Bleacher Report - Articles by Brett Bodner

Jacques Lemaire Returns to Once Again Coach the Devils

Brett Bodner — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:30:54 -0400

Ladies and Gentlemen, let the trapping begin.

Just two weeks ago, Lou Lamoriello announced that Jacques Lemaire would be stepping behind the bench to take over the vacant coaching position for the New Jersey Devils.

This is going to be Jacques' second go-around with the New jersey Devils, as he coached the Devils from 1993-1998, included a Stanley Cup victory in 1995—the first one in team history. He had a record of 199-122-57 with the Devils, and he even won Coach of the Year in the 1993-1994 season.

Jacques Lemaire was head coach of the Minnesota Wild until he stepped down at the end of last season. Lemaire was named head coach on the Minnesota Wild in 2000, and he was the first head coach in franchise history. In nine seasons, he was, for the most part, successful in Minnesota. His record was 293-255-108 with the Wild.

What Lemaire brings to the table is a very defensive style of hockey called the trap. The trap mainly focuses on defense and trying to force the other team to make a mistake. However, the trap hasn't had much success in the new NHL, and it can make the game very boring.

Does this mean the Devils won't be successful? Not necessarily.

This time around, Lemaire said that he wants to be good both offensively and defensively. With players like Zach Parise, Jamie Langenbrunner, Patrik Elias, and Travis Zajac, you can see how maybe, just maybe, this team can excel offensively, even though they will be playing the trap.

The trap can also help out Martin Brodeur, who appears to be in the decline of his career. Facing less shots can only help him out because lately when the team depends on Martin Brodeur he doesn't step up (see game 7 of this year).

Additionally, Lemaire is the winningest coach in Devils history, and has won the Jack Adams Trophy on two occasions—one of which was with the New Jersey Devils.

So what does the Lemaire move mean for the Devils? I believe it means that the Devils have started the process of setting up John MacLean to be the head coach in the future.

Lemaire is 63 years old, and probably won't be coaching here for many years. John MacLean was given the head coaching job of the Albany River Rats, so Lou can see how he does as a head coach.

But what does that mean for the present Devils?

As of right now, the picture is very blurry, and you can't tell if they are going to be successful or if they are going to fail, and not live up to the winning standards that have been expected here for the past 15 years.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens, but if it's anything like what has happened for the guys who left and then came back (ex. Holik and Rolston), then Devils fans need to prepare themselves for disappointment.

New Jersey Devils Show Travis Zajac The Money

Brett Bodner — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:23:08 -0400

On July 22, with an arbitration hearing on the horizon, the New Jersey Devils finally reached an agreement with Travis Zajac. They resigned him to a multi-year multi-million-dollar contract for four years that's worth $15.55 million, which is a cap hit of $3,887,500.

Both sides were extremely happy to get a deal done and Travis is glad that he is still a Devil. Zajac can now look forward to the 2009-2010 season, and he doesn't have to worry about having to go to an arbitration hearing.

The New Jersey Devils showed him the money by giving him a huge multi-million-dollar contract. I believe it's now time that Zajac shows the Devils the numbers and some consistency.

Travis Zajac has been in the NHL for three years now and, at times, it has been a very bumpy road. In his first NHL season he struggled at times, as he was trying to adapt to the speed of the game at the NHL level. He scored 17 goals and he had 25 assists in 80 games. The next season he struggled even more and his numbers decreased. He scored 14 goals and had only 20 assists. Travis played in every single game that season as well. Last season, it appeared that Travis Zajac had broken out of his shell and he put up some pretty good numbers. Travis had 20 goals and 42 assists, all while playing on the Devils' top line alongside Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise.

With the kind of money he's getting paid, Zajac needs to put up some big time numbers. He has now adjusted to the NHL and he has the talent and ability to do so.

At times, Zajac looks like he can't be stopped. He shoots the puck well, makes great passes, scores big-time goals, and just plays well all around. However, at other times Zajac looks lost and his game is way off. If he can play well consistently and put up the big numbers, Zajac will be well worth the money that the Devils gave him. If he doesn't, then it will just be yet another Devils' player with a huge contract who doesn't play up to their paycheck like Dainius Zubrus and Brian Rolston.

