It took me a while to get back into the swing of hockey. It took me a while to come up with a word to describe this year’s NJ Devils – The Overachievers.
Sounds like the title of a movie. Indeed this season seemed like a movie on a rollercoaster.

A new building, a new Coach, the beginning of a new philosophy and strategy, some new faces, eventually a new Captain, a new jersey acting as a backup goalie, same old reliable goalie.
A lousy road start, a nice stance mid-season, a team a called “Beat of the East” at the ¾ mark, a team that fizzled shortly after trading deadline (which could be pointed out as a turning point), a tough last couple of games to solidify a playoff spot and an eventual demise in the first round to an arch-rival. I think that sums it up.

So, here are my thoughts and grades on “The Overachievers”;

Lets start in goal with Marty. What can you say?; Still a dominant top 5 goalie in the game and arguable the best that ever lived. One year older and the time has been now for the Devils to try and add another banner in the rafters under his tenure.
Signs of fatigue may be showing as he was clearly disturbed by the Avery circus in the playoffs and eventually electing to step aside from the invite to the IIHF World Hockey Championship.
A+ for Marty, F for the backup role. Not taking anything away from Kevin Week’s year off but if the Devils are not going to use their backup we definitely need to add a goalie prospect or young backup heir apparent to the thrown ASAP.

The Defense – 9 D deep!
The emergence, or should I say next step, Paul Martin took in his development was the highlight on D for me. Martin has shown much poise, maturity and the ability to turn it up a notch and transcend from D to O in a calculated way.
Honorable mention goes to Colin White playing with one and a half eyes and Mike Mottau who came out of nowhere to log important minutes on the blue line and be a dependable Dman (Is there an award for Overachiever of the year?).
Bryce Salvador did not have much time, along with his injury, to define himself in the D corps but from what we saw he added a physical nature we were missing. He has been quited as saying he enjoyed his brief tenure in NJ and does not rule out a return. Lou, please lets keep this guy.
Andy Greene I am on the fence still despite disappointing me so next year will be make or break for him as there are some youngsters knocking on the door to become a 7th dman for the Devils.
Vishnevski, Rachunek (who will not return with rumours he was blackballed by Devils management for having conversations with a Russian team), Johnny Oduya (AKA Orr-Duya due to the fact he displays Orr-like flashes every 65 games or so) and Brookbank were all but average and nothing to brag about, a bunch of 5th, 6th and 7th Dmen on most teams.
C for the defense – But we need to add a legitimate top 4 defenseman this off-season no doubt! Salvador, Mottau and Brookbank are UFAs. Mottau has also expressed interest in returning.

The Forwards – which forwards??!!
Scoring was hard work for this Devils team. Lack of scoring is what contributed to our demise and eventual 1st Round exit. Not getting a 2nd line scorer killed us and Lou has to take ownership in that failed attempt despite the fact of rumors that he dangled Gionta to the Thrashers hoping to win the Hossa sweepstakes.
I found it hard to categorize the F in one bunch like the D.
A+ goes to;
John Madden (Selke Trophy finalist) as he did everything in a nice comeback season scoring goals, killing penalties and adding leadership.
An A also goes to Zach Parise who had another career season and shown he is a clutch performer despite a few dry spells. Zach is our go-to forward and future Captain and has been named alternate Captain for Team USA in the upcoming IIHF World Hockey Championships.
Jay Pandolfo is right behind with an A-. Jay is an UFA and has expressed an interest in returning and getting a deal done before he becomes UFA, the Devils will resign Pandolfo.

B goes to;
Sergei Brylin and the workhorse he is. The little train that could. Another UFA that wants to stay. He has an option this year but would rather have a multi year deal at perhaps a lower salary. There is a spot for this role player and he is more than welcome – at the right price.
Another B goes to Mike Rupp based on how strong he finished and the contribution he gave given his role on the team. Going from 3 minutes to 15 minutes per game is a nice jump and he was quite effective throwing his body and shooting the puck. I still think about the choice words he had for Paul Mara during the playoffs and Versus microphones were strategically placed behind the net and gave us clear sound!

C goes to a bunch;
Elias and Langenbrunner – Im sure the whole “C” from Patty to Jamie had an effect early on. Both showed signs of life but clearly did not play up to expectations. Period.

C-
Clarkson, Gionta, Zubrus, Zajac need to pick up their play. Gio was invisible for most of the season. Clarkson can be a pest but needs to be more effective AND put some goals in the net! Zajac was quite inconsistent and perhaps a sophomore slumo. Zubrus, our prized Free Agent signing, was less than spectacular and hasn’t really found a home anywhere as they need to create linemates for him.

D goes to;
Asham and Pelley. Basically non-factors. Asham, a UFA who I thought was a great pickup didn’t really pan out in my opinion. My Asham highlight was his fight with Riley Cote of the Flyers but other than that sporadic energy and hustle came from him. Pelley with more time in the future we will be able to get a better gauge on him.

The Coaching Staff gets a B
I think that Sutter is very safe in the organization. I think that Sutter has taken the reigns and done things without worrying about who is looking over his shoulder. He has demonstrated class but has also used the media to lash out at players. I love his emotion and passion and his second year as bench boss should show us the real Coach Sutter. Not since Lemaire and Burns do we have a strong Coach.
We have seen this Devils team trend away from the defensive machine showing signs of run-and-gun but we do not have the players to maintain that tempo, we need to add those kind of players.
I think Lou will, more than ever, take a lot of direction from the Coaching staff going forward.
Larry Robinson, John MacLean, Tommy Albelin and Jacques Caron round out an exceptional staff that has experience and commands respect. Keep an eye out for people such as Scott Stevens, Sergei Brylin, Jay Pandolfo to someday step behind the bench in some way.

Scouting Staff and Mr. Conte
* Keep an eye out for my upcoming interview with Jared Ramsden, Devils correspondent for Hockeysfuture.com

Lou Lamoriello in my book gets a C
I think not getting some kind of scorer at the deadline still leaves a sour taste in my mouth despite adding Salvador. He has admitted taking blame for the season, after all it is a group effort.
Players like Federov, Ryder, Gelinas were affordable for the Devils taste and we ended up with a goose egg.
And Im not even talking about the UFA signings of Zubrus, Asham and Vishnevski yet.

Lou, things have changed… the NHL has changed… the Devils are changing…
We need some noise this summer and we need to make a splash.
Anything less than a top line forward and to pair Dman will be unacceptable. Go back to our hay days, every cup winning team had a specific center – Broten the playmaker, Arnott the north/south big guy who created room, Gomez the flashy/dynamic playmaker. We need someone like that!
There will never be another Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer but we could hope for another poor man’s version. I see Paul Martin developing Niedermayer-like qualities, we need an imposing Dman that can add some ingredients that Stevens brought both on and off the ice.

As Devils fans we have been spoiled for over a decade. As long as Marty is between the pipes the New Jersey Devils will not rebuild.

We will have plenty of time to speculate on possible trades at the draft and UFA signings but for now this is the feeling that I leave the season with.

Lets close the book as another chapter has been written in Devils history and lets get ready to write a new one.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with me? Speak out.

Truly yours,
The Devils Advocate

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