USC09

Congrats to Johnny Mac, this will be good for Zach Parise. I think the year in the minors helped him. This is a great opportunity and challenge for him.

It better be Haviland or someone fresh like a Bob Boughner or Mike Eaves.

I am not advocating Bob Hartley, I want Haviland. I wanted Guy Boucher first, now that he is gone Haviland is my choice.

Lou is a Master or the Dark Horse: Lou Lamoriello is no stranger to making surprise and shocking moves you sometimes do not expect him to make. Take a look at the trade for Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner, two players no analyst had going to NJ at the time, simply because everyone thought both were on their way to Philly where they could have reunited with Ken Hitchcock for the 2002-2003 season. That same year in the summer it was a late Saturday Night trade for Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tverdovsky. That too me was way out of the blue. Then there was coaches, which I I know you guys a re tired to talk about, because most of you want Haviland or MacLean. The most shocking hires by Lou were Lemaire, Constantine and Pat Burns. Now here is one name that has not really come up in any discussion, but is still out there and that is former Avalanche and Thrashers coach Bob Hartley. For what reason might you ask? Well if the Devils were to resign Kovalchuk or not, Hartley is familiar with him and Ilya had his best years under him in Atlanta. But that is not the only reason. Another one is that he has won a cup with the Avalanche in 2001, probably for us Devils fans the worst game in team history in addition to Game 7 in 1994 vs Rangers and Game 7 in 2009 against Carolina. Maybe even the worst game ever since it was in the Finals and they were o so close. But Puck Daddy on NHL Live mentioned he believes the Devils need a coach with NHL experience and preferably one that has won a cup before and Bob Hartley could fit the bill since he does preach a shot blocking regime as Colorado was very good at it when he was there in shutting down any other teams passing lanes and shooting lanes. I do not know if he is the right fit, but he is one guy who Lou might target as his out of the blue move. Yours Truly, USC09

http://www.nj.com/de...w_coach_ma.html Devils' search for new coach may be down to Middletown native Mike Haviland, Michel Therrien Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger The Devils’ search for a new head coach may be narrowing down to Mike Haviland and Michel Therrien. Haviland, assistant coach for the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, said he is hopeful of getting a chance to interview for one of the NHL’s two open head coaching spots in New Jersey or Atlanta. And Therrien, former Penguins and Canadiens coach, remains high on the Devils’ radar. Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello today made a long overdue announcement by acknowledging the organization will shift operations of its top minor-league team from Lowell, Mass., back to Albany, N.Y. He said the plan is to keep John MacLean as the club’s coach. “Everything is status quo with the (minor-league) coaching staff, as it stands,” Lamoriello said. Additionally, the Devils have not had contact with former Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock, who would seem like a good fit. After Wednesday night’s Game 6 victory over the Flyers, Haviland said: “Hopefully someday this will get me a head job. Right now I’m going to savor this as best I can. But I think when you win, good things happen to people in this business. I’ve won a lot of things along the way, so hopefully it helps. Right now I want to enjoy this with these guys.”

It is kind of his fault that the Devils are out of the Playoffs and that the Flyers are still in. Maybe the Flyers should sign him if they trade one of their big contracts. Maybe if he misses a key shootout in Game 82, it will be good luck for that team. But anycase my answer is a 100% NO.

Though Lou won't admit it, he is waiting to possibly talk to Haviland. Him saying that nothing will be done until the Finals are over seems to indicate that Haviland might be #1 on his list with Therrien not far behind. His top 5 are likely: 1. Mike Haviland 2. Michel Therrien 3. John MacLean 4. Guy Carbonneau 5. Bob Boughner

I would highly doubt that any of the coaching vacancies would be filled before the Cup Finals are over. Columbus might be the only exception since General Manager Scott Howson made it clear that he would make an announcement within 10 days and that came on Memorial Day. If Michel Therrien is the guy and I am not saying he is not the guy, Lou would have probably made an announcement already, but I think he will do it within reason, meaning after the Finals are over. The fallout from the Martin article might lead to Lou questioning his loyalty to New Jersey, because he might want Lamoriello to rush his search, but I think an announcement is likely to come within a week or two, probably no later than Friday, June 18th. His quietness on the search might be an indication that he is waiting to speak to Haviland and has probably spoken to Muller already amongst other candidates. These next 2-3 weeks should be an interesting roller-coaster with the Devils coaching search leading up to the Draft. If a coach is not hired prior to the draft, I think it will be done the following week leading up to July 1st. But, I will say this I like Paul Martins' tactic and intrigue.

