What got them there? Well honestly a resilient offense and timely goaltending from someone not named Martin Brodeur for most of the season is what got the Devils to this point. When Brodeur went down on November 1st…did anyone expect them to be in this position? No! Scott Clemmensen did an incredible job under the worst circumstances with 25 wins for Jersey. However he did tail off the last 10 days sort of like he did the first 10. Patrik Elias has 65 points for the team and Zach Parise has 73 points. The Devils, in all, have scored 186 goals in 61 games which is good for 3.05 goals per game. As an oh by the way Jamie Langenbrunner, the captain has chipped in with 52 points including 19 goals and 5 GWG’s….he is a clutch man when clutch is needed. Travis Zajac in his third year also has 52 points which has been a huge surprise for a team that did not expect quite that much from him.

Now what got them there to me is a simple philosophy that quite a few people forgot about. That started during last year’s playoff series in Game 3 where the Devils decided to play a little more of a run and gun style. They would go on to lose to the Rangers in five games but it set the stage for this season. Signing Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik helped play a big part in that. Now they have not produced in the way expected but they have been effective. Effective works as most know! Still this team does have some needs and that is a cold reality as team vie for the Stanley Cup come April.

What they need? It looks like the team needs a defenseman for starters. The goaltending is obviously covered. Never hurts to have an all-world netminder….ever! Ideally the Devils need a two way defenseman to create some more offense while being able to muscle guys out of Brodeur’s way. A guy like Jay-Bo wouldn’t hurt but the reality may dictate more a return of Scott Niedermayer or Jordan Leopold and even that might not be all that likely. After all, that is the whole point of a wish list. You wish for it but it does not mean you will get it. Sad commentary on life that your team cannot always get what they want.

This team could use another scoring forward especially if Brian Gionta really is as digruntled as people have said. That of course depends on who you read and who you ask. The Devils could bring up someone from Lowell if they really had to. It would not hurt to get a little younger as Gionta is having a nice season but should have just about a point a game with who he is playing. He did nearly score 50 once but that seems like eons ago! Rolson has also been a bit of a disappointment in that sense…people just expected more I guess. Maybe it will come next year but for chemistry’s sake a 2nd line scorer couldn’t hurt. Who could they get? Well Gabork is out…how about maybe a Tim Connolly perhaps. Time will tell.

What Will They Get? Not sure truthfully….there are so many wild rumors out there that usually the quiet ones are hard to gauge. This time of year really is like a “Christmas” of sorts for teams as they find out what they will have to work with as they go into battle for the Stanley Cup! Leopold might be the most practical and affordable but will the Devils have enough “goods” to aim higher? Brian Gionta and a pick or two, toss in a Pandolfo and the Devils might be able to address their needs. Then again the trade deadline is like high stakes poker….sometimes you have to go all in to get what you want.

Come Wednesday Evening we will see what the Devils wind up getting. Will it be enough? I do not know but surely we will be back with analysis of the Devils Trade Deadline as well as the NHL Trade Deadline. Enjoy the hockey till then!

Kunitz has been tagged a “top six forward” by Penguins GM Ray Shero and he seems pretty pleased about the deal.  He did not specifically say that the deal was  to get someone to team up with Sid.

The deal net the Pens a solid Winger and Tangradi, a Philadelphia native, who is a highly touted prospect who has 87 points (38 goals, 49 assists) in 52 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s Belleville Bulls this season. Anaheim drafted him 42nd overall in 2007.

The Penguins have a great deal of depth currently at the blue line with the return of Sergi Gonchar.  Whitney has not played up to expectations this year.  With the emergence of Kris Letang and withand Alex Goligoski and his development this year, it gave The Pens one extra defense man to try to get a top forward like Chris Kunitz.  Kunitz, 29, scored 16 goals and recorded 19 assists to go with 55 penalty minutes in 62 games this season with the Ducks. He was part of their 2007 Stanley Cup winning team and this season was their leader with 148 hits.

Kunitz is expected to play tonight at Chicago.

Tortorella is a fiery coach, maybe that’s what the Rangers need, it’s true most of them are underperforming, but we can’t get too picky on a team that has lacked quality finishers all year long.

On the other hand Renney, is NOT  a bad coach, but his style, in my humble opinion, isn’t what the Rangers need right now.

