eaglejelly

Forum: NHL

This Devils team looks horrible. Rangers are more physical and are playing smarter. Most of the Devils look lost

This will mean that the west coast will not only get to see more of Crosby, but they will get to see more of Florida & Carolina. I am sure they will be big attendance magnets. I am already thrilled of the prospect of seeing more of Phoenix and Columbus

Are there weather limitations? Do they play when its raining or snowing?

Scott Niedermayer: 1 - Teppo Numminen: 4 Jarome Iginla: 5 Erik Cole: 5 Nikolai Khabibulin: 5 Joe Sakic: 5 Rick Nash: 4 Mike Modano: 2 Brian Rafalski: 11 + Sheldon Souray: 4 Olli Jokinen: 4 Tom Preissing: 5 Brian Rolston: 7 Saku Koivu: 6 Jason Arnott: 9 Cam Janssen: 7 Bill Guerin: 5 Dany Heatley: 7 Jason Smith: 6 David Aebischer: 4 Sidney Crosby: 6 Joe Thornton: 13 Paul Kariya: 4 Vincent Lecavalier: 6 Roberto Luongo: 5 Alexander Ovechkin: 8

Scott Niedermayer: 1 - Teppo Numminen: 4 Jarome Iginla: 5 Erik Cole: 5 Nikolai Khabibulin: 5 Joe Sakic: 5 Rick Nash: 4 Mike Modano: 3 Brian Rafalski: 10 + Sheldon Souray: 4 Olli Jokinen: 4 Tom Preissing: 5 Brian Rolston: 7 Saku Koivu: 6 Jason Arnott: 9 Cam Janssen: 7 Bill Guerin: 5 Dany Heatley: 7 Jason Smith: 6 David Aebischer: 4 Sidney Crosby: 6 Joe Thornton: 13 Paul Kariya: 4 Vincent Lecavalier: 6 Roberto Luongo: 5 Alexander Ovechkin: 8

Better or Worse? A look at New Jersey As we count down the days until the opening of training camps, I've decided to play a fun game of "Better or Worse?" In the coming weeks, I'll look at each team (in alphabetical order) and give you my opinion about whether it will be better or worse in the coming season, based on what it has done in the offseason. This isn't meant to be a complete preview. I'll leave that for the fall. New Jersey Devils (49-24-9): Worse. The Devils were another team that incurred big losses in the offseason. (I still can't believe backup goalie/good guy Scott Clemmensen decided to bolt for Toronto!) Longtime core Devils Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski decided to leave the Land of Lou via free agency. It's hard to replace guys like that. Both guys understand the team culture and they've been a part of two championship teams. Like I say, those type of guys can be tough to replace. But, no one is irreplaceable. GM Lou Lamoriello made a couple of lower-profile free agent pickups and he hopes that some of his younger players can fill the void. Up front, Lamoriello signed Dainius Zubrus to a long-term deal. Zubrus can play center or wing and he brings some much-needed size (6-foot-4, 224 pounds) to the Devils' forward lines. He did a nice job in both Washington and Buffalo last season. Zubrus isn't a playmaker like Gomez, but he scored 24 goals and totaled 60 points in 79 games. If there is one concern, it would be a wonky knee that forced him to miss Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. Zubrus has never played a full 82-game season. In fact, last year he played in 79 regular-season games, the closest he has come to doing it. On defense, the club added hard-hitting Vitaly Vishnevski and offensive-minded Karel Rachunek. Both guys will probably benefit from working with Devils assistant coach Larry Robinson. A former first-round pick of the Ducks (fifth overall), the 27-year-old Vishnevski split last season between Atlanta and Nashville. He won't provide any offense, but he'll protect star G Martin Brodeur and make the Devils tougher to play against. Last season, I felt New Jersey was too light. They were pushed around by the Senators in the postseason. Rachunek, on the other hand, is a second-tier puckmover with some offensive ability. The 28-year-old Czech skated on the other side of the Hudson River, for the Rangers, last year, compiling 26 points in 66 games. At times, he was a very helpful D-man in New York. In Jersey, he'll have to be better in his own end. We'll see if that's possible. The Devils' most important offseason acquisition was coach Brent Sutter, who left a comfortable position as a junior owner-GM-coach in Red Deer. Several NHL clubs had been interested in Sutter, but because of his situation, he could wait for what he felt was the right opportunity. Obviously, he felt working for Lamoriello was the right opportunity. That's interesting because the Devils have been through several coaches during the past few years. Sutter must have received some assurances that he wouldn't get the Claude Julien treatment. I think Sutter is a terrific hire for a Devils team in transition. He will command the respect of that room. Evidently, that was part of the problem for Julien. I don't see the Devils bettering the 107 points they put up last year. They've fallen back a bit, while their Atlantic Division competition has gotten a little stronger. Still, I think the Devils will be better than some people think. And, they'll still be a playoff team.