Once I see a TSN, Rich Chere or Tom Gulitti article that it is true, I will believe it until then lets focus on Game 5 tonight. If Paul Martin's and Lou's conversation holds true, then something will be done in the next 1-3 weeks. But, yet it would not surprise me if he is the guy.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=323678 So, you can possibly scratch his name of Lou's list. I am hoping he rejects the offer, because I can see a bright future for him in terms of coaching in the NHL and I think he could have a better time doing it with the Devils, but I still think Lou will wait til the Finals are over to talk to Haviland. I don't think Boucher is at the top of Lou's list though. So, I would expect an announcement on a coach sometime between June 14-18 possibly for all 4 coaching vacancies.

I think Martin might has at least put some pressure on Lou to hire a coach before Free Agency or even so the Draft, the ball is now in Lou's court. I think he will definitely hire a coach before free agency. July 1st is a Thursday, so my guess by June 29th, he should have a coach. No more July 13th hiring of coaches, its been kryptonite to the Devils season and offseason. I know Lou won't ever mention it, but not having a coach by July 1st is definitely a distraction for players coming and leaving New Jersey.

I hope its Haviland, Muller or Boucher.

If you look at the last three Winter Classics, at least one of the teams made it to the finals, however all have lost. So it maybe a good or bad thing the Devils are not selected in the sense that if they were selected, they lose in the final, but if they weren't the curse would not apply to them. 2008: Pens vs Sabres (Pens lose to Wings in Final) 2009: Hawks vs Wings (Wings lose to Pens in Final) 2010: Flyers vs Bruins (?) 2011: Pens vs Caps (?)--we shall see if one of the teams makes it to the Final. 2011: Habs vs Flames in Heritage Classic, we also will see what happens on that front.

I still think Kevin Dineen is the front runner for the job. But Guy Boucher is probably not Lou's #1 choice though in terms of our coaching position.

Ok, this is a Salary Cap League, but if you look at the dynamic of the current game, you have to have two great finishers on your top 2 lines maybe even three. Sure there are some teams who have cap issues like say the Philly Phaggots Flyers. The found a way to work around the cap to accommodate Carter and Richards and Briere, who are great finishers. But for the Devils, sure the likes of Rolston, White, Salvador and Elias could make it impossible to resign both Kovalchuk and Parise. However, since Zach is restricted in 2011, this could make perfect sense for the Devils to try to re-sign Kovalchuk this Summer and Parise the next to new long-term deals and get a 2nd line center for a year or two at a low cost. If you think of it where else can Kovalchuk go now that he has a newborn and can win. LA might be the favorite, but he might be away from his family for a while and its a longer trip to Russia. Boston just does not seem right for Ilya. The Leafs and Sabres could be options as well as Detroit, but the Devils have a lot to offer and Lou is very flexible with certain players in terms of their families. Lets take the Nicklas Backstrom deal which is 10 years $67 million. Lets offer Kovy a 10 year pact worth $72 million and Zach in 2011 a 10 year $65-70 million dollar deal. That would be $14.2 mil with our top 2 players for 2011-2012. I think Lou will try to figure out an economical and fiscal way to work in and around the cap. But having said that I want Kovalchuk back, but I still think the Devils will be good without him and maybe sign two players that can get timely scoring.

I am hoping the Devils play the Red Wings twice, I don't care how it is the rest of the way. Also, I hope there are more Saturday night home games and push the Nets to Sunday nights and more Fridays. Also I am finally hoping for NBC games and that the Devils will be chosen for a Sunday 12:30 broadcast.

Bettman just said at his State of the League address. It will be almost a month earlier than it is usually announced which is anywhere from July 10-20th.

That is obviously until he gets shot. I'd take Hans Gruber or even Simon Peter Gruber. Are Alan Rickman and Jeremy Irons good coaches?

He could be a dark horse candidate, but I do not want him as a coach, because he can easily lose his team despite his mean no nonsense demeanor. I think the Devils need these to be their top 10 candidates, because I think Lou will wait until the finals will end: 1. Mike Haviland 2. Kirk Muller 3. Guy Boucher 4. John Stevens 5. Tom Renney 6. Bob Boughner 7. Kevin Dineen 8. Scott Arniel 9. John MacLean (will be in mix) 10. Paul MacLean or Brad McCrimmon or one of the San Jose assistants (Paul MacLean will likely now be the favorite for the Lightning Coaching vacancy now that Yzerman is the GM.)

