Now I know summer time filler ain’t my thing, but this worked out PERFECTLY…. a Friday Night i was in and fell asleep before 4am…. a new coach… new outlook on life… and time to put the miserable feelings and hatred and anger (not like my personal life mirrored the way the Devils season went… oh no no no no :p)…. Season tickets are all but paid (I got kinda lucky, a customer’s entire network took a shit… and hey it paid the STH bill… I love IT!)… and it’s time to start letting ALL (and I do mean ALL) the miserable feelings and hatred go to the wayside and get re-vamped on life and Devils hockey!!!
So before I start, I’ve answered it a million times, and lemme steal my mystery friend’s FAQ section:
– Scott: Aren’t you freaking out because the Devils lost all those players and didn’t sign no one??
NO… in fact the opposite… I’m jacked up about it… those guys took us as far as they would go, and it’s time to pass the torch as it was from Richer/Lemieux/MacLean and Driver…. and then to Elias/Stevens/Niedermommy… and NOW it’s FINALLY time… it’s time for this THIRD generation of Devils talent (Zajac/Parise/Martin… soon to be Corrente, Eckford, Bergfors and Tedneby) to GET THE HELL OUT THERE and make THEIR mark on Devils hockey now and forever!!!! And that’s just awesome to me… this is how you WIN in the NHL… you maximize your cheap talent… surround it with GOOD talent… keep the team kinda young and enhance your core!!!
– But Scott, what if the rookies suck??
… and the vets didn’t?? How many times did Gionta shoot it right into the logo… or Madden not that accurate… and Mister NoGoalik was just a FORCE the second time around right??? I’ll take a young guy who will improve and has UPSIDE over an old fart ready to fall off the cliff ANYDAY!!
– so, Scott are you past your hatred of Martin Brodeur yet??
… no… fuck him… mb30 still pisses me off and it’s the ONLY thing I like about Lemaire being here (well aside his teaching ability)… he’s the only coach who made our prick “superstar” sit his ass on some pine!
Anyway… before this becomes a 500-page tangent… Let’s get to today’s goodness!!
Instead of the good the bad and the funny, I think I’ll take it player by player and add some overall comments too:
62: Mattias Tedenby:
HOLY SHIT was he a man amongst boys today (if you’re on my facebook and if not dammit why not??) you saw me RAVING about him left right and sideways!! The kid is FAST as anything… he’s always making moves (I don’t think there was one shift where he didn’t beat a player one on one and do something with it).. he didn’t score today but he didn’t NEED to… he was the best damned guy on the ice today BY FAR!! I think he gets a legit shot in training camp… I know he was playing lesser talent, but he had the LOOK, the moves, the feel and the swagger of an NHL-Ready player today!
10: Rod Pelley:
Bleech… didn’t do much, but then again… I don’t expect much from him….
he’s been pretty much handed a spot on the roster… so be it….
Facebook status comment: “rod pelley is the new pandolfo”
52: Nick Palmeri:
Me and Rob kept commenting on how much he was dragging the Tedenby line down today… slow… plodding… stone hands all over the place… our luck he plays good defense and makes the team… given it’s ONE GAME and anyone can suck on any given day… but that today was also Pandolf-ian, I don’t think he lasts long in camp
34: Matt Corrente:
Did not play shoulder injury… that bummed me… i was gonna focus on him as much as the “MagicSwede” as we named #62 today
51: PL^3… also looked like you’d expect…threw some hits… raised some hell… ran a goalie (I still get mad when goalies don’t jump up and attempt murder like I would….) had a nice two stuff and tip play in front of the far nets from us and tried to lobby like hell for the goal…. but was not meant to be!!!
Jeff Frazee:
Looked pretty good even in the losing effort (well aside from the penalty shot… he got deke-man-willied to hell on that one) and was the best of the three goalies today… no clue which one was Long and which was Felice… goalies are not worthy of numbers it seems 
50: Matt Halishcuk…scored.. was in front of the net alot and did a LOT of good things today… I liked what I saw of him and he’s gonna get a two fingered serious look in camp for sure!!
66: Derek Rodwell… of the guys I knew nothing about, our 5th round pick impressed the HELL out of me… good size… good hands… plays a bit nasty and scored a penalty shot goal… he’s a guy to keep an eye on…..
Didn’t really notice our Russians in Zharkov or Vasyunov (though he did have a nice point blank chance to ice it late and blew it!), Jacob Josefson looked overwhelmed and not ready yet, which is ok too… and there was one fight which I am uploading on the youtube as I type this!!!
