Over the last few days several reports have surfaced about Jeff Vanderbeek not being able to pay off debts and that he may lose majority ownership of the team if he doesn't pay them off soon. That, as many of you have seen, has led to a lot of speculation surrounding the franchise. Today I'll touch on that situation as well as unrestricted free agent Petr Sykora.

- I'll start with ownership for obvious reasons. Regardless of how accurate or inaccurate this report is, there's no denying the Devils are in times of financial difficulty. They do have some debts to pay off and they still need some investors to help keep the franchise stable. With that said, I'm not sure how close Vanderbeek is to losing the majority ownership of the team, if he is at all, and I'm pretty confident that regardless of what happens with him, the Devils are not going anywhere.

The Prudential Center was just built a few years back and is still one of the better facilities in the league. The lease on the arena with the city doesn't expire for a very, very long time so the Devils are in great shape in that regard. The team has also had success and their debts are not near as severe as some other teams so they're by no means on their last limb. Whether it's Vanderbeek who takes over the team, a new majority owner comes along, or even the team goes to the NHL, I think it's safe to say the Devils will be in New Jersey for a long time.

- On a completely different note, I've been trying to think about why Sykora hasn't signed an extension with the Devils for the longest time. The Devils need at least one top-9 forward, Sykora had success with the team last year and he wants to be back. Lou Lamoriello has also publicly stated the team wants him back, too. So what's the hold up? At first I thought the Devils were trying for Alex Semin or another free agent and that Sykora was the backup plan, but the more I think about it the more my stance changes. I think, and I could be wrong, that the hold up is related to contract length. Sykora probably wants a second year while the Devils may only want one.

Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg just got two year extensions, Bryce Salvador just got a three year extension, so Sykora's probably thinking "I can still produce and am at a similar age, where's my multi-year deal?"

As I said, I could be wrong but I think this may be what the hold up is. Would you give Sykora a two year deal? If the money is at about one million dollars per, I would. it gives some prospects more time to develop, they retain a top-9 forward who can still score, and they keep Patrik Elias' good friend.

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