Perhaps’ the biggest surprise with the Devils roster on the eve of the season is who did not get sent down as opposed to who did.  On Monday, the Devils waived forwards Cam Janssen, Steve Bernier and defenseman Peter Harrold – the latter two on one-way deals – all but signaling that 20-year Damon Severson made the team in his first year as a pro.  With the departure of Ryan Carter to Minnesota, the Devils moved quickly to sign sparkplug-type Jordin Tootoo.  Circumstances around Carter’s departure seem sketchy, with Carter admitting he turned down a summer contract offer before other subsequent roster moves forced him to pay for insurance just to attend camp.  Finally, the writing seemed on the wall with the Devils’ interest in Tootoo so Carter moved on.  Still without room on the roster for Scott Gomez, he agreed to stay with the team for a while assuming something else opens on the roster (either an injury or a trade).

Although the Devils publicly vacilated on whether Harrold would get assigned to Albany finally he did, just before yesterday’s 5 PM roster deadline though GM Lou Lamoriello added ‘nothing is in cement’ – alluding to the fact there could still be changes before tomorrow’s opener in Philly.  Still, it seems obvious Severson is in the team’s immediate plans on defense as a 20-year old.  My feelings on this are mixed.  Sure it’s great that Severson’s so far advanced that he’s shoehorned his way into the lineup this year but with vets Andy Greene, Bryce Salvador and Marek Zidlicky all but certain to play when healthy it creates a situation where the younger defensemen will (in theory) be rotating in and out of the lineup.  Though Jon Merrill seems safe, clearly fourth-year pro Adam Larsson and second-year pro Eric Gelinas are not.  This had to be the season we needed to see whether Larsson and Gelinas could stick on the team with Severson and other guys like Seth Hegelson and last year’s #1 Steve Santini on the way.

Larsson is my cautionary tale for people getting too excited over Severson in fact.  The former #4 overall pick made the team as an 18-year old in 2011-12, impressed everyone through the first half of the season then fatigue and injury slowed him in the second half and arguably he’s never been the same since then, especially after being a healthy scratch for several straight games to open the 2013 season.  I’m just worried we’re doing the same thing to Severson, rushing him before he’s ready the way we did Larsson and forward Jacob Josefson, both of whom now appear to be on the outside looking in still at a relatively young age.  It was one thing to rush Larsson when our defense was so unsettled in 2011-12, but rushing Severson when we have a solid group and Harrold as a capable #7 is something else.  They’d better be right about Severson being fully ready, especially if it’s going to send Larsson or Gelinas out of town.  In practice yesterday Larsson was skating on the fourth defensive pairing, which can’t thrill the young Swede who’s been jerked in and out of the lineup the last two seasons and has confidence issues.  Of course Gelinas will probably sit some as well, given the fact he was in the doghouse and being played at forward late last year because they wanted his power play point shot in the lineup but couldn’t deal with his defensive snafus.  In theory Severson should get some rest time but with this management’s history I could see him playing 20+ minutes a game for the first 25 games then falling off, while Larsson/Gelinas alternate being in the doghouse.

Up front I suppose the biggest surprise was Tootoo getting a contract and making the team over Carter and Gomez.  My first indication that Tootoo was going to make the team and probably be a starter was when they gave him a fifth preseason game on Saturday and said they wanted to get another look at him because they ‘didn’t know him as well as Gomez’ (after Gomez only played three preseason games).  Clearly he fits the Pete version of a grinder fourth line more than Brunner or even Gomez for that matter.  You do wonder what the pecking order is up front…assuming the unhappy Brunner is eventually dealt will Boucher be the first callup with an injury in the top nine or will Gomez be signed by that point?  Will Matteau be the callup if they need a bottom line replacement or will Jacob Josefson – remember me, Lou? – actually get a chance?  Since Josefson’s on a two-year deal it’s kind of surprising he’s already on the outside looking in but then again it’s not like you can count on the fragile Swede to stay healthy even if he did get a real shot.

There were no surprises in goal after Saturday’s move (just after my blog) to demote Keith Kinkaid made Scott Clemmensen the backup – if on paper given the lack of backup games the first month of the season barring a Cory Schnieder injury.  Still it’ll be interesting to see how Cory transitions into being a 65+ game guy and whether if Kinkaid’s playing well down in Albany does he then get a shot when the schedule tightens up in November or will Clemmensen get a few games to ‘win’ the backup job?

At this point I’m just about ready for the season.  I may or may not do a season preview proper before tomorrow night’s opener against the Flyers, depending on how I feel later after getting home late since I didn’t get much sleep last night.  This season I might just do more of a week-by-week recap as opposed to every single game – particularly during busy weeks – although I will do game recaps for ‘special’ nights (Thursday, the home opener).