The New Jersey Devils surprised everybody this off-season by landing the most sought after free agents on the market in Russian superstar Ilya Kovalchuk. Mind you, it took three tries to get the contract approved. In the end it only cost the Devils 3 million dollars and 2 draft picks, plus Kovalchuk’s salary. Although it gained all the publicity, it wasn’t the only key move New Jersey made, as the team made some other big additions- first bringing back forward Jason Arnott and adding solid defenders Anton Volchenkov and Henrik Tallinder. Now the Devils just need to work themselves back under the cap.
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If the new additions work out New Jersey could win the Atlantic Division, however first they must contend with Eastern Conference Champions the Philadelphia Flyers, who again appear very strong, and the dynamic duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin with the Pittsburgh Penguins. While rivals the New York Rangers, will have to fight to make the play-offs and the New York Islanders are still a few years off of being competitive. Of course they will also have future Hall of Famer, Martin Brodeur to show he still has something left in the tank.
The Devils have one of the deepest and most potent group of forwards they’ve had in a long time, at least until they have to shed some salary. Kovalchuk is a six time 40 goal scorer and has scored 40 or more in the last 5 seasons. Also, the Devils have Star forward Zach Parise who appears to be among the leagues elite scorer. Parise has broken out for 176 points over the last two season. Big two-way center Travis Zajac has be a steady point producer and captain Jamie Langenbrunner is coming off the best two seasons of his career. Jason Arnott could be rejuvenated returning to play with former line-mate Patrik Elias as both could produce better than 60 points. Veterans Brian Rolston and Danius Zubrus still have some offense left and Rolston and David Clarkson could both net 20 goals. New Jersey could very well have three highly productive lines.
The defense is starting to look like the intimidating blue line of the 90’s. Volchenkov is a tremendous shutdown force and loves to lay the body. He will join Bryce Salvador, Colin White, and Mark Fraser in providing a punishing brand of hockey in New Jersey’s zone. Tallinder may not be as physical as the others but is very dependable and makes smart plays in his own zone, he’s also capable of logging big minutes as he proved in Buffalo. New Jersey will need Andy Greene to continue to step up his game, as he’s the only defenseman with the capability to put up decent offensive numbers. All in all, it won’t score much, but the Devils defense does indeed look impressive.
For the first time since Martin Brodeur became New Jersey’s starting goaltender the Devils start the season wondering about their goaltending. For nearly two decades Brodeur has been one of the best goaltenders to ever play the game and is a guaranteed first ballet Hall of Famer. He leads all goaltenders with 605 wins and 112 shutouts. However at age 38 and showing signs of slowing down last season New Jersey has to wonder if he can still play at the level he use to be capable of. To this end they signed Johan Hedberg to back up Brodeur. At the very least it should help Brodeur to have his regular season games reduced, and save him for the playoffs. It will also give the Devils a capable goaltender if Brodeur shows signs that age has finally caught up to him.
New Jersey will have to sort out there cap issues and not tire their players out too much during the regular season by using a reduced line up. New Jersey also needs Kovalchuk to continue to show he’s one of the most dynamic players in the game today and that he can also be a team player and share the spot light with Zach Parise. Even if they have to trim a player or two, the Devils still have plenty of offensive depth to make up for the losses. The biggest thing still remains Martin Brodeur’s age, and like I’ve said, everything will hinge on whether or not age has caught up to him. The potent offense and solid defense will help, but if everything continues to fall apart, it could very well be a long season in New Jersey. You decide. Is this team capable of winning the conference or will they finish dead last?
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