Goals:
(1-0) Eckford.. jumped into the slot and ripped a wrister clean over the goalie… pretty stuff!
(1-1) Cormier… stuffed home a rebound on Frazee off the near post
(2-1, white) Halischuk… a sweet move in front where he was given WAY too much time… waits.. looks… dekes.. TOP SHELF… you get served!! (team white’s D was not so hot at best)
(2-2) Eric Castonguay is ALL ALONE in front again and rips one of BOTH POSTS and somehow in the net… he was this close to blowing it… which would have probably gotten him a roster spot!
(3-2, black) Derek Rodwell…. who like I said before was impressive… penalty shot goal… to be youtubed ASAP
(3-3) Griner… a long wrister from the point…hits goalie (not frazee) in the shoulder, then off the stick and in…yeah Chico he’s gonna want that save back :p
(4-3)Mcintrye a penalty shot goal that can only be called UBER-POWNAGE!! Video to follow (in lieu of penalty calls they get penalty shots)
Most of the Devils staff and higher-ups were there… saw Stevens on one team… saw Lou and Terreri… and Sergei Brylin too!! (poor Sarge… he looked like he just woke up and had a WICKED hangover too :p)
How’s that for a lil piece of October in July???
Once the videos are all up… I’ll let ya know… or just keep an eye on http://www.youtube.com/crashliner
Let me start by saying THIS IS NOT MY BLOG… NOR MY FEELINGS (well it hits a lot of what I feel about Madden jumping ship)… but when you see and read something damn good on the internets and you can ask the person and they don’t mind sharing it… the name protected (well unless you know me well you know who this is :p)…. but I figured it was a great and personal perspective on the pains of free agency in the NHL
), to overcome the odds to play at this inspiring level. 
He’s a special player, and I don’t think I’ve ever actually said that about anyone before. I knew this was a player I had to follow throughout his playing career. On draft day that summer, I would have felt very grateful if he were picked by any team except the Rangers or Flyers because as a Devils fan I automatically would have had to hate him. Never could I have imagined he’d actually be picked by my beloved Devils. It was my beautiful, unrealistic fantasy coming true. Just that moment was a bonus. Who would know that 11 years later, this little guy from Rochester would not only be drafted by the Devils, but he would win a Stanley Cup with them, break the team’s single-season goal scoring record, and play 6+ wonderful years here. Talk about a bonus. I hit the jackpot. Because this was all a bonus, I can say with all sincerity that I am so appreciative of the time he spent in New Jersey. The way I look at it, Gionta could have been drafted by the Habs in 1998, and I would have been pulling for them then (or actually not until 2001ish after Gio graduated). I am grateful that he didn’t sign with a division rival; otherwise I’d be in no position to cheer him. At all. So no, this is not easy losing Gionta, but it’s definitely workable.
Nope. Everyone seriously needs to chill out. This happens every July 1, and the Devils haven’t missed the playoffs in more than a decade. We still have all of our defensemen from last year (Minus Havelid, who doesn’t count because he was here for 2 secs. and, well, he’s Havelid). We have our top line and 2/3 worth of second line players in Elias and Rolston (though Elias is top line caliber and I think Rolston really should be a LW, so that’s a mess that the next coach is going to have to figure out because Rolston should NOT be on the third line). It’s more than sufficient to start out training camp with.
Yes, I am talking about none other than Josh’s favorite Finn Saku Koivu. We have word tonight courtesy of David Pagnotta over at The Forth Period that Mr. Koivu is now mulling over a decision between at least four teams, one of which includes New Jersey.
Low risk, high reward potential here. It’s absolutely genius. Well, provided we don’t somehow end up with Hal Gill next spring.
Or so says the organization and its fans, as Black ‘n Red has outright refused to pay $1.2-million to the Michigan-based seating company Irwin Seating.
Today the Devils signed former draft pick Ilkka Pikkarainen.
9:19 PM: I now dub thee John “Chicago Style” Mad Dog.
8:33 PM: Reports indicate Devils winger Brian Gionta has signed with the Montreal Canadiens. Working on confirmation.
2:41 PM: Get your height jokes in while you can, boys and girls, rumors are that Gio’s nearing a deal with a new team.
1:07 PM: Okay Devils fans, we can all breathe easy. The official Devils Twitter feed reports that the Devils have re-signed Andy Greene. Thank God that’s taken care of. Since it’s the Devils, terms are, naturally, undisclosed.
Follow 2MA