Season in review-New Jersey Devils

A season that seemed so promising ended far too early for the New Jersey Devils with a five game elimination at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Devils were lifeless and listless for the most part in the series and deserved to lose.
The Devils were once again successful in the regular season and the acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk seemed to be a possible missing piece of the playoff puzzle,but it was not meant to be.

Some are blaming Kovalchuk and perhaps his play in the postseason was not what many expected,(he did lead the team in points with six) but I did like his effort and would love to see him back in red and black.
Look for a post soon on my thoughts on the Devils unrestricted free agents,who I would like to see stay,who I would like to see go and some possible replacements and positions that need help.
Left Wing was the strength at forward with Kovalchuk,Zach Parise,Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston.
Kovalchuk and Parise each finished the season with over eighty points,while Rolston scored 20 goals with only an early season injury kept Elias short of 20 (he finished with 19).
The big question is will the Devils make an effort to keep Kovalchuk and would he stay if the effort was made.
That is a bigger question with the homegrown Parise being an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season.
Can the Devils afford to put so much of their cap into left wings?
Time will tell.
Elias slipped a bit from his previous season's performance,but was along the lines of his normal production,while Rolston improved from his first season,but is certainly slipping with age.

The centers are the weakness of the team and it showed against the Flyers,who used their superiority down the middle to control the series and win with ease.
Only Travis Zajac with 25 goals and 42 assists provided anything close to offensive help among the centers.Dainius Zubrus continues to be erratic with his play and the Devils are paying far too much for this level of production.Rob Niedermayer and Dean McAmmond were decent enough all things considered,but both are getting up there in age and aren't the type of offensive threat that the team needs.
I grew tired of seeing either of them on crucial power play situations that one knew they weren't up for.The Devils need help here in the worst way.

Right wing featured the Captain Jamie Langenbrunner,who's numbers of 19 and 42 look good until you peel the onion for his late season and playoff sulking and non-production.
I realize that with Jacques Lemaire gone,this could change but a team cannot have its captain behaving in such a manner.
It does affect the team and some players more than others....
David Clarkson missed a bit over half the season,so his numbers aren't as bad as they look.
Vladimir Zharkov started strongly,but finished without a goal and faded down the stretch.
Jay Pandolfo played both wings and showed signs that his career is nearing its end.
Rod Pelley saw time at various positions and even though the John Madden comparisons were a bit much,Pelley played well enough to stick around.
Andrew Peters won his share of fights,but was a liability otherwise and needs to go as Pierre Luc Leblond can do the same job for less cost.
Having both of them on the parent roster is quite redundant.

On defense,the breakout star was Andy Greene,who entered the season battling to see ice time and ended it as arguably the Devils best defenseman.
I would like to see Greene do it again before assuming he has arrived,but I liked Greene's season very much.
Paul Martin missed much of the season with a broken arm and wasn't quite a standout after his return.
The Devils have a huge decision to make with Martin,who will be an unrestricted free agent.
Mike Mottau basically was himself with the occasional good evening mixed with some boneheaded mistakes.
Colin White was really strong on some nights and not so swift on others,while Bryce Salvador was the steadiest of the D first blueliners as far as consistency goes.
Late season pickup Martin Skoula was better than expected in the regular season,but struggled in the playoffs.
Mark Fraser had the struggles that young players will have,but his physical game and willingness to be physical gives me hope.
I really liked what I saw from Matt Corrente in small exposures and next year should be his full time chance with the Devils.
Anssi Salmela was often scratched after his return from Atlanta.
I thought Lemaire didn't like him,but he has offensive possibilities,if the Devils would give him more of a chance..

Martin Brodeur was as good as ever and the playoff loss had little to do with him other than a weak Game five,Marty will not be around forever,so maybe next year is the year Jeff Frazee will sit and learn from the best.
If not,I would be fine with Yann Danis returning.
Danis wasn't awful in his few games.

The Devils exceeded expectations with an Atlantic Division title,but the third straight first round exit from the playoffs shows me that some things need to change.
What are they?
I'll hit them after the playoffs are over with some thoughts for the Devils off season...

Photo Credit:c. 2008 NJ TRANSIT/Michael Rosenthal-Photographer