NHL 2010 Opening Night: New Jersey Devils Season Preview

With Opening Day now just hours (or days) away, and the Devils officially compliant of the salary cap, it’s time to take a look at the upcoming season and give my thoughts on how things presently look for the upcoming year.  It’s been a LONG off-season, but it’s time to now play some real hockey...for the regular season is finally here!

Keep in mind GM Lou Lamoriello may have a few roster tweaks left in him before Friday's first faceoff, and will be faced with salary cap issues for the foreseeable future, unless a significant salary is moved from the roster, but we are going to analyze the roster in place as of this writing.

GOALTENDERS

Not much of a change here from the past, as once again MARTIN BRODEUR is expected to carry most of the load for the Devils between the pipes.  There isn't much to say about Brodeur that hasn't already been said about the NHL's all-time leader in minutes played, wins and shutouts. If he's not the best of all-time, he's certainly near the top on nearly all lists.

One change from the recent past is the acquisition of a veteran backup, in JOHAN HEDBERG, the type of backup the team hasn't had since the days of John Vanbeisbrouck and Chris Terreri in the early 2000s. 

Expect Brodeur to play about 60-65 games and hopefully be a little more fresh come the postseason.  The team should have more confidence in Hedberg then it has in recent years when guys like Scott Clemmensen, Kevin Weekes, and Yan Danis were the backup, which will hopefully pay dividends when the games count the most.

DEFENSE

A lot of turnover here from last year, as Paul Martin departed for Pittsburgh, signing a five-year contract on July 1.  The Devils countered by bringing in ANTON VOLCHENKOV (six-year deal) and HENRIK TALLINDER (four-year deal) to help bolster the defense. 

Volchenkov is a player who plays in the style of Devils legend Scott Stevens, and Tallinder plays a solid jack-of-all trades type of style on defense.  Both should help the Devils in terms of keeping the puck not only out of the net, but should help alleviate a lot of pressure in their defensive end. The transition game was the single biggest problem the Devils encountered in their disappointing playoff performance last season and is something the Devils hope to correct with help from their two major acquisitions.

ANDY GREENE is expected to be paired with Tallinder to start the season. Greene had a breakout year last season and will be counted on to repeat it, or at least come close. If he does, Greene will earn himself a big payday in the off-season, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. But for this year, Greene will be counted on to make a lot of big plays from the blue line.

COLIN WHITE and MARK FRASER also return to the fold, adding some toughness to the backline and likely set to initially be the third pairing on defense.  Whether or not White stays around after (or if) BRYCE SALVADOR (concussion) returns from a concussion injury is a story that will be closely monitored.  Most likely, Fraser will have to earn the right to keep his playing time, and may eventually be relied on in more of a seventh defenseman role, unless he plays well enough to keep his spot in the lineup.

Rookie ALEXANDER URBOM (likely to be paired with Volchenkov) fills out the defensive corps to start the year.  Urbom, just 19, was heralded as the teams' best prospect by GM Lou Lamoriello during the off-season, coming off an excellent first year at the junior level.  How he responds and adjusts/reacts to the NHL level will dictate how NHL ready he is and if he stays with the Devils or goes down to the AHL for some seasoning.  Either way, the future looks very bright for Urbom, a third round pick by the Devils in the 2009 draft. 

ANSSI SALMELA (torn ACL), like Salvador, will begin the season on Long-Term Injured Reserve and is expected to miss a significant portion of the season after injuring his knee while representing his native country Finland in the World Championships. 

Other defensemen you may see utilized in some capacity include MATT TAORMINA, who is a great story. An undrafted free agent out of Providence, he has the potential to become the next undrafted Devil to have success in the NHL, following players like Brian Rafalski, David Clarkson, Andy Greene, or John Madden that have come before him.

Taormina was a big surprise at the AHL level last year under head coach John MacLean, and clearly caught MacLean's eye again in training camp this year. His low salary of $510,000 and puck moving ability didn't hurt either, two things the Devils are in need for, but was a last minute demotion away from making the Opening Night roster.

Also, MATTHEW CORRENTE is likely to see time at some point. The first round pick from 2006 has developed nicely and likely deserves an NHL shot this year, after a cup of coffee with the team last season, including a stint as a forward in last year's playoffs.

FORWARDS

The first line for the Devils will be one of the more talented lines in the league this year. Anchored by the $100 million man ILYA KOVALCHUK and fellow superstar ZACH PARISE, the Devils sport two 40 plus goal scorers.  Both are likely on any list of the top 15 forwards in the league. 

The center for the ZIP line (as its been called on the Devils website) will be the underrated and sometimes overlooked TRAVIS ZAJAC, who Bobby Holik called the "Jonathan Toews of the East," while speaking on NHL Live earlier today. Zajac is an excellent two-way forward who is quite capable of putting up anywhere over 80 points, if not the possibility of higher if he plays an entire season with the like of Kovalchuk and Parise. All three players have strong regular seasons on their resumes, but will need to take their postseason performance to the next level (compared to previous years) for the team to end up playing hockey in June.

