If what has been reported is true then Carmelo Anthony is the newest member of the New Jersey Brooklynites. Oh what a dream come true might I add. The NBA is a superstar driven league and frankly the Nets didn't have one. Now I've heard some people yapping about how they shouldn't have given up Harris and Favors. Listen folks maybe Favors will turn out to be a good player but they kid is a rookie has proven nothing. he could be Tim Duncan or he could be Emeka Okafor and from what I've seen and heard about him I'm more inclined to believe he's closer to Okafor then Duncan. A serviceable rebounder who will net 10-15 points and block a shot here or there. Fact is though with Brook Lopez and Troy Murphy on board there wasn't really a place for him to fit in early on in NJ. He's a project player who happened to be drafted number two overall. 

The "loss" of Harris will be felt early on but to me the whole trade signifies that there is a longer term plan in place here with the Nets. Which is very fitting for the Nets considering the team will be in limbo for the next two years while they wait to move into the new arena in Brooklyn. And thats what the Nets are aiming for. Their goal isn't to be a contender this year, it's to make an impact when the team is set and ready to move into that grand new cathedral to the team. This trade when coupled with the Murphy trade early on in the summer has the Nets primed to make that run for Chris Paul. 

As I mentioned before the NBA is a superstar league and that was clearly showcased with the whole Miami Heat spectacle this offseason and the last few NBA champions, Lakers and Celts being loaded with big name players. Superstars attract other superstars. Lebron isn't going to Miami if Wade isn't, Bosh wouldn't go to Cleveland without Lebron, ect ect ect. The Nets getting Carmelo opens up entire new avenues for them in free agency and beyond and I think that is what ultimately swayed Melo into agreeing to the trade. The Nets set their plan in front of him and he knows exactly how the league works. The Nets have the cap space for one if not two more stars and they have their own developing star in Lopez. The owner wants to win and he has the money and commitment to do it all he needed was that first piece to fall into place. He struck out in free agency but he ended up getting his man via trade. The gears are turning now. The Nets future hasn't been this bright, well ever, even during the Kidd years. Should be a good show for the next couple of years.

On a more important note hockey season is here and the preseason is in full swing. Unlike the NBA and NFL the preseason has some meaning for us hockey fans. The NHL is very much a developmental league much like MLB and this offers fans from all around the country to get a brief glimpse of what the future has in store for our favourite clubs. It also gives us our first look at our newest toys for the long and boring offseason in the media barren NHL.

This year for Devils fans that means Ilya Kovalchuk, Anton Volchenkov, and Henrik Tallinder. Three players that are all going to have a big impact on the success of this upcoming season. It isn't very often the Devils make a splash in the offseason, normally settling for role players and depth while other teams spend themselves into oblivion. It's been the Devils philosophy for years to develop from within and add to the roster via trade and it worked for nearly 15 years. They have been one of the most successful franchises in all of pro sports since the early 90's and one of the few to have achieved the continual successes year after year missing the playoffs only once since 1990 and winning 3 Stanley Cup Championships over that span. 

But the times are changing in the NHL. The salary cap forces teams to mix high priced superstars with cheap rookies in order to be successful during the playoffs. Having a team full of depth now only gets you so far in the a league dominated by elite scorers. Gone are the times you can win a championship with the likes of Eric Cole, Shawn Horcoff, or Jeff Friesen, at least it seems that way over the course of the last several seasons. So the Devils have finally decided to adapt to this new philosophy. 

It started late last year with Lou Lamoriello sensing his team needed something extra to be a contender pulling off an absolute stunner of a deal that landed the Devils the second leading scorer since 2001 and shocked the NHL. The Devils don't make those kinds of deals, until now. Ilya didn't exactly fit in right away however, with blamed being placed anywhere from his character to Lemaire's coaching style not meshing with an offensive dynamo like Kovalchuk. Regardless Mr. Lamoriello liked what he saw out of Ilya and went on his pursuit to retain his services. But before he can bring him back in he has some other tricks up his sleeve. 

