I will not beat around the bush, frustration has been the name of the game this summer for me when it comes to the Devils. I expected Lou to name a head coach long before the Free Agency Open Market got here and every day that he continues to delay with this, the more frustrated I get. The reason for this frustration is that I firmly believe whoever coaches this team should have had some input into whether or not Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski were important to the direction that he wanted to take the team. Since there is no head coach for this team, that descion rested completely on Lou’s shoulders. I am not saying that you would completely rely on the coaches word about resigning these guys but you need to take these players and the direction the new coach wants to take the team into consideration. At the end of the day it became a money issue and the future head coach may inherit a team he’s not happy with.

My thoughs on the transactions that took place so far:

The Departed:

Scott Gomez - I think we can all collectively agree that we knew this was coming. We knew there would be no #23 with the name Gomez on the back come October. For some reason Scott thought he was worth a lot of money, a lot more than the New Jersey Devils were will to pay and I guess from Scott’s point of view, he was right. I personally think New York completely over paid for him and have once again set a dangerous precident for salary sizes going forward. It doesn’t make sense to me how 13 goals and 47 assists equals the dollar amount he has been given but then again I have only read the book “Moneyball” once in my life, maybe I need to read Glenn Sathers version of it. Will I miss Scott, at times I am sure I will, he had great speed and on the days that he wanted to, he would create some great oppurtunities for his teamates. It will be interesting to watch him respond to the Garden’s booing when he decides to not show up for a stretch of games as we all know he will do.

Brian Rafalski - Again, I am puzzled at the amount of money Detroit threw
at him. I might be a little crazy here but I for one did NOT want Rafalski to return to NJ. In 2005, Lou made it known he had every intention to let Rafalski walk and concentrate on bring Niedermayer back long term. When Niedermayer decided to go help his brother taste championship glory, Lou hit the panic button and brough Rafalski back as the #1 D-man. Rafalski in my mind was a very weak #1 and constantly did things to frustrate me as a fan. Will Brian work in Detroit? I think he will work very well in Detroit, as he did in NJ during the 2000 to 2004 years. Why?? Like those years, he certainly wil not be relied upon as the #1 D-man in Detroit and can get back to certain basics that made him successful early on in NJ.

Brad Lukowich - This one hurt in my opinion. I’ve always felt that the Devils have a certain look and feel. While our rivals across the river like to throw money at the flashiest guys out there, I’ve always thought the Devils were about those guys who would grind out goals and fight tooth and nail for points and their place on the team. Lukowhich was exactly that kind of player. He gave his all and put his heart into the game while he was here and I will miss him.

Scott Clemmensen - What can you say about a goalie that never really got fair playing time. He wrote an article the Hockey News last season about how he didn’t really feel like an NHL goalie due to the lack of minutes. He worried which team would even be interested in him since he never got a chance to show what he was made of. Now he’s off to Toronto and while it is a 2-way contract, I do hope to see him get some time with the Leafs to prove his talent. I only wonder if he will sit down with Tucker and Kaberle and rehash the Cam Janssen hit…

The Arrivals:

Dainius Zubrus - According to his stats, Zubrus look as if he will produce 20+ goals and 30+ assists. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of player who will pass off the puck instead of ripping it on net so I feel he is certainly an upgrade for our offense. I only question where he fits in when it comes to the lines.

Karl Rachunek - Not my favorite signing but its certainly better than the McGillis and Malakhov signing a few years back.

Kevin Weekes - He was injury prone last season with the Rangers but I can honestly say, Kevin Weekes was a goalie I hated facing. It felt like he always had the Devils number when he played against them so I guess Lou went with the advice of “If you can’t beat him, get him to join your team.” Wonder if Mr. Weekes doesn’t mind the possibility of counting the number of starts on one hand? Honestly, it doesn’t matter who your #2 is when Marty is your #1.

Vitaly Vishnevski - To me this is just another average D-man. Stats on this guy certainly aren’t wonderful and I certainly hope Lou doesn’t stop here.

While I am satisfied with the offensive possibilities this team possesses at the present time, I have to say that if I were Marty Brodeur, I would not be feeling to confident with the defense that will be playing in front of me. As it looks right now, our #1 D-man duties will fall on Colin “I Take Lousy Penalties” White or Paul Martin. With news that Souray isn’t really close to signing any contract, I have to hope that the offensive firepower will outweigh the defensive short comings. I worry that the Rangers, Flyers and Penguins will be true playoff contenders and can four teams from the Atlantic Division make the playoffs two years in a row?

Just my two cents…