give an answer, and only said goodbye. So, Devils fans will have to wait to at leas tomorrow to find out whether the suspense will end or if Lou will again say no coach this week. Lamoriello was very vague in his answers about any timetable to hire a coach this past week, but maybe he was tired of getting annoyed and bombarded with coaching questions.

I will stand by my word and say that Devils need a coach no later than two weeks before the Parise arbitration hearing which is Wednesday August 3rd. So, by this Wednesday a coach will need to be named. However, many Devils fans would love to see Lou sign Parise long term even if it means not hiring a coach until after August 3rd. There is no word on whether Parise would like to see who the coach is or whether it will play a factor in his decision.

My feeling is that Lou will finally name one this week, because there has been too much speculation and too much suspense that it needs to end. But, he has to be very careful in his decision.

Devils complete developmental camp with no new coach, but make some moves

The Devils might not have a coach, but the speculation certainly continued this week as to who may get the job as the Devils closed out their prospects camp today. Adam Larsson was signed to a 3 year entry level deal worth $925,000 per season. The Devils for the second straight day added some grit by signing LW Eric Boulton after inking Cam Janssen yesterday. Boulton scored a Hat-Trick against the Devils back in December in a 7-1 rout by Atlanta.

Lamoriello would not say what his plans are for next week and would not reveal if he was going to hire a coach next week. Right now Lou Lamoriello's focus will be to hire a new coach and sign Parise to an extension or a one year deal to avoid the dreadful arbitration process. The question now is, what will happen first. If not hiring a coach and signing Parise long-term is more important which it likely is, then most fans would be happy to not see a coach until Parise gets signed. But many indications are that Parise would like to know who will coach the team.

Based on all these recent speculation about the coaching vacancy, I expect a coach to be names sometime next week.

Devils bring back enforcer Cam Janssen after dealing LeBlond to Calgary

One of the best and most memorable fights in NHL history took place back in March 2010 between Cam Janssen of the St. Louis Blues and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-LeBlond of the New Jersey Devils. Back then, Devils fans rooted for LeBlond, but not anymore. The Devils traded LeBlond to the Calgary Flames for a 5th round pick in 2012. Hour later after the deal, the Devils have signed enforcer Cam Janssen to a 1 year, 2 way contract. Janssen started his career with the Devils and had only 1 goal. He was traded to St. Louis in February of 2008 in a deal that brought Bryce Salvador to the Devils.

Janssen is expected to fight for a spot on the team and will likely split time between the minors and the big club. Cam quickly became a fan favorite of the Devils especially with his hits every time he is on the ice. Also, he is known for stirring it up with Rangers agitator Sean Avery.

By getting a 5th round pick from Calgary and a 2nd round pick in 2012 from Washington in the Jason Arnott trade, it seems very likely the Devils might forfeit their 1st round pick in the 2012 Draft for the 1st Kovalchuk contract. But, that decision has yet to be named.

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Many of you probably felt a scare that the Devils might have hired Dave Barr as an assistant coach. That is not true, Bob McKenzie's account was hacked and the tweet went nowhere. Barr was last as an assistant with the Wild, where potential Devils new coach Michel Therrien is a scout. No assistant has been chosen and no coach has been chosen. Sorry Guys.

Lemaire will not coach Devils, will remain retired

The Devils might be stretching out their coaching search into the middle of the summer, but its not because they are trying to convince Jacques Lemaire to come out of retirement again. Lemaire told Tom Gulitti of the North Jersey Record, he will not coach the Devils this season and has no future plans to ever coach them again. Many fans like and bloggers have speculated that the Devils might be giving Lemaire a huge vacation and time and then try to convince him to come back for one more year, but it won't be the case. He will however attend part of training camp this fall as a special advisor to the Devils organization.

With today's revelation by Lemaire, it means the new coach will most likely be someone outside the organization, so a fresh new face. Mike Brophy of Sportsnet in Canada believes it is down to Guy Carbonneau and Michel Therrien. If it is one of them, it would continue the Devils trend of hiring former Montreal Canadiens coaches. Carbonneau has denied that he was hired by Devils, but he does have interest in returning to coaching in the NHL and Therrien was reportedly the 2nd choice after MacLean last season.

There is a possibility that Larry Robinson could return for a 3rd stint with the Devils, but Robinson said he has not heard from Lou. Other candidates in no order are Blackhawks assistant Mike Haviland, former Stars and Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock, former Panthers coach Peter DeBoer and University of Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves. We will likely find out sometime in the next 7-10 days.