First was letting home grown talent Paul Martin walk via free agency without even attempting to resign him. Martin is generally regarded as a top pairing dman but has battled some injuries over his career. Regardless he walked over to division rival Pittsburgh to replace aging star Sergei Gonchar. He didn't let Martin walk with out a plan however. Lou was hard at work working on contracts for both Anton Volchenkov, the big bodied shot blocking Russian dman, and the smooth skating veteran mentor Henrik Tallinder. Volchenkov addressed a need much overlooked by the Devils post Scott Stevens, a physical dman who can clear out opposing players from in front of the net. Tallinder on the other hand is a kind of do it all but nothing flashy type player who purpose is to help ease the loss of Martin while helping out young fellow swedes Jacob Josefson and Alex Urbom as they potentially ease their way on to the NHL roster, much as he did last year with Calder winning defensive partner Tyler Myers. However Lou can't completely abandon his old mentality so he did as he has the last few years and dipped back into his old well of players who once played for him and the Devils and re-acquired Jason Arnott, the centerman of the famed A-Line and scorer of the game winning OT goal during the deciding game 6 of the 2000 finals.  

Those moves are all a departure from the Devils of recent and have re-energized the fan base in Newark. There is a buzz about the team, a buzz that hasn't been felt since those A-Line days where the Devils were far and away the most talented team on the ice night in and night out. And we've gotten a look at some of what is to be already in the preseason. Elias and Arnott are reunited and looked like they have the same chemistry they had 10 years ago and the new Parise-Zajac-Kovalchuk line dazzled in their debut against the rangers combining for 7 points and scoring all 3 Devils goals. Thats just the taste to wet our appetites as the regular season quickly approaches. Hockey fans from all over the country have something to be excited about and I for one am looking forward to a fantastic upcoming season.

First off hello yougabbers. For those of you who don't know or remember me, I come from TSN way back in 2007. Blogged there for a bit and then stopped as I went of to college and life was just generally busy. I joined up here back when this place first started and I think i made one blog post. Anyway now I've got the itch again to start writing, albeit poorly, and sharing my love for hockey with all you fine folks. 

Nearly two long months have passed and still the hockey world waits with word on what will ultimately happen with Ilya Kovalchuk. It started with the long wait for Kovy to make up his mind on where he wanted to go while getting a nice big paycheck. Would it be the KHL, the King, the Devils where he spent the final month of the previous season, or some random club coming out of the zamboni entrance with a monster deal. Fans everywhere waited day after day with no word on anything. Rumours popped up out of nowhere saying decisions were coming, teams were making offers that never happened, LA had double rainbows, perhaps he wanted to play lacrosse instead. No one knew what was going on. The folks in LA insisted that he wanted the kings. Canada insisted he wanted the kings. Some drunk guy in Russia insisted he wanted SKA. Truth was no one really knew and it was tiring to hockey fans and writers everywhere but it would pale in comparison with what was to come. 

Reports were everywhere, the agent was tweeting, Kovy was ready. By this time it was down to two teams. Russia and the late bidders were out. Devils or Kings. It was an easy decision for most fans and the media. Kovy's chance to play in a great city, with bright lights, fast cars, glitz, and glamour. It had to be the Kings it was only a matter of time until Kovy joined the up and coming franchise loaded with young special talents like Brown, Doughty, and Kopitar. Why would he choose the franchise that was on the decline, relied on a goalie that was pushing 40, was known as a defensive organization that would never mesh with the way Kovy likes to play. Well he did just that. The Devils and Kovy, the "Odd Couple: On Ice!". The Devils gave kovy what he wanted. Money, prestige, and a team that is committed to winning. The Devils have been on of the biggest spending teams for years and have been the 2nd most successful franchise in the NHL for the better part of the last 20 years. In return Kovy gives the Devils one of the best players in the game who brings in fans and helps the club transition back into an attacking team like they were at the turn of the millennia. Well worth the price of admission. But there was a sticking point to it all. 17.