I really wonder if Tortorella is in time to change the course the Rangers are taking this season, I’m not saying he can’t, because in my mind he is the best US born coach right now.

As for Renney, I wish him good luck, he has the mind to coach in the NHL again, but with free agent coach Pat Quinn wanting an NHL job he may have to wait.

TSN is reporting that the trade consists of Schneider and a conditional draft pick to Montreal, to the Atalanta Thrashers goes a 2nd round pick this year and a 3rd round pick in 2010.

Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is rumored to be shopping Brian Gionta to shed some salary to add a veteran top four defenseman. Gionta, who is making $4 Million, is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season end and could be the most valued trade commodity for the Devils.

The veteran forwards productivity has continued to decline since his 48 goal season in 2005-2006. This season, while playing on a line with Patrick Elias and Dainius Zubrus he has netted 11 goals and 30 assists but only has 2 goals in the last 14 games. 

The addition of Brendan Shanahan has given the Devils some scoring depth upfront and the freedom to move a forward via a trade. The Devils have also been shopping forwards Jay Pandolfo and John Madden, both who earn just under $3 million this season, though Pandolfo has been a healthy scratch the past five games and Madden’s lack of offensive ability make them much less valuable than Gionta.

With several top line defenseman available like Scott Neidermeyer, Chris Pronger, Jay Bouwmeester, Tomas Kaberle, just to name a few, the Devils will need to shed some salary. Currently just sitting under the cap, the Devils will be forced to package a forward, defenseman and draft picks if they are to land one of the high priced veteran defenseman.

Ryan Hamilton, a 23 year old Torontonian was with Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, Houston Aeros when he heard the big news, that he was returning home. With the Aeros this year, Hamilton had pot eight goals, while racking up four assists and 24 penalty minutes.

Before making his NHL debut  Ryan Hamilton played with the OHL’s Barrie Colts where he led the with 45 goals in 63 games played.

With the addition of Hamilton, the Leafs are receiving a physical player who rarely gets his name on the score sheet. The only downside to this acquisition is that Hamilton will probably be with the Toronto Marlies (the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate) for a few seasons, until General Manager Burke thinks that he will have a big impact on the Leafs.

Shanahan, who turns 40 years of age on January 23rd, was not re-signed by the Rangers after scoring 52 goals the past two seasons for the Blueshirts. Several other teams sought after the veterans services, including the Flyers, Blues and Penguins. In the end, salary cap issues and a willingness for Shanahan to stay in the New York area was his deciding factor in signing with the Devils.

The 8-time all-star has played in 1,490 career games and has accumulated 650 career goals, which ranks 11th all-time. Known as a power-play specialist, he is expected to help a struggling Devils power-play which currently ranks 20th in the NHL. A three time winner of the Stanley Cup, Shanhan brings even more experience and leadership to a Devils room stacked with veterans and is expected to see regular ice-time as a forward most likely on the third line with Brian Rolston and center John Madden.

Shanahan who was the Devils 1st round selection and 2nd overall selection in 1987, joins Brian Rolston, Bobby Holik and Scott Clemmensen as ex-Devils to sign with their former club this season. He is well remembered by Devils fans for his decision to leave the Devils in free agency to sign with the St. Louis Blues on July 25, 1991. A move that resulted in Hall-of-Famer Scott Stevens arriving in New Jersey for compensation.

Shanahan, who started skating in New Jersey on Saturday, will not join the team until the contract is settled. It is expected that he will eventually sign a pro-rated contract at a salary of 1.5M for this season.

GM Garth Snow conducted an extensive search for a head coach following Ted Nolan’s departure in July. He interviewed several former NHL coaches, some of whom have won Stanley cups (John Tortorella and Bob Hartley).

In the end, though, Snow decided that Gordon was the man to reverse the Isles’ fortunes. Gordon earned AHL Coach of the Year honors last season and compiled a 221-141-20-27 record with Providence.

I feel that Snow made the correct move. Gordon has extensive experience grooming young players, a facet that made him attractive as the Islanders roster will certainly feature plenty of inexperience in the next few years. He stresses a strong defensive and positional hockey philosophy which should keep the team involved in many close games. A key factor is that Gordon is a former goaltender and should be in a position to enhance All Star netminder Rick Dipietro’s strengths and work with him on his weaknesses.

