The Devils are not replacing Rafalski and Gomez. They are just making their team better, bigger, and stronger throughout the entire lineup. Lamoriello signed Vishnevski to a multi-year deal to help give the blue line some muscle. Again, the problems last year the Devils had was that they were manhandled in certain areas and definitely needed size over specialist skill. Giving more money to Rafalski and Gomez does not help the situation. But spreading money wisely over the entire roster with some size and hard nose play will give the Devils another dimension in their arsenal.

I am still thinking that Lamoriello will not make a significant trade till he has Parise and Martin locked up. As for Souray? It doesn't seem to make sense at this point to sign him and what will Lou be looking for? It would be nice to have a stud defenseman with a howitzer at the point. Souray will cost a lot of cap space and with next season's free agency crop being a good one; I do not see Souray being locked up long term with high cap number in New Jersey. I am still holding out that maybe a trade with the Canucks that would have to involve moving Brendan Morrison. The Canucks maybe looking to dump some salary for some cheaper effective role players.

Brent Sutter as coach? Wow. Devils fans, trust me when I say this: You will love Brent Sutter as a head coach of the New Jersey Devils. I've heard nothing but great things and look at the players that have gone through his Red Deer Rebels junior team: Dion Phaneuf, Colby Armstrong, Martin Erat, Cam Ward. Last year, I remembered he was rumored to be Lou's choice, but Sutter took himself out of the running to be with his junior team. If he is coach, I would love to see our current Devils players emulate his style when he played and we would be getting a good man behind the bench. We will see when if he is officially named the head coach in the next couple days.



The Devils schedule is finally out. We start the season on the road as the workers are getting the new Prudential Center ready by the first ever events being held, Bon Jovi concert on October 25th and Devils/Senators on October 27th. Another date to note: Devils/Rangers on November 14th. I will be up in Toronto for the Hall Of Fame Induction on November 12th and will have to recuperate for the big game on November 14th. I can't imagine how Devils fans will react to Scott Gomez's first game. I'll be at all four events and blog my reaction.



Dear Mr. Woo,

First let me say I love reading your articles.

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like Lou can't be done... he has addressed most of our needs but still need to find a general for the PP. Any rumors going on about picking up someone for that? Like a D-man who can move the puck well? Also, anything new on trades with the Devs?

You better believe it Lou Lamoriello is not done. He did not get caught up in the free agency frenzy when the clock stuck 12:01 and overspend on smaller players. He went out and sized up the lineup so far without breaking the bank, signed a decent backup, and soon a coach rumored as early as Friday to be officially announced. The Devils' main weakness was size, especially down the middle, in the last few seasons. And Lamoriello addressed it by signing two defensemen with decent size and a big forward with something to prove in his career. You have to believe he wants to sign Parise and Martin to deals before he decides to make a trade.

As for a puck moving defenseman, I think Lou will pull the trigger on the right trade and will make sure he does not overpay for one. With the emergence of Andy Greene and if you sign Martin, the Devils will have adequate blue liners to move the puck. I think they would like to add a presence at the point, where the defenseman doesn't cough up the puck at the blue line while trying to hold it in(cough....Rafalski) or someone with a mild slapshot that has to rely on a wrist shot, but somehow in seconds becomes a shorthanded chance for the other team the other way (cough....cough...Rafalski again) I would like to see Langenbrunner on the power play playing the point, but only if there is a defenseman with a great shot and can help out Langenbrunner by getting back because he is not a defenseman. That's the risk of having four forwards on the power play and you need to have your lone defenseman be able to keep the puck in the zone and be respected with their shot.

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