I f-ing hate the Flyers with a passion more so than the Rangers, but hey you have to give them credit they probably do not deserve.

My theory is that if the NHL does not commit to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, that you will see most of the NHL Russian Player Contingent sign in the KHL for the 2013-2014 season and risk hefty suspensions by the NHL upon their return. That is my thinking since Ovechkin, Malkin, Datsyuk and Kovalchuk have all committed to playing for Russia in 2014. Other than that I do not see Kovalchuk and Frolov signing in the KHL. But I'd take Frolov in NJ if Kovalchuk bolts elsewhere.

I never go to the parties, but I would assume they won't even if they somehow traded back into the 1st round.

They cannot just set their sights on the cup. It takes a lot of courage and passion and saying it and doing it are two different things. They have to be psychologically and mentally prepared to rise up to the challenge. It does not really matter what the line up is, what matters is the leadership that is portrayed. There will be a lot of questions this summer and the answers will come not from words, but whatever happens on the ice. Right now the expectations are very low and they each have to look into the mirror to see part of the problem of the team. Marty is not reliable anymore, he's good, but not great so the Devils need shot blockers and blueliners that can protect him, because he was under siege by f.u.c.k.i.n.g philly, so it will be an interesting transitional offseason.

There is no comparison, 4 straight is way worse and the fashion the Bruins did it in was dreadful. Having a 3-0 series lead, lose Game 4 in OT and blow a 3-0 lead in Game 7 is unacceptable. For the Devils in 2009 the bounces just did not go their way. Game 7 was back and forth and it could have been a different series had Game 4 last year not ended in the last second. But overcoming a 3-0 deficit is a rare feat, so the Bruins must feel a lot worse, because they wasted every opportunity to put away the Flyers. I still am not completely recovered from our 80 second collapse, but this Bruins team will have to overcome a lot of adversity in the next few years.

Title: Should Devils take a few steps back or take a step forward. After a third straight first round playoff setback, this time in the hands of another fierce playoff rival in the Flyers, the Devils head into an offseason of soul searching and uncertainty. There are a lot of questions that will be left to answer. While I will not predict who the Devils might go after, the biggest questions still remain at defense and second line center. The 1st order of business for the Devils after locking up top prospects Mattias Tedenby and Jacob Josefson will be finding a new coach, but one thing is for certain, this procedure should not be dragged out to mid-July like the past two cases with Brent Sutter and Jacques Lemaire being hired on identical July 13th dates. Who the coach will be is anyones guess at this time as Lou has not yet commenced the process and is likely to do so by weeks end or early next week. Once a new coach is hired it will be in Lou's best interest to invest in buyout options of overrated contracts like Rolston, White, Pandolfo or even Zubrus or trying to re-sign impending unrestricted free agents Ilya Kovalchuk and Paul Martin and restricted free agent David Clarkson. Rolston has not been the same since suffering a sprained ankle early last season and played possibly the worst year of his career and his confidence level is not high. Colin White either has to be dropped to the 3rd defensive pairing or be gone. He causes way too many turnovers in his own zone and does not make smart puck decisions. Pandolfo has been in and out of the line-up and Zubrus has been more of a Zu(bust). Ilya Kovalchuk will likely test the market on July 1st, but is open to signing a new deal with the Devils before that and is likely to have a chat with Lou Lamoriello and his agent Jay Grossman sometime in June. Paul Martin has said that he would like to return to the Devils, because it would be hard to imagine to play anywhere else and has no interest in playing for his home state Wild. This next season will be make it or break it for longtime Devil main stays Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner, who have been disappointments in the Playoffs. Elias, who was Mr. Clutch for the Devils in the playoffs before the lockout has basically scored game one goals in 2007 and 2008 and then faded away. Zach Parise is very likely to get a long-term deal this summer or next summer regardless if the Devils resign Kovalchuk. Now to the defense: The Devils need to upgrade their top 4 defensemen and move White and Salvador to the 3rd pairing if White is not bough out or traded, but Lou has said he might make some changes to the core players of the team, which could signal trades. They need to sign some defensemen that could do the simple thing and block shots. In terms of a second line center, that call is up to Lou, but someone like a Mike Comrie could fit very well in New Jersey, because he has technique and does make smart decisions with the puck and probably has not earned the respect back of Oilers fans. Oh yea in my opinion Elias is a winger, not a center. Well this is all I Have to say about the possible offseason moves, in the mean time enjoy the playoffs. Go F.U.C.K yourself Philadelphia.