Crib Notes - New Jersey Devils

I'm going cover all 30 teams. Aggressive? Not really. No information in these crib notes is new or useful.



New Jersey Devils
Last season - 1st in the Atlantic, Lost a heartbreaking 1st round series to Carolina in 7 games.
Lost defensive center, John Madden to Chicago via free agency
Lost backup goaltender (who held the fort down for a good chunk of last season), Scott Clemmensen to Florida via free agency
Lost tough guy Mike Rupp to Pittsburgh via free agency
Lost center Brian Gionta to Montreal via free agency - biggest move for the team
Signed backup goalie (who sneaky had a strong end to last season for the Islanders), Yann Denis as a free agent
Resigned - Johnny Oduya, Andy Greene, Travis Zajac, and Brendan Shanahan

Questions going into 2009-2010:
Will the Canadian Olympic camp mean that Marty finally shows up Devils camp in decent shape?
How much will they miss Brian Gionta?
Does Shanny have anything left in the tank?
How come the Devils can't sign free agents?
Will Jacques Lemaire bring back some Cup magic from 94-95?
At what point in the season will Lou Lamoriello fire Lemaire and put himself behind the bench?
How many Affliction t-shirts will I see down in Point Pleasant this weekend?

Poised for a breakout season:
Zach Parise picks up where he left off last year and puts up a mastodon-like 100+ season.

Guys on roster that I can't tell apart:
John Oduya and Bryce Salvador



If you had to buy one NJD sweater:
Grab a David Clarkson red jersey. If you don't have to pay by the letter try and fit Letourneau-Leblond on the back.

Player whose game you sneaky like:
No sneaky here. Zach Parise is an American hero. We're looking for him to be a rainmaker in Vancouver.

Players on the roster who sound best through a greasy Jersey accent:
"JP's kid, Zach Pareeezy"
"Johnny Orrduya"

Old guys:
This is a pretty old team
Shanny is 40
Marty is 37
Brian Rolston is 36
Jamie Langenbrunner is 34. I keep forgetting that he has been around for so long.

Young guys:
Travis Zajac is 24, Parise is 25 and the rest of the team is kind of old.

Tough guys:
Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (despite having a name like a movie jewel theif) is a beast.
David Clarkson hits, fights and wants to take sean Avery's head off.

Interesting:
Marty and Sheldon Souray are co-owners of a pizza joint in Montreal called "La Pizzeria Etc."
New Jersey has more diners than any other state.

Nostalgia:
Did I mention that Jacques Lemaire is back behind the bench?

NHL 94 players:
Alexander Semak as starting C
Chris Terreri in net
Scott Stevens and Slava Fetisov on D
Billy Guerin was rated a 49 that year.

YouTube:
Parise's top 5 goals from last season. The shootout goal nearly knocked me off my chair. Sick.


- Nemmy