Scott Niedermayer: 3 (-) Teppo Numminen: 4 Jarome Iginla: 5 Erik Cole: 5 Nikolai Khabibulin: 5 Joe Sakic: 5 Rick Nash: 4 Mike Modano: 3 Brian Rafalski: 9 (+) Sheldon Souray: 5 Olli Jokinen: 4 Tom Preissing: 6 Brian Rolston: 7 Saku Koivu: 6 Jason Arnott: 9 Cam Janssen: 7 Bill Guerin: 5 Dany Heatley: 7 Jason Smith: 6 David Aebischer: 4 Sidney Crosby: 7 Joe Thornton: 10 Paul Kariya: 4 Vincent Lecavalier: 5 Roberto Luongo: 5 Alexander Ovechkin: 8 Offed: $cott Gomez Donald Brashear Darcy Tucker Zdeno Chara

Scott Niedermayer: 4 (-) Zdeno Chara: 2 Teppo Numminen: 4 Jarome Iginla: 5 Erik Cole: 5 Nikolai Khabibulin: 5 Joe Sakic: 5 Rick Nash: 4 Mike Modano: 4 Brian Rafalski:9 (+) Sheldon Souray: 5 Olli Jokinen: 4 Tom Preissing: 6 Brian Rolston: 7 Saku Koivu: 6 Jason Arnott: 8 Cam Janssen: 7 Bill Guerin: 5 Dany Heatley: 7 Jason Smith: 6 David Aebischer: 4 Sidney Crosby: 5 Joe Thornton: 10 Paul Kariya: 5 Vincent Lecavalier: 4 Roberto Luongo: 5 Alexander Ovechkin: 7 Offed: $cott Gomez Donald Brashear Darcy Tucker

Scott Niedermayer: 3 (-) Zdeno Chara: 3 Teppo Numminen: 5 Jarome Iginla: 4 Erik Cole: 5 Nikolai Khabibulin: 5 Joe Sakic: 5 Rick Nash: 5 Mike Modano: 5 Brian Rafalski:9 (+) Sheldon Souray: 5 Olli Jokinen: 4 Tom Preissing: 6 Brian Rolston: 6 Saku Koivu: 6 Jason Arnott: 7 Cam Janssen: 7 Bill Guerin: 5 Dany Heatley: 7 Jason Smith: 6 David Aebischer: 5 Sidney Crosby: 5 Joe Thornton: 8 Paul Kariya: 5 Vincent Lecavalier: 4 Darcy Tucker: 3 Roberto Luongo: 5 Ovechkin: 6 Offed: $cott Gomez Donald Brashear

Scott Niedermayer: 5 (-) Bobby Holik: 5 Zdeno Chara: 3 Teppo Numminen: 5 Jarome Iginla: 4 Erik Cole: 5 Nikolai Khabibulin: 5 Joe Sakic: 5 Rick Nash: 5 Mike Modano: 5 Brian Rafalski:6 Sheldon Souray: 5 Olli Jokinen: 4 Tom Preissing: 6 Brian Rolston: 6 Saku Koivu: 6 Jason Arnott: 6 Cam Janssen: 7 (+) Bill Guerin: 5 Dany Heatley: 6 Jason Smith: 6 David Aebischer: 5 Sidney Crosby: 5 Joe Thornton: 7 Paul Kariya: 5 Vincent Lecavalier: 5 Darcy Tucker: 4 Roberto Luongo: 5 Donald Brashear: 3 Offed: Scott Gomez

Scott Niedermayer: 4 (-) Bobby Holik: 5 Zdeno Chara: 5 Teppo Numminen: 5 Jarome Iginla: 5 Erik Cole: 5 Nikolai Khabibulin: 5 Joe Sakic: 5 Rick Nash: 5 Mike Modano:5 Brian Rafalski:5 Sheldon Souray: 6 Olli Jokinen: 5 Tom Preissing: 6 Brian Rolston: 5 Saku Koivu: 6 Jason Arnott: 5 Cam Janssen: 7 (+) Bill Guerin: 5 Dany Heatley: 5 Jason Smith: 5 David Aebischer: 5 Sidney Crosby: 6 Joe Thornton: 6 Paul Kariya: 5 Vincent Lecavalier: 5 Darcy Tucker: 5 Roberto Luongo: 5 Donald Brashear: 4 Offed: Scott Gomez

This Giants defense sure sucks

The white one looks good, the red one sucks!

We started with 105 points and ended with 118

Martin Brodeur: 108(+3) Zach Parise: 10(-3)

Martin Brodeur: 93 (+3) Zach Parise: 28 (-3)

Martin Brodeur: 60 (+3) Zach Parise: 50 (-3)

Martin Brodeur: 56 (+3) Zach Parise: 38 Lou Lamoriello: 19 (-3)

Martin Brodeur: 38 Patrik Elias: 9 (-3) Jay Pandolfo: 8 (+) Zach Parise: 31 Lou Lamoriello: 25

Martin Brodeur: 29 Patrik Elias: 8 (-3) Jay Pandolfo: 17 (+3) Zach Parise: 25 Travis Zajac: 11 Lou Lamoriello: 19