Martin Brodeur leaving the ice possibly for the last time

In too many recent seasons, the Devils have entered camp with an overriding question or contreversy that needed to be addressed.  In 2010, it was the cap/roster issues due to the monster Ilya Kovalchuk contract that led to the team having short rosters early in the season and an unhappy captain refusing to waive a no-trade until the season was completely in the tank (Jamie Langenbrunner).  The next season it was Zach Parise’s impending UFA status and ownership financial problems that hung over the team like the sword of Damocles even as the Devils made a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals.  In 2012, the team had to replace one-and-done captain Parise and his 30+ goal, 70+ point production on the heels of a lockout, and also had to drag an unhappy Kovalchuk back from Russia.  Last year, there was the matter of replacing Kovalchuk who decided to stay in Russia permanently this time, as well as deal with a goaltending contreversy between draft day acquisition Cory Schnieder and franchise legend Martin Brodeur.

This season?  To be sure there are question marks and storylines…for one Brodeur’s not here for the first time in two decades (though still on the market as a UFA, now officially in career limbo), while Schnieder’s fully entrenched as the goaltender-in-chief with a new six-year extension.  Another former team legend that isn’t here is Scott Stevens, who left the coaching staff a few days before the season, following two seasons as an assistant on Pete DeBoer’s staff and several others as a special assistant.  Personal and professional reasons were the official reason given for Stevens’ departure, though NJ.com’s Rich Chere wrote – via ‘several sources’ – that Stevens didn’t feel like he had enough input in decision-making.  Whatever the reason, the organization announced that Tommy Albelin would make the jump from the Albany staff to replace Stevens, which might actually work out well considering Albelin’s worked extensively with all of the young defensemen that are going to be counted on to be in the lineup this season.

Still even Brodeur and Stevens’ departures (notwithstanding the presence of Anthony Brodeur in camp) pale in comparison to the issues of recent seasons past.  There are still plenty of question marks, to be sure – as there is with just about any team coming into camp – but at least this time around it doesn’t feel like there’s a reaper just around the corner.  With Schnieder and blueline stalwart Andy Greene signed to long-term deals in the offseason, the Devils can at least continue to budget for additions to the team as opposed to merely trying to prevent more departures…and with new ownership in its second season, there will at least be more money to spend than there was a few years back.  Also after two seasons of contreversy and an overcrowded defense, finally the shift towards having a younger defense and a more set lineup got put in motion with the buyout of Anton Volchenkov and the FA departure of solid but not spectacular Mark Fayne.  Veterans Andy Greene, Marek Zidlicky and Bryce Salvador will complement youngsters Adam Larsson, Jon Merrill and Eric Gelinas with Peter Harrold a solid #7 fillin.

Thankfully Gelinas signed earlier this week to eschew the possibility of a camp holdout, which seemed kind of likely once infamous agent Gilles Lupien started making very personal comments about GM Lou Lamoriello (not surprpising though given their history, considering it was Lupien who was famously fired by Brodeur when the goalie decided to come to his own deal with Lou to end a contract stalemate in the late ’90’s).  Even with the defense apparently set however, there’s still a little intrigue with camp tryouts Tomas Kaberle and Mike Komisarek, as well as KHL veteran Renat Mamashev.  It’s pretty unlikely that any of them beat out the kids for a spot – Larsson and Gelinas are waiver-eligible and would never get down to the AHL anyway, while Merrill was too good last year to even consider having him start the season in Albany – but one could possibly beat out Harrold for the #7 defense spot I suppose, or be on standby in case someone gets hurt in camp.

Likewise our forward lineup seems set or close to it with fourteen guys signed on one-way contracts plus fan favorite Ryan Carter, who’s attending camp without a contract but probably will be signed at some point.  Yet there are some intriguing camp bodies that could further cloud the forward picture with scoring winger Reid Boucher and former first-rounder Stefan Matteau the biggest names among our prospect base and the most likely to make an impact in 2014-15.  Both will likely start in Albany this year barring injuries and/or trades though.  Also in camp are some vet tryouts up front, including feisty Jordin Tootoo and scoring vagabond Ruslan Fedotenko, who seems to want to complete a tour of the locals after being with the Rangers and Flyers the last couple years.

Of course the biggest name among our camp invites is the most familiar/notorious to Devil fans – Scott Gomez, who was a key figure on our team during our most dominant stretch (2000-2003) where we won two Cups and three Wales Conference bowls during a four-year period.  Gomez had his best season in 2005-06 with 33 goals and 84 points.  However, Gomez soon became blacklisted among Devil fans after he made the jump to the rival Rangers during the summer of 2007, and his career fell on hard times from 2010 on after being traded to Montreal – also playing in San Jose and Florida the last couple of seasons after being bought out by the Canadiens.  Perhaps it’s telling Gomez got the number 28 (FA signee Mike Cammalleri’s wearing Gomez’s old #23), while all of the other vet invites got high numbers.  Usually lower numbers = more of a chance to make the team.  Gomez making the team would probably be bad news for the ill-fated Jacob Josefson whose career’s been plagued by injuries and benchings – though the former first-rounder signed a two-year deal in the offseason – still, if Gomez somehow turns back the clock a bit a la Petr Sykora a couple years back, he could easily outperform Josefson and win a job.  There’s also the possibility Gomez is just insurance in case the fragile Swede winds up on IR again during camp.

While I really want to see Josefson get a chance and finally make the most of it this year, part of me is hoping Gomez lasts at least till our preseason home games to see both his public pandering to the fans and the fans’ reaction since the booing never really abated even after Gomez’s career cratered.  Oh well, what would Devils camp be without at least one or two returning former players – the other returnee this year being goaltender Scott Clemmensen, who’s competing with young Keith Kinkaid for the role of backing up Schnieder this year.  Clemmensen has been remembered much more fondly by the fans since leaving thanks to his Cinderella 25-win season in 2009 that saved our bacon when Brodeur was on IR for four months.  Still, after a bad couple of seasons in Florida it’s far more likely he begins the season in Albany if Kinkaid outperforms him in camp.  That competition will certainly be an intriguing thing to watch.

Competition seems to be the new buzzword around camp in fact.  Even though most of the roster would appear to be set at the present time, there’s definite competition for forward spots among young and old players (most on short or no contracts), for places in the defensive pecking order among the younger players – including Damon Severson who might potentially be this season’s Merrill and make an impact out of nowhere – and competition for the #2 goaltending spot.  All of this is a good thing by the way…for all of my issues with how the defense was handled the last couple years, I’ve never been against competition, especially on a team that’s missed the playoffs the last couple years.  What happened on defense those two years didn’t help matters however, and seemed more like a rotation and exercise of roster convenience than an actual competition.  On the other hand, loading up on forwards to start camp this year is not exactly a bad strategy, given the number of older/injury-prone guys we have up front.

While there are certainly question marks around the Devils and how good they can be this year (and I’ll be commenting on them through camp), at least camp will be intriguing to watch without many of the worries during recent seasons.  Here’s a numerical/positional roster of everyone in Devils camp this year:

http://devils.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=730479