Fire & Ice

Reviewing the schedule for the start of training camp; Lamoriello to answer fan questions

With the start of the Devils' training camp approaching, I thought I'd clarify a few things with the schedule.

The team will hold its annual alumni golf outing at Upper Montclair Country Club on Tuesday, Sept 8.  The next morning rookies report for training camp physicals (not on Sept. 8, as I was told on an earlier date) and will have their first on-ice session later in the day.

Veterans report for training camp physicals on Saturday, Sept. 12 and will have their first on-ice session on Sunday, Sept. 13.

Also, beginning today, Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello will taking questions submitted by the fans through the team's Web site. The answers to selected questions will be published at a later date.

http://devils.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=497407

Zach Parise takes his swings at Metrodome

Devils left wing Zach Parise took batting practice at the Metrodome on Tuesday before the Twins took on the Baltimore Orioles. According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Parise nearly hit one out.

This from the Pioneer Press:

"Zach Parise, the New Jersey Devils star left wing and former Shattuck-St. Mary's whiz, took batting practice off Twins manager Ron Gardenhire Tuesday at the Metrodome. Parise, a left-handed swinger, blasted one ball that fell just short of the folded seats in right field, 340 feet away."

"Parise, 25, will bet to play for former Wild coach Jacques Lemaire this season."

"Everyone I've talked to likes playing for him and learning from him," Parise told the Pioneer Press. "We've got (ex-Wild wing) Brian Rolston now and he said he really liked playing for (Lemaire) in Minnesota."

Devils to wear original jerseys on March 17 against Pittsburgh

The Devils will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in 2010 by bringing back the green.

 

For their March 17, 2010 home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins – and for one night only -- the Devils will wear their original red, green and white uniforms, the team announced today.

 

“The original red, green, and white jerseys are a part of our history here in New Jersey,” Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said in a statement. “We have always been an organization that takes great pride in its tradition. This is something we believe our fans will enjoy for that one special night.”

 

The Devils wore the red, green and white uniforms for 800 regular season and 40 playoff contests from the team’s inception in New Jersey in 1982 until the end of the 1991-1992 season. They last wore them in Game 7 of the 1992 Patrick Division Semifinals against the Rangers on May 1, 1992 at Madison Square Garden. Since then, the Devils’ jerseys have been red, black and white.

Devils sign five players to AHL contracts

The Devils announced earlier today that they signed five players to AHL contracts: Defensemen Matt Cohen, Chris Murray, and Matt Taormina; and forwards Trevor Kell and Louis Robitaille. The announcement was made by Lowell Devils General Manager Chris Lamoriello.

Cohen, 23, has been in the organization for the last two years, splitting his time between Trenton and Lowell. Last season, Cohen (6-1, 200) had 12 goals and 48 points in 58 games.

Murray, 24, played last season for Hartford (AHL) and Charlotte (ECHL). The 6-2, 185-pound native of Dover, Mass. had no goals and three assists in 13 AHL games last season and had two goals and 13 assists in 53 games with Charlotte in the ECHL.

Taormina, 22, had two goals and three assists in 11 games with Binghamton of the AHL last season. He joined the Senators after completing his college career at Providence. He had 20 goals and 45 assists in 141 career games at Providence. He is listed at 5-11, 185.

Kell, 23, has split each of the last two seasons between Lowell and Trenton. He had 20 goals and 30 assists in 65 regular season games last season with Trenton.

Robitaille, 27, spent the 2008-09 season with St. Hyacinthe and Cortina (in Italy). The 6-2, 225-pound left wing has two NHL games on his resume from 2005-06 with Washington. He failed to register a point.

Sorry it took me a few hours to get to this. I was on the beach.

Two Lowell Devils' games at Prudential Center

The Devils AHL' affiliate, the Lowell Devils, will take on the Rangers' top minor league team, the Hartford Wolfpack, in a pair of regular season games at Prudential Center during the 2009-10 season.

The Lowell Devils and Wolfpack will play on Wednesday, Jan. 6 and Wednesday, Feb. 3 at The Rock. Both games will begin at 7 p.m.

Lowell Devils' season ticket holders will receive information on both games with their season ticket packages. Information on individual tickets for both games will be announced at the start of the 2009-10 season.

One on one with Devils coach Jacques Lemaire

As promised, here is the extended version of my conversation Wednesday with Jacques Lemaire, who is preparing to begin his second stint as head coach of the Devils. Rookies report for training camp on Sept. 8. The veterans begin on Sept. 12.

As I mentioned Wednesday, Lemaire is in Montreal. He'll arrive in Calgary on Aug. 23 for the Canadian Olympic team's orientation camp (Aug. 24 to Aug. 27). Lemaire will serve as an assistant coach on that Canadian Olympic team. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur will also be at that camp.

Q: It’s been 16 years since you began your first tenure with the Devils in 1993. Are things a lot different now?

 

Lemaire: “When I went there (the first time), it was a place that we had good times, we had great success, we had a lot of fun, and a team that was growing and doing well. It will be fun to go back.”

 

Q: The Devils lost in the first round of the playoffs the last two seasons despite having regular season success. In watching film of the team, can you tell if there was something missing?

