With Ilya Kovalchuk off to Russia, it will be a new look for the Devils in what could be Martin Brodeur’s final hurrah.

Greetings puckers! This will be our new home. New York Puck is a hockey blog covering the Rangers, Devils, Islanders, Sabres and the NHL. Derek Felix, Hasan Allahverdi and Brian Sanborn have kept tradition alive following Battle Of New York originator and current Puck The Media originator Steve Lepore.

With August approaching, we’re a little over a month until training camp. Two months and counting until the puck drops on 2013-14. With relocation and four divisions, it’s a whole new game. How will it impact the area locals? The newly formed Metro Division features the Devils, Islanders, Rangers, Blue Jackets, Capitals, Flyers, Hurricanes and Penguins. As much as five teams can make the playoffs from one division. It all depends if they can beat out the new Atlantic consisting of the Bruins, Canadiens, Leafs, Lightning, Panthers, Red Wings, Sabres and Senators. The new look East will have 16 teams vying for eight spots while the West boasts only 14 with Winnipeg shifting to the Central.

Jaromir Jagr has a new home in Newark. The Devils are his fifth team in the old Patrick (Pens, Caps, Rangers, Flyers, Devils). At 41, No.68 continues his tour that also included stops in Dallas and Boston this past season. How much can he help the Devils after they lost Ilya Kovalchuk to the KHL? Jagr will team with fellow Czech Olympic teammates Patrik Elias and Marek Zidlicky. Lou Lamoriello also added Ryane Clowe and Michael Ryder this offseason. He took a flyer on Rotislav Olesz. His biggest move was trading their first round pick for Cory Schneider giving the Devils a future No.1 who can supplant Martin Brodeur. How will Pete DeBoer handle the two goalies in an Olympic schedule that includes a league high 22 back-to-backs?

Across the Hudson, the Rangers have mostly stood pat. Having re-signed Ryan McDonagh and Carl Hagelin, Glen Sather still has one major hurdle to climb getting Derek Stepan re-upped. With over three million left, the club is going to arbitration with mighty mite Mats Zuccarello. With not much to spend after retaining Brad Richards, Slats went under the radar adding Dominic Moore and Benoit Pouliot to bolster depth. He also picked up defenseman Justin Falk and journeyman Aaron Johnson. One move they’re hoping will boost scoring is the trade for Danny Kristo. He teamed with Stepan and Chris Kreider helping Team USA win gold at the 2010 WJC. After four years with Michigan, he might be ready. Alain Vigneault has the task of improving team scoring after trading places with John Tortorella. Can he make it work?

Meanwhile, the Islanders got tougher adding human wrecking ball Cal Clutterbuck in a trade for former first round pick Nino Niederreiter. Able to re-sign Evgeni Nabokov in net, Travis Hamonic long-term and Matt Martin, Garth Snow has kept a solid nucleus in place featuring superstar John Tavares. Pierre-Marc Bouchard has replaced Brad Boyes. Gone is Mark Streit to the Flyers for bigger dollars. The Isles are looking to Hamonic and Andrew MacDonald to anchor the blueline following a strong showing against Pittsburgh. How MacDonald comes back from injury is a factor. Is this the year we see Ryan Strome? And can former No.1 pick Calvin de haan beat out Matt Donovan and Aaron Ness?

In Western New York, the Sabres have gone from trying to compete to rebuild mode. Both Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek should be available. Each is in their last year with Buffalo going in another direction. How competitive can they be in a loaded division featuring the Bruins, Habs, Leafs, Sens and Wings? All made the postseason last year and are stronger than the Sabres. There isn’t much scoring behind Vanek and top center Cody Hodgson. They need more consistency from Drew Stafford and are looking to former No.1 Mikhail Grigorenko to mature in his second year. Steve Ott was solid in his first year and will continue to be a pest. Tyler Ennis also must step up. A healthy Marcus Foligno can help. They’re hoping bringing back Henrik Tallinder will fix Tyler Myers. He’s regressed and is desperately needed to anchor a D that includes Christian Ehrhoff and newcomer Jamie McBain, who Darcy Regier stole from Carolina. How much time will Jhonas Enroth see in net? Miller is clearly on the outs. It could be a long year.

There’s also the Sochi Olympics to look forward to. How will Kovalchuk be greeted by former NHLers? There’s plenty to look forward to for hockey fans.