I like the fact that the job was given to a man who will be motivated to prove he can coach at the NHL level. Gordon brings an energy to the position that should be infectious and my guess is that the Islanders will ice a hardworking team every night.

The noted philosopher Lao Tze once said “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” The team has a long way to go before they will be considered to be serious contenders. However, with hiring of Gordon, they make have taken that all important first step.

Tampa Bay has big expectations for the 18 year old and both the team and Stamkos know there is a tough road ahead. Stamkos is excited to be at this step, but more importantly wants to prove he was worthy of the 1st pick and can make an instant impact and last the entire NHL season.

The Lightning have a good mix of veterans to put around Stamkos and it should benefit him as he learns and grows as a player and with the team. Tampa only won 31 games last year and are hoping for a quick turnaround.

Stamkos is not bothered by the fact he will be have big expectations as he has reported as feeling confident he can work to maintain that confidence. The rookie forward has played the past two years for Sarnia in the Ontario Hockey League and feels that he is ready for this next step of his career. The newest member of the Lightning plans on making his presence felt in the NHL and fans will be excited to see what is in store for Steve Stamkos and his quest for NHL greatness.

The 24-year old played in 78 games with Detroit last season, scoring 19 goals and adding 17 assists.

The third round pick in the 2002 Entry Draft has 29 goals in 25 assists in 155 career games in the NHL.

The Philadelphia Flyers locked Joffrey Lupul up with a four-year contract extension. Lupul is one of several players the Flyers are committing to for years to come as they believe only good things will come from these young talents.

The Phoenix Coyotes re-signed left wing Daniel Carcillo in which they feel this sparkplug brings great balance of speed and toughness to the team. Carcillo led the league in penalty minutes last season as a rookie and that seemed to be the type of player the Coyotes want as they deal is undisclosed but was a 2 year contract.

The New Jersey Devils signing center Fedor Fedorov, who is the brother of Sergei Fedorov and has been playing in Europe the past few seasons.

Other signings this week included the Anaheim Ducks agreeing to one year contracts with left win Josh Green and center Eric Boguniecki. The biggest signing of the week has come from the Vancouver Canucks, as they signed six players Wednesday. Those players include RW-Ryan Shannon, C-Rick Rypien, RW-Mike Brown, Defs-Nathan McIver, Zach FitzGerald, and James Sharrow. Make sure to check back to see all the NHL’s top news as this year the Stanley Cup will truly be up for grabs. All this action is getting fans excited for the 2008-2009 season and with opening day being less than three months away it will be interesting to see what other deals come our way.

Drake was a sixth round pick in the famous 1989 Entry Draft. He scored 177 goals and 477 points in 1009 regular season games and 14 goals and 33 points in 90 playoff games.

I always liked his playing style caused he didn’t play with his hands or feet, he played with his Heart.

Ted Nolan and the New York Islanders officially parted company today in a move that has been brewing for months. GM Garth Snow announced that he will immediately begin searching for a replacement and has several candidates in mind.

I feel this was the right move for the organization to make. Clearly, the honeymoon was over and the Islanders weren’t lying when they stated the move was prompted by “philosophical differences”. Those differences couldn’t be more apparent: Nolan did not believe in the current youth movement and the Isles need a coach who will support one.

People can argue all day long about why quality free agents don’t come to Long Island. The fact is that they don’t and, for many valid reasons, I don’t see that changing anytime soon. New York also does not have the assets to improve itself through trades without sacrificing valuable draft picks. Therefore, the only way to right this ship is by drafting and developing quality prospects. There’s no doubt that there are going to be growing pains associated with this route. However, in the end, the organization will be better off.

Speculation is rampant over who might be hired as the next coach. There are several high profile contenders: John Tortarella, Paul Maurice, Bob Hartley and Dave Lewis are only some of the names being bandied about among fans. Rest assured, whoever takes the job must first and foremost be ready to develop young kids into NHL players and shouldn’t expect as much as a sniff of the Stanley Cup for quite a while.

Laraque accepted to sign a three years contract with the Habs that is going to bring 1.5millions a year. Other teams were interested in Laraque services, but he prefered to play for his own city and come back to montreal. Montrealers are very happy about this and Laraque is certainly a great addition and I’m sure he is going to do a very good job crashing the net during the powerplay.