The second line is set to be a reunion of sorts as JASON ARNOTT and PATRIK ELIAS expect to produce a successful sequel of the "A-Line" that scored so many goals in helping the Devils to many wins in the late 90s and early 2000s, including teaming up for the 2000 Stanley Cup winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Dallas.

Arnott was re-acquired from the Nashville Predators in the off-season for a second round pick and prospect Matt Halischuk. He will be counted on to fill the second line center role, a spot the Devils have had a difficult time filling really since the departure of Scott Gomez via free agency. 

Elias is often overlooked (as I've often pointed out), but has had little, if any drop-off from the highly skilled and often under appreciated career he has had with the Devils, including being the all-time leading scorer in team history. 

Playing the role of Petr Sykora on the A-Line will be JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER. Langenbrunner, who was acquired by the Devils in 2002 in a four-player trade that ironically sent Arnott to Dallas, clearly has a bit to prove this year, after a very frustrating end to last season. Clearly in disagreement with then head coach Jacques Lemaire, Langenbrunner seemed to have it take its toll with his on-ice play (along with many of his teammates) in the playoff loss to Philadelphia. He, along with Arnott, is in the last year of his contract, and playing for a new deal for next season and possibly beyond. All three guys have a long track record of success and will look for differing forms of redemption this year.

On the third line, there seems to be the makings of a pretty complete line. On the left wing, there is BRIAN ROLSTON, who has a lot to prove after two mostly disappointing seasons in his return to New Jersey. Even though its unlikely Rolston could justify his cap hit of $5.062 million, he still could produce near 25 goals, while adding a presence to both special teams units.

In the middle is DAINIUS ZUBRUS, a big man who can help clear space and add a little bit of everything. On the right wing is DAVID CLARKSON, a gritty workmanlike player who can chip in offense as well as some snarl. You'd feel pretty good about things if you could manage 60-70 goals out of this unit. Keep in mind though, that if Lamoriello had the chance, he'd likely move either Rolston or Zubrus to clear some salary cap space.

Right now, the fourth line is set to provide some toughness, with a little bit of offense mixed in. Left wing will see PIERRE-LUC LETOURNEAU-LEBLOND, who will be the resident "tough guy" for the Devils, standing up for his teammates when the need arises. On the right side, is ROD PELLEY, who adds a little bit of everything to the lineup. He isn't really outstanding at any facets of the game, but at the same time, does a lot of things OK.

At the moment, the surprising slot on the roster is in the middle, where ADAM HENRIQUE was recalled to fill the 20th spot on the roster. After two incredible seasons with the two-time Memorial Cup defending Windsor Spitfires, it was widely thought Henrique would benefit from some time in the AHL. While he technically is on the roster, it would not be too surprising if he was moved from the roster before Friday's game as part of another transaction, perhaps a trade?

Other forwards sure to be involved at some point during the season include ADAM MAIR, who was brought to training camp on a professional tryout. Having stuck around the team, you'd think it was a near certainty he is going to be added to the roster as soon as there is room under the salary cap for him. 

Former first round picks JACOB JOSEFSON (2009) and MATTIAS TEDENBY (2008) both have a ton of upside and will very likely get a chance at the NHL level this year. Josefson appears to be slightly ahead of Tedenby in terms of being ready, but both could easily find themselves in a major role depending once again on any salary cap casualties or injuries.  NICK PALMIERI is a player who came up for a few games last year and did not look out of place by any means. Other players who could enter the mix include TIM SESTITO, PATRICK DAVIS, and VLADMIR ZHARKOV.

OUTLOOK

With everything the Devils had to endure this offseason, it's very easy to envision the scenario that the Devils might develop an "us versus the world" mentality. One possible distraction working against this is the fact everyone realizes at least one or two players will need to get dealt to create room under the salary cap. If this team suffers from injuries, it will likely result in a game(s) where the Devils are unable to suit up 20 players.

There is certainly enough leadership in that locker room to overcome adversity, but we are in uncharted waters here. The offseason drama from the Kovalchuk saga has the potential to be a black cloud hovering over the Devils all year.

Every time there is an injury, or if there is room needed under the salary cap for a move, it will be reminded to everyone how signing Kovalchuk put the team over the cap.  Get used to hearing it.

All that being said, this team has too much talent up and down its roster to think the team won't be a near lock for the postseason. After making the playoffs 19 of the last 20 seasons (1995-96 the lone exception), I wouldn't expect for this to be the year that streak is snapped.

The Devils have the most firepower their team has seen since the 2000-01 version which had two 40-goal scorers in Alexander Mogilny (43) and Patrik Elias (40). While there is no Scott Stevens or Scott Niedermayer, there is talent to utilize on the backline.  Transition from defense to offense and keeping the puck out of their defensive zone will be a major factor, especially in the postseason. 

Add it all up and as long as the salary cap constraints don't rule over everything, I'd expect the Devils to be strong contenders for the Atlantic Division title, and make a strong push towards a fifth trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. My prediction is they will finish second in the division, fourth in the conference, and make it to the Eastern Conference Finals before bowing out to Pittsburgh in seven games.

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