SSiG

Stevens With Natural Hat Trick, Clips Wings A new season means a new attitude...maybe? Kevin Stevens had 3 goals in the span of one minute to help the Devils to a 4-3 victory against Detroit @ Brendan Byrne Arena. Stevens also assisted on the game winner with 30 seconds left from Doug Gilmour. "We came in here looking to win, and we did exactly that" Kevin Stevens told reporters as he talked about the game. "They worked hard tonight and got exactly what they deserved" Head coach Tom Delgado said of the win. "Casey worked incredibly hard to keep us in it, and Kevin did exactly what we brought him in here to do. I'm proud of this win" Delgado went on to say, before leaving for the night in a limo.

I've never been able to do it, so does that mean I should just go 0-56-0 to avoid doing it?

You should see me when I'm playing Ice Hockey (NES) with a team full of fat men

Gilmour Expecting Great Year, Rest of Devils Expecting to Struggle There is an optimist in the room today. Doug Gilmour has boldly said that his New Jersey Devils, who were the laughing stock of the draft league last season with just 6 wins, will DOUBLE their win output of last season, and compete to get out of the Northeast Conference cellar. Heh, good luck with that Dougie. Here is our insider's preview of the New Jersey Devils as they get ready for another season. Goalies - This looks to be big trouble. Again, the Devils brass went for offense first, defense second, and goalies last. Jon Casey (KC) and the Sunshine Band is expected to struggle, but there's a familiar face as his backup. Darcy Wakaluk returns for his second season as the Devils' backup goalie. After performing admirably in split duty with Bob Essensa last season, Darcy expects to get more starts and more ice time. Expect the Devils to let in a lot of goals unless their defense gives them a hand, and so far this preseason, that has not been the case. Rating: F+ (Last year: D) Defense - Adding tough guy Scott Stevens and veteran all-arounder Curtis Leschyshyn makes the Devils a little tougher on defense. Stevens brings brusing power to the table, as he is expected to do what Rob Blake and Paul Coffey couldn't do, and that's send puckhandlers crashing to the ice. Leschyshyn is expected to be the Paul Coffey-type player on this team, an offensive defenseman. Backups Bruce Driver and Alexi Kastanov expect to see some ice time as well, and they are solid if nothing else. Rating: C- (Last year: B-) Offense - This is where the Devils expect to shine. They've improved their front line with returning speedster Doug Gilmour, and new boys Esa Tikkanen (60 points in season 1) and Kevin Stevens, who is coming off a season which he saw little action. Stevens will be looking to prove himself. New Jersey's backup offensive players are pretty competent themselves, with the fast-skating Randy Wood leading the way. Wood already has 2 goals this preseason, and is expected to see a lot more ice-time as the preseason winds down. Veteran Wendel Clark will be the 2nd line center, and he brings experience, leadership, and a father-figure locker room presence. Chris Kontos is a young man with a lot of potential, and despite not playing at all last season for San Jose, Devils brass were quick to draft him. Kontos is expected to play 2nd line right wing, but should struggles come up for Kevin Stevens, Kontos will be ready to step in and play a big role. Rating: C+ (Last year: C) Overall - It's going to be another long season in New Jersey, but fans are upbeat about this team. They are expecting to be a lot more competitive. Time will tell if these guys can gel together and get over the 10 wins bar that coach Tom Delgado has set for them. Nobody in the league is expecting the Devils to do much of anything, but if everything falls their way, they could contend for a playoff spot. They're not to where they want to be yet, and I don't see them getting there anytime soon, but they could sneak up on some people. Prediction: 10-41-0-5 (25 points, last in Northeast Division, last in East) Player Predictions Doug Gilmour: 52 G/11 A/63 P Esa Tikkanen: 15 G/30 A/45 P Chris Kontos: 10 G/34 A/44 P Kevin Stevens: 9 G/26 A/35 P Scott Stevens: 3 G/25 A/28 P Curtis Leschyshyn: 8 G/19 A/27 P Jon Casey: 6-33-0-4, 4.06 GAA Darcy Wakaluk: 4-8-0-1, 4.67 GAA

New Jersey

I prefer gray. The other 3 are hard on my eyes, especially the white ice. At this rate, I'll be blind.

White ice would make me, and everyone else, as blind as Helen Keller. Gray ice ftw.

New Jersey Devils LW - Esa Tikkanen C - Doug Gilmour RW - Kevin Stevens D - Scott Stevens D - Curtis Leschyshyn Line 2 LW - Chris Kontos C - Wendel Clark RW - Randy Wood D - Alexei Kastanov D - Bruce Driver Goalie Depth Chart Starter - Jon Casey Backup - Darcy Wakaluk

Round 12, Pick 17 - Devils retain the backup services of backup goalie Darcy Wakaluk

Round 11, Pick 8: Devils select F Randy Wood Didn't realize I already took 4 defensive players. I need alcohol. *drinks*

Round 10, Pick 17 - Devils select forward Chris Kontos

Round 7, Pick 8 - New Jersey selects Wendel Clark

I'm for it, though I think you could make it gray and get away with it.

Round 3, Pick 8 - Devils pick D Scott Stevens

Round 2, Pick #17 - New Jersey selects Esa Tikkanen

I will make an unpopular decision... Devils draft (retain) Doug Gilmour

I had the best shot at the #1 and I fell all the way to 8TH?!? Wow, I STILL can't buy a break

I guess I'll give it another shot, even though I am reluctant to face another hopeless last place season. AIM: Magus978 New Jersey Devils

I don't like that idea one bit. If you turn it into a money league, then you lock out people like me. If the point is to attract new players, then you're already alienating people who just want to shut up and play.

I don't think they have an actual hockey team, but how about the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, since their football team is all the rage

Wow, I didn't expect this. Support for my cause. Well, if I feel like coming back, I have a list of goals I'd like to accomplish in the 2nd season. 1. Beat HABS everytime I play him. 2. Not finish in last place. 3. Make the playoffs. 4. Have a 70-goal scorer.

There's no NOSE for SNES. Unless someone is adept at hex editing, this is unlikely.

Your point being? If you have nothing to add, then you may kindly go **** yourself. Here I am trying to spice up the offseason a little bit and you come waltzing in here adding absolutely nothing like always. It's people like you that make me wonder why I'm still here.

Gilmour Makes Plea to Bring Delgado Back Doug Gilmour called former Devils head coach Tom Delgado at his home in New York, and literally pleaded with him to come back as head coach of the Devils, telling him "Not to let a frustrating season get the best of him". In a statement released by Gilmour himself, he said that "Tom knew what the players' strengths and weaknesses were, and played to those in practice. I think he made all of us better, and if he comes back next year, we can be even better and play even harder for him. Everyone on this team wanted to win for him so badly and we tried extra hard to get Tom those wins this season. He's a great coach and I speak for the entire organization when I say we want coach Delgado to come back for one more season" Tom Delgado could not be reached for comment, but told a local newspaper "It's not totally out of the realm of possibility". Will we see this ugly mug back next season?

Kerpwned. At least make the game mean something. Like MLB's All Star Game...make it for home ice during the Cup Finals or something. Not much else you could do. Anyway, back to this All Star stuff...if this really happens, I would like to coach the Wales team. A good match against the Campbell coach would probably recharge my batteries and make me come back next season.