Travis Zajac can be the next great Devil alongside Zach Parise. All the pieces are there for him to be successful. All he needs to do is put them together and help the Devils continue to be a successful team.

The "New" New Jersey Devils: Do They Have What It Takes?

Brett Bodner — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:29:02 -0400

Although it is still very early in the season, I have to say that I love the way the New Jersey Devils are playing.

Sure the scores in both those games were 2-1 and were very close, but you have to look deeper than the score to see the improvements that the Devils have made.

In their first game last Friday night the Devils squared off against the New York Islanders, and in my opinion, they looked like a completely different team. I got the feeling when watching it, that this year could be something special.

The Devils came out confident and did something I haven’t seen in years from them—they came out shooting and appeared to be focused on trying to score goals rather than playing the game with a defensive mind set.

A perfect example of this can be seen on their power play. Last year, the Devils were terrible on the power play and it was hard to watch at times. This year, they are taking a more aggressive approach by firing lots of shots at the net.

This new method appears to be working—they are generating many more scoring chances and on opening night, Zach Parise scored a goal on the power play.

Not only is their new offense a great thing to see, but as usual the Devils's defense appears to be coming together. Saturday night against Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsuburgh, the Devils held the powerful offense to a mere 15 shots.

At the end of the game, the Devils had tallied 49 shots, which is also something Devil fans are not used to.

Zach Parise and Patrik Elias have had two great games so far, as they are the only two Devils to have scored in the first two games. You can expect great things from these two this year, as long as they keep playing they way they are capable of.

I believe the rest of the Devils offense will step up soon. It’s only a matter of time before Brian Rolston, Brian Gionta, John Madden, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Travis Zajac light up the lamp.

As for goal tending, Marty Brodeur was on the top of his game versus the Islanders and the Penguins. It appears that Marty is proving many wrong by not losing a step.

He has made many beautiful saves, including a great stop on Kyle Okposo’s penalty shot, Friday night. He really only let in one quality goal this year, as the Islanders scored their only goal against the Devils on a shot that reflected off Paul Martin’s skate.

The only thing that New Jersey Devils really need to change is the amount of penalties they get. Sure, the referees are having a great time calling penalties this year, but the Devils can try not to take as many.

It’s an exciting time right now for Devil fans everywhere. It’s very early still, but you got to love what has occurred in the first two games.

The Devils have a big test tonight, as they face off against the New York Rangers. Last year, the Devils struggled against the Rangers and they got eliminated by them in the playoffs. Tonight is a chance for redemption for the New Jersey Devils, and a chance to show everyone that this team is for real.

Open Mic: The Greatest New Jersey Devils Players of All Time

Brett Bodner — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:43:10 -0400

Well, Devil fans, here it is. My list of the greatest Devils of all time—so far.

I’m sure in a couple more years names like Brian Gionta, Zach Parise, and Paul Martin could be added to this list, while others will be taken out. For now, here’s the best of 26 years of Devils hockey:

Line 1: Kirk Muller-John Madden-John MacLean

Line 2: Patrik Elias-Scott Gomez-Petr Sykora

Line 3: Valeri Zelepukin-Bobby Holik-Randy McKay

Line 4:Patrick Verbeek-Aaron Broten-Claude Lemieux

Defense 1: Scott Stevens-Scott Niedermayer

Defense 2: Brian Rafalski-Bruce Driver

Defense 3:Ken Danekyo-Tommy Albelin

Goaltender 1: Martin Brodeur

Goaltender 2: Chris Terreri

The Favre Era Begins in New York: What the Upcoming Season Holds for the Jets

Brett Bodner — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:57:01 -0400

Coming into last night’s preseason game versus the Washington Redskins, many Jet fans were wondering the same thing; can Brett Favre be successful as a New York Jet? Well, after watching last night's game, I believe that Jet fans everywhere have a reason to be excited for the upcoming season.

Although Favre only played for 14 plays, he appeared to be as good as ever. He went 5-6 for 48 yards, including a four yard touchdown pass to Dustin Keller in the first quarter. Brett looked calm and confident in the pocket and it looks like he trusts his receivers.