17. What is in that number. It's Kovy's jersey number for starters. It's two years longer then the deal Ricky D got out on the Island. It's 4 years longer then the contract that 3 years older Marian Hossa signed in Chicago. It's the number the Devils thought they could get away with. The Devils needed a number that would make the massive amount of money that Kovy was going to get manageable in the NHL's cap world, after all they have big pieces of their future they have to worry about besides Kovy, and 17 was the magic number that would set them up nicely with a star player for a very manageable cap hit. Everything seemed in place. The hockey world could now move on. 

The press conference was set. Kovalchuk, Mr. Lamoriello, Mr. Vanderbeek, and a host of Devils players were all on hand. Media members filled the entrance tower to the Prudential Center and a small gathering of fans had amassed outside the media only event. Seeing what kovalchuk brings the organization brought the fans in for the presser. A small kind gesture to re-introduce the fans to their new-again star. While everything seemed happy and all set that day something was brewing across the Hudson at the NHL headquarters. The NHL sensed, as Jamie Langenbrunner put it "a wounded beast", in the NHLPA and thought now was the right time to make the strike to finally squash these "retirement contracts" that were taking over the league. The Savards, Hossas, Prongers, and Luongos of the NHL had all taken advantage of this CBA loophole but the NHLPA was still clinging to life at that time. Now, however, everything was in place. The PA was in shambles after their own investigation into the firing of their last head revealed that he was ousted for no reason whatsoever. They were leaderless. The NHL knew. This was their only chance to make this happen and gain yet another advantage over the PA for the next CBA. So after the team went ahead with the presser the reports started coming out. The NHL had rejected the Ilya Kovalchuk contract. 

In comes the NHLPA with their almost mandatory challenge of the rejection. This is exactly what the NHL wanted. There was no arbitrator in place so the two sides would have to agree on one and with the lack of leadership in the PA the NHL could get whoever they wanted and boy did they. Richard Bloch. The man who first came to prominence in sports law with the NHL vs the IIHF/Euro League players. There he sided with the NHL in stating that NHL teams could retain player rights that they drafted out of Europe even if they don't sign effectively eliminating some players free agent and draft rights. Next Mr Bloch moved on to the NFL in the Eagles vs. Mr. Owens. He effectively voided Owen's contract with the Eagles after they suspended him. Bloch has a long history of siding with the league instead of the player and he was the man hand picked by the NHL. He was their man. their ace in the sleeve who would once and for all kill these contracts without having to collectively bargain it with the PA.  The hearing took place and it was a lopsided victory for the NHL. Bloch ruling mimicked word for word the entire NHL argument as if Mr. Bloch had just taken the submitted written argument and changed a few words on it and called it a day. Regardless the contract was void. Ilya Kovalchuk was a free agent once again. One month had went by and we were all right back where we had started.

This brings us to today. The Devils and agent Jay Grossman have been working hand in hand with the NHL to create a framework for a new deal that would be agreeable for both sides. Never mind the fact that the team and agent have to work with the NHL to make a contract because the CBA is so vague no one is actually sure what the rules are anymore. According to Lamoriello they have been working on the deal day in and day out since the ruling but reports today are saying the NHL has once again rejected the framework they had just helped construct. Lamoriello remains tight lipped on the entire situation and maintains that he doesn't find the elongated procedures that they have to go through to get Kovalchuk frustrating at all. Well I can assure Lou that he is the only one that feels that way. Fans are tired of hearing about him, media is tired of talking about it, people who hate hockey are tired of hockey fans complaining about the whole thing. Everyone just wants this to end so we can move on to thinking about the preseason, potential lineups, what rookies will make the team, when will the Devils have their $1 hotdog nights and other assorted standard off season ponderings. 

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Thanks for reading guys. I promise it will get better, ok probably not, but thanks anyways. haha. I just want to point out that I wrote this while sitting on the beach down in Cape Hatteras. It's a beautiful day out there today. Hope you enjoyed and see you guys around here more often.