Poll... Would you be happy with this season if the Devils did not make the playoffs?

No just because of how the season started and it should have never happened, but if you look at if your happy at how things have changed than yea, thank god they did.

we can make the moves for one last title. we need to be quite, if anything trade veterans for young talent and prepare a new core for the future. we cant sacrifice the future for one more season like we tried last time.

I’d rather the Devils do not lose in the first round of the Playoffs.

But, I do hope the Devils make it into the Playoffs for the opportunity to prove to the world that their season turnaround is not just momentous, but in fact a historic in-season comeback upon which all modern sports watchers can look upon and envy.

Also, any team which hopes to come-back across two seasons can look upon and envy the Devils as well. For instance: the Chicago Cubs, the Buffalo Bills, any of the European relegation-based soccer and hockey league team. I mention that because the difference between the Maclean error and the Lemaire era is quite like the difference between two seasons, yet with few roster changes.

So, if the Devils do not make the playoffs, then I am still happy. As a life-long Devils fan, I know I’ve backed the right horse. Again, referring to soccer in England, there are people who support their local team even while it is relegated to The Football League’s League Two (the 4th level). Their allegiance does not wane; it waits.

Likewise: my allegiance does not wane; it waits. My happiness can wait, too, but for now I bathe in the happiness before me.

Elesias hits it pretty much exactly right, but if we miss the playoffs by like 2 or 3 points, well I won’t be as mad.

Overall, it just makes me MAD that this team with so much talent and played so well could suck that much.

I think Lou put it best:

I’m extremely happy that they showed resilience and didn’t give up on a “lost” season. On January 10th, they turned it around, but nobody was thinking about the potential for a playoff run. There’s also a lot of people (who have either told me or tweeted to me) that they feel like the Devils “tanked” the first half of the season. Those people are ignorant and have no business claiming that they are any more reliable than we are.

Now, with that said, the Devils truly have no excuse for a start as bad as 10-29-2, or more specifically, 9-22-2 at the time of John MacLean’s release. There was no system under MacLean, and once the players became frustrated with the “system” Mac had in place, they gave up. They ran into hot goalies to start the season, they never, and I mean never got any luck, and they would wind up playing catch-up and outshooting their opponents every night, but with no result. They were undisciplined under MacLean and yes, they gave up. They lost confidence. They were a team with no identity. They didn’t tank the season, but they did give up.

While the first half of the season was unacceptable and did feature a handful of lackluster performances, as well as a miserable half for most of the players, they were able to come together under Jacques Lemaire and prove that this is still a talented team. They went on a crazy run and actually made playoff teams in the east work up a sweat. Now, it is over, but they showed fans, managers and coaches, along with players throughout the league that this team cares, and just because a team started 10-29 doesn’t mean tanking for a 1st overall draft pick is worth it.

Oh, and guess what? We’re going to draft in the top-10 this season. Guess what else? We’ll have a healthy Taormina AND (hopefully) Parise back next season (Salvador too, but in my mind, there’s really no room for him). Once Parise is signed, and assuming the cap goes up 2.5-3M, the Devils could still have 2-3M cap space to pursue pieces, such as a 4th line player or a backup, but I’m pretty happy with what we have, and I truly feel that given the right coach and right balance of offense and defensive play next season, this could be a Stanley Cup caliber team.

I have questions, though.

- Does Brian Rolston have a role next season?
- Do the Devils need to shop for a puck-moving D-man (i.e. Pitkanen, likely not Kaberle)?
- Does it really matter who the backup to Marty is, and if so, do you spend $$$ and sign someone, or save the money for the trade deadline?
- Should Parise and Kovalchuk be seperated (yes)?
- Should the Devils try to impliment a more offensive system to suit the talent such as Kovalchuk, Parise, Zajac, Tedenby, Josefson, Elias, etc?
- Are Tedenby and Josefson ready for top-6 roles?

When it’s all said and done, I don’t think the roster will be overhauled or changed much, and it’ll be interesting to see who plays where.