Later on the Canadiens signed offensive defense man Alex Henry to a one year contract. No word yet if he is going to be part of the Canadiens plan long term, but Henry is probably going to play in Hamilton next season.

The Canadiens then signed ex-Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Marc Denis to a one year contract too. The signing of Denis leaves many options for the Habs. Marc could either go play in Hamilton with Cedrick Dejardins, which by the way just signed a two year contract with the Canadiens earlier today. or he could play on the Canadiens team as early as next year behind Carey Price, and that would give the opportunity for the Habs to trade someone like Jaroslav Halak. Why? Well because since Carey Price is set to become the number one goalie in Montreal for many years to come and since Halak has enough potential to take over a number one spot in many NHL cities, adding Halak to a blockbuster deal could bring a superstar player to Montreal.

Keep up the good work Gainey. All you need to do next is convince Mats Sundin to play in Montreal and that would definitely give you a star in the hall of fame.

Now Ryder was expected to leave, especially with the venu of Alex Tanguay, but a lot of people in Montreal were hoping Streit was still going to be a Habs next season? Personally, I wouldn’t have payed such a price for Streit since he didn’t really score all his points playing defence, he scored them playing forward and on the power play. People thought Montreal was going to lose their powerplay skills when they lost Sheldon Souray to free agency, but Streit was able to take over. Now I truly believe it is not going to take long before someone else takes Streit’s place and believe, we will forget his name faster than we forgot Souray’s.

Now Danis had already mentioned it to press: he does not intend on having a future with the Canadiens. Good enough. But it is going to be pretty hard for him to build a future when you are behind a guy like Rick DiPietro!

Mats Sundin is not sure yet of where and if he wants to play next season? Good, we respect your decision, we’ll allow you a week, maybe two. What? You need a month? Hell no. Sundin has been acting very disrespecful to all the teams that are showing interest for him. If he feels he is not interested now, don’t make them wait after you so that you can say no later and watch them end up with nothing. That is not professional at all and coming from a classy guy like Sundin really dissapoints me. What he is doing to the Montreal Canadiens could en up hurting them real bad, after all the interest they have shown in him he still doesn’t have the guts to say yes or no and always come up with the same miserable excuse he uses over and over again, the ones that says he’s not sure if he’s coming bac to the NHL for next season. Montreal might have had a chance to sign other very good players on the first of july, but ww are never going to know what they could have gotten their hands on if Sundin was not in the picture or if Sundin would have said no from the start. The latest rumors about Sundin is that the Habs are still all over him and appearently they have just offered him a 2 years/15millions$ contract for next season.

Will he say yes, will he say no? Is it even true or is Bob Gainey simply working on something so big it has to be kept underground? I am definitly dying to find out all of the answers, but I guess like Mr. Sundin said, it could very well take up to next month to know them.

Grabovski definitly had enough talent to stay in the NHL, but one thing he didn’t have yet to deserve a spot on the Canadiens’ roster is maturity. Grabovski, unfortunately, is the kind of player that thinks to much of himself and believe me, when you do not show up at the practice simply because you are not playing the next game, that is not only unprofessional, but very immature. It is a good thing he is no longer in the Habs’ plans and that Montreal head coach Guy Carbonneau won’t have to put up with his bull**** anymore.

I’m just surprised Toronto is so desperate.

To be honest with you I never ever thought Hossa would have signed with Detroit.

In 72 regular season games with Atlanta and Pittsburgh Hossa scored 66 points, in 20 playoff games with Pittsburgh he scored 12 goals and 14 helpers for 26 points.

Stuart played in 9 regular season games, after being dealt at the deadline by the Los Angeles Kings, with Detroit recording 2 points and a plus 6. In playoffs Stuart played 21 games recording 7 points and a plus15

Lilja played 79 regular season games all with Detroit recording 12 points and a minus 2. in Playoffs Lilja recorded 1 assist and a plus 3 in 12 games.

Conklin’s signing was a big surprise (at least for me) that July 1st had. Conklin started in 33 regular season games with 18 wins and a .923 save percentage. He didn’t start any playoff games.

To be honest I thought the Detroit Red Wings would stick to a Chris Osgood/Jimmy Howard goaltending tandem.