Devils give five-year commitment to move to Albany

[overtime98]

Cool I'll probably be going to school there in a year or so can't wait to see the young guys. I guess it's cool to just wear a plain old devils jersey there right? or do I have to buy another jersey now? How much cheaper are tickets there?

yes lots of fans wear Devils jerseys... tickets are around $15 a piece. lower level seats

[skullsmasher]

yes lots of fans wear Devils jerseys... tickets are around $15 a piece. lower level seats

SHABAMMMM

[RowdyFan42]

Congrats to Albany

I hope they don't keep the River Rats name and logo, which is uber lame.

I liked it.

Tough decison for what's left of the Trenton fan base. And surely you must be kidding asking if they were going to keep the River Rats name and logo earlier in the thread. Rowdyfan - you know exactly what you can expect from the org, you've seen their minor league magic before, nothing has changed.

I wouldn't be surprised either way. The old logo was done up in Devils colors for years and the team wore Devils blanks, it would be easy to go back to that. If they do go with Albany Devils, though, the least they could do is come up with a different logo like they did in Lowell (and in Utica back in the days). That hack job of simply putting "Trenton" above the NJ Devils logo was terrible, I feel bad for you guys in Trenton.

Cool I'll probably be going to school there in a year or so can't wait to see the young guys. I guess it's cool to just wear a plain old devils jersey there right? or do I have to buy another jersey now? How much cheaper are tickets there?

Yeah, you'll be fine wearing a regular Devils jersey, lots of people do. You'll see a combination of old-school Rats jerseys, the new Canes-style duds, the yellow Ronald McDonald ones that they've worn for charity, and Devils, Rags and Sabres jerseys. Probably some others as well.

This year tickets were $17 for adults, $13 for kids/seniors.

Where are you going? SUNY Albany?

[Weekes Head]

Hey I started posting it before RD posted, but I had to check Charlotte or Charlotteville. Don't wanna misinform the folks now.

excuses excuses! (OH MY GOSH I JUST NOTICED THAT THIS SMILEY IS CALLED RD. THAT'S SO AMAZING) :RD: :RD:

anyway, i really miss going up to albany for a game or two a year. it'll be awesome getting back to the area.

[DaneykoIsGod]

If they do go with Albany Devils, though, the least they could do is come up with a different logo like they did in Lowell (and in Utica back in the days). That hack job of simply putting "Trenton" above the NJ Devils logo was terrible, I feel bad for you guys in Trenton.

IF they go with Albany Devils, I don't think they'll half-ass the logo like they did in Trenton. The horned and tailed NJ works with Trenton since its in New Jersey. I kinda doubt they'd put NJ on the chest of a team playing in NY.

Though I wouldn't be surprised if I'm wrong here.

[Weekes Head]

they'll just slap a couple tails on an A and call it a day.

[Neb00rs]

Albany, Lowell - doesn't make a diff to me. I don't ever have the time (laziness included) to drive up there. I went to one game in all the time they were in Albany and that was because my father got free tickets or something. I wish they would move the team to Newark. Then if someone is sucking for us all he has to do is switch his jersey. But I guess there is no motivation there. No offense to what I believe is Rowdy's home, but if I was playing in Albany, I'd play twice as hard just to get out of there.

Edited April 27, 2010 by ben00rs

[RowdyFan42]

Albany, Lowell - doesn't make a diff to me. I don't ever have the time (laziness included) to drive up there. I went to one game in all the time they were in Albany and that was because my father got free tickets or something. I wish they would move the team to Newark. Then if someone is sucking for us all he has to do is switch his jersey. But I guess there is no motivation there. No offense to what I believe is Rowdy's home, but if I was playing in Albany, I'd play twice as hard just to get out of there.

None taken. Besides, that's the whole point of the minor leagues. You shouldn't WANT to be there unless you have no drive to make it to the NHL or you're near the end of your career and you've grown attached to the city.

Besides, Albany's a straight shot up the NYS Thruway, about 2 and a half hours from The Rock. I think Lowell's something like 4 hours, isn't it?

[Shtikl]

In the minor leagues … I look at how the players have developed and how they're prepared when they come here. … The philosophy of the developmental team is to prepare players. … Winning is important, but not as important. We could put a Calder Cup champion into Lowell every year if we wanted to. But it [would] be a mistake for developing players. — Lou Lamoriello, 2010 April 26

This might be music to the ears of the NHL Devils fans, but it's bad news for the AHL and ECHL Devils fans.

[Neb00rs]

None taken. Besides, that's the whole point of the minor leagues. You shouldn't WANT to be there unless you have no drive to make it to the NHL or you're near the end of your career and you've grown attached to the city.

Besides, Albany's a straight shot up the NYS Thruway, about 2 and a half hours from The Rock. I think Lowell's something like 4 hours, isn't it?

Yes Tsongas is 2 more hours than TUC, the fault lies with my lack of motivation. However, I'm sure the players that will be up and down all season will appreciate the move. Sorry about the shot at Albany but it does seem pretty depressing, but maybe I'm just bitter that SUNY Albany rejected me some years ago when I was applying to college.

Edited April 27, 2010 by ben00rs

[titans04]

This might be music to the ears of the NHL Devils fans, but it's bad news for the AHL and ECHL Devils fans.

Hey Rowdy so much for the town wanting winning hockey.

[skullsmasher]

Where are you going? SUNY Albany?

I MAY be going to Albany college of pharmacy & health sciences, provided I get in. I have family and friends in the Albany area anyway so either way I will probably be going to some games either way.

[CRASHER]

And I gotta admit I was kinda starting to miss the ol'Hill St. Cafe too up there.... it's still there I hope???

