I thought I would take a lead from Puck Daddy and post my 10 bold predictions for the upcoming season for the New Jersey Devils, which by the way, kicks off tomorrow night against Philadelphia. So here we go!!
1. Zack Parise – Having been close last season with 94 points, Parise will be the first Devil to score 100 points in a season. He will end up with 47 goals (1 shy of Gionta’s record) and 54 assists for 101 total points.
2. Marty Broduer will play 72 games this season and will win at least 40 of those starts.
3. David Clarkson will end up in the 20/20 club with 21 goals and 24 assists. He will also lead the team in fighting majors with 21, so I guess he’s in the 20/20/20 club..
4. Rob Niedermayer will do a good job replacing the 2008/2009 version of John Madden, who was a disappointment in most eyes but the pre-Sutter John Madden we all fell in love with is long gone.
5. Niclas Bergfors won’t be a big disappointment this season but he’s not going have anyone putting his name in the Calder Trophy talk either.
6. Brian Rolston’s leadership on the ice WILL prove to the fans why Lou brought him back to NJ last summer.
7. Travis Zajac, Jamie Langenbrunner & Patrick Elias will all end up with 30+ goals this season.
8. By November 1st, the media will stop talking about Jaques Lemaire being a defense first, a trap hungrykind of coach who has his teams play boring hockey… ehh who I am I kidding, they won’t but they should be!!
9. The Devils will end with a 46-29-7 record and finish 3rd in the Atlantic and 5th overall and will face the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round.
10. With the addition of Rob Niedermayer to the Devils organization, talk about Scott joining his brother and his ex-coach in NJ will be a common theme in the media, especially come the trade deadline.
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