The Worst Part of the Season

Any true hockey fan would agree that the off season is the worst part of the game, especially when it starts as early as the Devils' did. We were lucky to get that far, unlike some teams, like the Thrashers and the Flyers, but it would have been nice to go until June. The season was pretty good, undoubtedly- to any casual fan, or a fan of any other team. But to us die hard fans, the season isn't very good, if it doesn't end in June and result with us getting the cup.

Now that the bad part started, Lou is faced with many decisions: six players (Gomez, Dowd, Rasmussen, Rafalski, Lukowich, and Clemmensen) will be UFAs, six more (Parise, Rupp, Janssen, Martin, Greene and Oduya) will be RFAs, and we desperately need a coach. Dowd and Rafalski will be on the roster next season, if they get any offers from Lou. I think it's safe to say all of the RFAs, with the exception of maybe Janssen and Oduya, will be here. It's gonna suck to see Gomez go. He's a talented play maker, but, not only will we most likely not have the cap space for him, is he really worth the $6 million he'll be asking for? Rasmussen is good for the checking line, but we have Clarkson and Pelley to do that, for less. Lukowich is reliable, so I hope Lou can get him to sign, but if not, it's not that big of a loss. Clemmensen will have a hard time signing somewhere, not really because of his performance, but because he doesn't play too much. The guy isn't too bad, but some teams probably don't know he even exists, and they probably think there's a reason he doesn't play too much.

Defense UFAs (for the Devils):
Quite honestly, Lukowich and Rafalski are the only two UFAs I would like to see on the Devils. I'm very against us getting Souray, regardless of how good he is on the PP. I'd rather our PP still be...not good than have a player who was -28 this season, because it shows that he screwed the Habs over more than he helped them this season.

Forward UFAs (again, for the Devils):
One day, I hear Drury's with the Sabres again. The next, he's with the Rangers. The next, he didn't sign. I'm sticking with the third option in hopes of signing him or Briere, if Gomez moves on. We need a center for the first line, and our other natural centers aren't first line material, except maybe Parise, but I'm not too sure it would be good moving him to a position he hasn't played since college, and splitting him and Zajac, who were fantastic together. Shanahan, no matter how bad he was with the Rangers, wouldn't be a bad chioce either.

Goalies:
If we can't keep Clemmensen, it's wouldn't be the end of the world. Instead of signing another backup, Jordan Parise would be a good idea (I'd pick him over Doyle too). He had a better season than Doyle, and he probably wouldn't play too many games, so no there's no harm.

Now, for the biggest piece of the puzzle: a coach. Ex coach Pat Burns and assistant coach John MacLean have both made it clear to the public that they would like the job. Scott Stevens has also been rumored to be a candiadate, but, if he coaches, it'll most likely be as assistant to whoever gets the job. Ron Wilson, the Sharks' coach from this season, 's job has been said to be hanging by a thread, but Burns or MacLean are the most talked about choices. Personally, I want Burns back, with Stevens by his side.

This all will, hopefully, be resolved by June, so we'll have to wait and see.



-Ty

{Edit} I must be spending too much time around my blogging buddy, because I meant to put my idea of a good line up for next season (without Gomez). Better late then never, right?

Elias - Briere - Gionta
Parise - Zajac - Clarkson or Langenbrunner
Pandolfo - Madden - Pelley or Langenbrunner
Brylin - Dowd - Pelley or Clarkson

- OR -

Langenbrunner - Elias - Gionta
Parise - Zajac - Clarkson
Pandolfo- Madden - Pelley
Rupp - Vrana or Dowd - Bergfors or Brylin

Rafalski or - Greene
White - Martin
Matvichuk - Lukowich or Hannan
Fraser

Brodeur
Parise or Clemmensen

Coach: Burns

Clearly, I'm not a fan of signing new players. With a different coach, I think we would be the ones waiting to see who wins the Ducks and Red Wings series, not the Senators.

Just as a side note, I'm praying that we draft James Van Riemsdyk this season. Aside from him, I really don't care for any of the draftees.