Now, Brett’s not going to get all of the credit here. The New York Jets have a great bunch of receivers and playmakers on the offensive side of the football. Jericho Cotchery had over 1,130 receiving yards last year with two touchdowns. He is a great playmaker and has great hands.

On the other side of the line is Laveranues Coles. Last year, Coles had a team high six touchdowns and only 646 yards. Coles has been a great receiver for years and with Favre playing quarterback, I can only expect those numbers to increase.

You can also look for a big year out of rookie tight end Dustin Keller, who is already being compared to Dallas Clark.

Brett also has a great pair of running backs to hand the ball off to. Leon Washington is a speedy and skillful running back out of Florida State, and it’s just a matter of time before he has a breakout season. He also has veteran Thomas Jones, who has rushed for over 1,000 yards in the past three seasons.

Brett seems to be coming along fine and it looks like he’s starting to learn the Jet playbook. Sure, he ran some basic running and passing plays, but it seemed to work in his first game in New York.

In case you can’t tell, I’m very excited for the upcoming season and for once I’m proud to be a Jet fan. Even though there are still some question marks about how Brett Favre will do outside of Green Bay and if he can learn the entire playbook before Week One rolls around, I believe the New York Jets will have a very good season.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that with Brett Favre and a slightly improved defense, the Jets will be 11-5 this year and make the playoffs.

However, if Favre gets hurt and is out for a while then I believe the Jets will be decent. But they won’t be able to compete with their much hated rivals, New England Patriots. We’ll just have to wait and see what this season will hold for the new and improved New York Jets.

2008-2009 New Jersey Devils Season Preview

Brett Bodner — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:16:39 -0400

Well Devil fans it’s almost that time again…the start of the 2008-2009 NHL season. After last years disappointing loss to the New York Rangers in the first round, the Devils have gone out and made some great off season moves to improve the team and to hopefully get the Devils over the playoff slump they have been experiencing since the last time they won the Stanley Cup in 2002-2003 season.

The first big move the Devils made was signing free agent Brian Rolston to a four-year deal for over 20 million over the next four years. Rolston has been playing for the Minnesota Wild for the past three years and had a solid season last year with 28 goals and 31 assists.

This addition will help the Devils greatly, as he began his career with the Devils and he knows the system well. He could also fill the hole that was left when Gomez betrayed the Devils and signed with the rival New York Rangers.

The second big move the Devils made was signing Bobby Holik to a one year deal worth 2.5 million. Bobby Holik clearly on the decline of his career didn’t have a great season last year as he only had 15 goals and 19 assists for the Atlanta Thrashers.

However a move back to the New Jersey Devils could revitalize the 6’4, 230 pound center. With the Devils early in his career he had many great seasons where he put up points and played tough hard nosed defense.

He was also there for their Stanley Cup win in 1995 and 2000. Hopefully the good Bobby Holik will be seen this year as he returns to the team he played for as a rookie.

The New Jersey Devils should have another great season this year. They didn’t lose any big players and added two that should help the team improve. You can expect another great year out of Zack Parise, who led the Devils in points last year with 65.

Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta should bounce back and score more goals this year with the addition of Rolston. Last year, they both had disappointing goal totals as Elias had 22 and Gionta had 20.

Defensively, the Devils are not as good as they were back in the Stanley Cup days but they have some skilled young guys playing the positions. Paul Martin had a great year last year and came out looking like the best defenseman on the team.

This year I think that Bryce Salvador and Vitaly Vishnevski have to prove themselves and contribute to a Devils defense which used to be known as the best in the NHL.

It has been rumored that Lou Lamoriello is looking to add another defenseman possibly two that will help contribute and get this team back to where they belong…in the Stanley Cup finals.

As for Marty Brodeur, I don’t think I even need to go in to that. We all know he will have yet another solid year and will most likely win 40 games yet again. I don’t believe he’ll win the Vezina trophy again, but you can never count out Marty Brodeur. Brodeur will be key to the New Jersey Devils season this year as he always is.

Now the question is can the Devils win the Atlantic division? Although a toss up, they have the talent on the roster to win the division, but for the first time in years every single team in the Atlantic can compete and even win the division. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens, in this very exciting upcoming hockey season.