And fighting with the Albany fans... good times.... good times indeed.... (wonder if this means Laura's gonna make a comeback here?)

[Triumph]

yeah rowdy the albany devils/river rats are clearly just going to lose every game.

the devils are building a nice stable of prospects that should have albany being a playoff team most years for the forseeable future.

[Devils1985]

The priority list always goes:

1. Player development (according to organization priority)

2. Winning.

Trenton had a player released during the playoff push to make roster space for a guy they wanted to see more - fine in theory but the guy ditched was playing much better than the other guy.

The Devils seem to embrace this philosophy more than other teams. Trenton's roster certainly has been biased more toward 'potential prospects' than it was during the Titans days, when they actually did have playoff success (two finals appearances and one title).

We'll see how it develops. They really need to push the fun factor otherwise though if they're dedicated to rosters that spend the first half of the season getting used to the pro game.

[titans04]

Obviously Zharkov was much better off working the nachos for all 5 games, and it wasn't like Corrente was used out of position or anything dumb like that. As Lou said if they were left in Lowell they would at least made the second round. Good to know he also thinks he could ice a Calder cup winning team every year if he wanted to, simply clueless. But hey 2 playoff game wins since the lockout, all is well. Sorry 3 if you want to count the one Devils AHL affliate victory in the pasr decade.

[squishyx]

Anyway we can get a title change? Every time I come here I think we signed someone for 5 years because it gets cut off =/

[thelastonealive]

Anyway we can get a title change? Every time I come here I think we signed someone for 5 years because it gets cut off =/

I'm mildly surprised no one's come in screaming like a psychotic headless chicken (don't ask me how a headless chicken can scream) wondering why the Devils are moving to Albany. Seeing as the headline doesn't specify the Lowell Devils and the byline is not seen on the main page.

[Masked Fan]

excuses excuses! (OH MY GOSH I JUST NOTICED THAT THIS SMILEY IS CALLED RD. THAT'S SO AMAZING)

anyway, i really miss going up to albany for a game or two a year. it'll be awesome getting back to the area.

Yeah, I noticed that years ago. Must be nice to have a rockin smiley named after you.

Does the second part mean you'll be road tripping or moving again??

[NJ4life]

Congrats to Albany

I hope they don't keep the River Rats name and logo, which is uber lame.

Not happening, it will be Albany Devils. They are trying to brand the Devils name and made all their minor league teams change to Devils a few years back.

[Triumph]

Obviously Zharkov was much better off working the nachos for all 5 games, and it wasn't like Corrente was used out of position or anything dumb like that. As Lou said if they were left in Lowell they would at least made the second round. Good to know he also thinks he could ice a Calder cup winning team every year if he wanted to, simply clueless. But hey 2 playoff game wins since the lockout, all is well. Sorry 3 if you want to count the one Devils AHL affliate victory in the pasr decade.

yeah zharkov wasn't injured or anything.

he could ice a superb calder cup contending team every year, it's not hard.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Triumph

[NJDevs4978]

yeah zharkov wasn't injured or anything.

he could ice a superb calder cup contending team every year, it's not hard.

Did we ever find out what this so-called injury was? Not that Lou would have any reason to lie about it at face value but who knows with this team anymore.

Good to know he also thinks he could ice a Calder cup winning team every year if he wanted to, simply clueless. But hey 2 playoff game wins since the lockout, all is well. Sorry 3 if you want to count the one Devils AHL affliate victory in the pasr decade.

I realize the primary goal of the minor league team is to develop prospects but I actually think it hasn't helped that Albany/Lowell has been such a wasteland in recent years. Is it any surprise that we've become a team that doesn't know what to do in big games when we develop kids who never play in any? When we were winning Calder Cups and having a successful minor league team we were consistently integrating kids who knew what it took to win.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Hasan4978

[RowdyFan42]

And I gotta admit I was kinda starting to miss the ol'Hill St. Cafe too up there.... it's still there I hope???

Yeah, it's still there.

And fighting with the Albany fans... good times.... good times indeed.... (wonder if this means Laura's gonna make a comeback here?)

I talked to her at the game tonight (Hershey won 6-5 in OT to go up 3-0), she says she might pop in once in a while.

I realize the primary goal of the minor league team is to develop prospects but I actually think it hasn't helped that Albany/Lowell has been such a wasteland in recent years. Is it any surprise that we've become a team that doesn't know what to do big games when we develop kids who never play in any? When we were winning Calder Cups and having a successful minor league team we were consistently integrating kids who knew what it took to win.

Agreed 100%.

[Triumph]

I realize the primary goal of the minor league team is to develop prospects but I actually think it hasn't helped that Albany/Lowell has been such a wasteland in recent years. Is it any surprise that we've become a team that doesn't know what to do in big games when we develop kids who never play in any? When we were winning Calder Cups and having a successful minor league team we were consistently integrating kids who knew what it took to win.

it's hard for my eyes to roll any more at this point. almost none of the devils players played significant time in the minors. parise had one season, zajac had none, martin had none, greene was in the NHL by the end of his first pro season. david clarkson is really the only 'young' devil who spent any time there.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Triumph

[titans04]

Gotta paint Albany red, probably with the unused paint from Lowell and Albany. Zharkov going goaless in 40 games had nothing to do with him not playing I'm sure. With the vet limit tell me the secret to icing a Calder cup team these days. It's not like you can stack the roster with proven vetern guys. What is possible is to have all three of your teams be successful you don't have to sacrifice winning at any level to develop talent. The Caps have figured that out in recent years, I'm not talking about winning championship every year but being highly competitive across all 3.

For those that only care about Newark clearly it's not a big deal, although they haven't done much since 2003 playoff wise. For the few that actually have season tickets for the minor league teams it sucks.