 

Lemaire: “It’s hard from the outside. When I looked at the tapes, I felt that the guys really played hard. They were unlucky on certain things. In the playoffs, teams are pretty much equal. It doesn’t take much for a team to go ahead of the other one. A little more confidence, a little more this, a little more that can make it. You look at Detroit and Pittsburgh. I feel that Detroit had a better team than Pittsburgh on paper, but the way Pittsburgh played as a team and the confidence they had, that’s what made them win. They were lucky on a few shots, a few saves, a few goals. But that’s part of it. Confidence will make you do that. It’s a little bit like when (the Devils) won in 1995. Our confidence was so high. That’s why we kept going. We believed we could do it. But this is hard to get for a team. When you get in the playoffs, to get at that level of play is hard. It’s really tough. You look at the good teams and they don’t repeat (as champions) as much as they used to because teams are so equal now.”

Jacques Lemaire says Jamie Langenbrunner will remain Devils' captain

On the first day of his first training camp as head coach of the Devils two years ago, Brent Sutter announced that he was stripping Patrik Elias of the captaincy and was beginning a search for a replacement.

Jacques Lemaire has no plans to do the same.

Lemaire, who rotated captains during his eight years with the Minnesota Wild, said today that Langenbrunner will remain the Devils' captain in 2009-10.

"I talked a little bit to (general manager Lou Lamoriello) about it and Jamie will stay as the captain," Lemiare told me during a telephone conversation earlier today. "I've heard a lot of great things about him, the great leadership that he has, the work ethic that he has. I think he has all the tools to be a captain. On the other hand, when the team has success and is stable and they have their own captain, I don't see it proper to change the way they're doing things. (In Minnesota), we were starting in the league (as an expansion team) and the players were young and rotating the captain was a good idea because the team wasn't established. Now that it's been eight years that they've had a team, probably they will name a player captain.

"In Jersey, it's totally different. It's been established for a long time. You have players who are leaders and (provide) great leadership. I'm sure that Jamie is one. Anyway, I've heard a lot of great things about him."

Lemaire's comments about Langenbrunner were part of a lengthy interview I did with him today. Some of the highlights of our conversation will appear in The Record and on northjersey.com on Thursday. I'll also post a much longer version on this site on Thursday.

Lemaire was speaking from his cottage in Montreal. He'll head to Calgary on Aug. 23 to attend the Canadian Olympic team's orientation camp (from Aug. 24 to Aug 27) and then return to Montreal for a few days before coming to New Jersey for the start of training camp.

The rookies report on Sept, 8 and the veterans on Sept. 12.

Kurt Kleinendorst named head coach with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program

Former Lowell Devils head coach Kurt Kleinendorst was named today as a head coach with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Kleinendorst replaces John Hynes, who resigned earlier this month to become an assistant coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.

Kleinedorst, who also worked for the New Jersey Devils as an assistant coach and scout and has been with the organization for nine years, coached the Lowell Devils for the last three seasons. He was replaced by John MacLean last month.

Brendan Shanahan happy to be back with the Devils with one-year, $1 million contract

Brendan Shanahan is coming back for a 22nd NHL season and there's no guarantee this one will be his last.

"I don't know the answer to that, but it's not necessarily the last season," Shanahan told me today. "I make that judgment at the conclusion of a season, never at the beginning."

The 40-year-old wing agreed to terms Tuesday on a one-year, $1 million deal with the Devils and the team officially anounced the signing earlier today.  

Shanahan already had a pretty good idea what to expect from Jacques Lemaire before they sat down for a meeting on Monday in New Jersey. Still, that was the final step before Shanahan agreed to re-sign with the Devils.

"When Lou (Lamoriello) hired Jacques, I sort of thought he was going to be the guy and I always had a ton of respect for him and his abilitities from playing against him so much in the Western Conference (when Lemaire was in Minnesota and Shanahan was with Deroit)," Shanahan said. "I was excited about that, but I still thought it was the right thing to do to give him a chance to meet with me and talk with me and vice versa. I wouldn't say he said anything that surprised me or anything that jumped out. You can tell he's a smart hockey man and he's excited about coming back and coaching here."

Shanahan admitted that the Devils' delay in hiring a coach (Lemaire was not named until July 13) contributed to his delay in re-signing, but there was more that went into it than that. First, he had to decide whether he definitely wanted to play again.

It's official: Shanahan re-signs with Devils for one year, $1 million

As I first reported earlier today, Brendan Shanahan will be back with the Devils for the 2009-10 season.

The Devils just announced that they have re-signed the 40-year-old left wing and he will be returning for a 22nd NHL season. It's a one-year contract for $1 million.

Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said Shanahan's experience will be helpful to the young players he hopes to have on the team in the upcoming season, but that's not his only asset.

"What he brings is he has the experience you have to have to win," Lamoriello said. "He's played in all situations and he's willing to share that experience with the younger players. But the most important thing is he can still play and contribute in different roles."

Part of the reason for the delay before signing Shanahan was that Lamoriello wanted to be sure that Shanahan was comfortable returning to the Devils and the role he would have under new head coach Jacques Lemaire. Shanahan and Lemaire met on Monday in New Jersey to make sure both were on the same page before the signing was completed.

"That was as important as anything, that not only he, but Jacques Lemaire was on board with it," Lamoriello said.

Unlike last season, Shanahan will have a full training camp with the team. Lamoriello also pointed out that the Olympic break would beneficial to Shanahan.

As for giving Shanahan days off during the season -- as Brent Sutter did at times last season, Lamoriello said, "That will be the coach's decision."

***

When I asked Lamoriello if he planned to add any more players before training camp opens on Sept. 12, he replied, "We'll see."