Arnott and Brodeur with disturbing quotes, more trades coming sooner rather than later?

There's more to this than I thought, so I figured I'd go with a fan post over a fan shot.

Now, as we know, there were many reasons to trade Jamie Langenbrunner.  He wasn't happy here, he wanted to win elsewhere, he needed the change of scenery, the Devils need to get younger and get something back for him before he left as a UFA in July.  Personally, I am not happy with the return.  There were reports from some reliable sources suggesting that packages of a single prospect and 4th or 5th round pick were available, and if you can get a sure thing now, you do it.  Anyway, something is better than nothing, and that's what ended up happening.

I am aware, as any rational person would be (that is not meant to offend anyone) that you trade your UFA-to-be's away for a return when you're losing and looking ahead.  It's a simple economic trend that almost always applies to professional sports.  If you have a player you're likely going to lose, and you're not prepared to make a serious playoff run, you get something back for him.  I am fine with the Langenbrunner trade in that regard, and now other general managers know that Lou has given up on this season and that we are open for business.

With that said, I am a little concerned with comments made by Jason Arnott today.  Have a look:

“I’m being serious,” Arnott said.

Being on a team that almost certainly won’t make the playoffs is something new for Arnott, like most of the other Devils’ players. He made it clear he’d like to have a chance to help another team win.

“I’ve never been in this situation before,” he said. “I didn’t really want to be in this situation. I came here to try and win and be in the playoffs. So, it’s a little unfamliar territory for myself. It’s not a great feeling, but it’s the business of the game and, of course, I’d love to play in the playoffs and help another team win, but we’ll see what happens.”

Well, think of it this way, Nashville is fourth in the Western Conference as I type this, New Jersey is 30th in the league.  It's safe to say Arnott wouldn't mind being in Nashville right now, but again, I could be wrong.  I'm sure Arnott will be moved, and the return may mirror Langenbrunner's deal, I can't imagine anything drastically different.

Then there's Martin Brodeur.  I still am not sure I completely understand what he means when he says:

If the organization did make it clear that it wanted to tear the whole team down and start over from scratch next season, then, Brodeur said, he would prefer to move elsewhere.

“Definitely,” Brodeur said. “No question because you want to play, you want to have success. You want to have at least another chance to win another championship.”

And Brodeur believes that will be possible with the Devils in 2011-12.

What's possible with the 2011-12 Devils?  A blowup?  Does Brodeur look at himself and think that once the Devils lose him, they have to rebuild?  Lou said today that he is not rebuilding (see Versus article).  Lou never rebuilds.  He's never really had to rebuild completely.  My question is, why did Brodeur say what he did?  This is different from his previous comments where he stated he would be moved IF Lou Lamoriello felt he needed to be moved.

It all comes down to Zach Parise.  He's a very powerful person right now, and his loyalty will be tested dramatically over the next few months.  The Devils' short-term fate rests in Parise's decision.  If Parise stays with the Devils for a reasonable contract, the Devils will have fewer holes to fill and can realistically look at making the playoffs before Patrik Elias' contract comes off the books after 2012-13, and that might be his final deal, who knows.  I believe Elias is done with the Devils after one season after his current deal ends.  If Parise does not re-sign, the rebuilding process becomes a much longer one.

Look, I've said it before and it remains true, NHL teams need good goaltending, not great goaltending to win now.  They need clutch saves at certain points of a hockey game, but it doesn't matter if you have Niemi or Miller in net.  Think of the good teams this season: Pittsburgh, Philly, Tampa, Washington, Dallas, even the Canucks to an extent, they have good goaltending for the most part, but none of them, not even Luongo is elite right this moment.

So it all depends on how Lou Lamoriello handles his first real rebuild.  Lou might just deal Langenbrunner, Arnott, Hedberg and Greene, the free agents.  Maybe he deals Mair too.  Or maybe he tries to get significantly younger and moves Bryce Salvador, Clarkson, White, maybe he can get rid of Rolston somehow, Zubrus, and maybe he trades Brodeur.  I personally doubt Lou is going to blow this team up.  That is unlike Lou no matter how bad things get.  Hopefully, the Devils can add defensemen and maybe even a decent center to this team in all of this, and young players at that.  Hopefully the Devils can go into this draft in 2011 knowing who to draft: Couturier or Larsson, because one of them will fill the Devils' top need.  Right now, there are holes on the roster and it would take more than one draft pick to fix them.  This might be Lou Lamoriello's biggest test as a general manager.

*All quotes used in this fan post are from Tom Gulitti of Fire and Ice.