This appears to be very good news and will, perhaps, be one of the final stumbling blocks toward solidifying ownership and the team's finances.

Take that, Nugent-Hopkins!

Discuss.

TG reports 3 year ELC. Per usual, no financial terms given.

One year, two-way contract. Dollar amount unknown.

Good luck with that, St. Louis.

All that means to Devils fans is that we'll not be swapping picks with Dallas and that St. Louis is becoming, with those two plus Janssen, Newark West.

The Albany Devils will play in the Northeast Division along with the AHL squads for Philly, NYI, NYR and Columbus.

Gulitti reports it's a one-year, two-way contract at league minimum ($525,000).

With very little NHL or Devils news to occupy our time until Friday, this is about all we've got.

From his responses it sounds to me like the Devils intend to keep the 4th pick, or at least if they are going to trade it won't be very far down.

He reinforces that the team drafts the best player available rather than for need, but does offer that since they're picking higher than normal, need does factor into the decision more than it would than if they were drafting, per usual, in the 20's.

With that said, does that suggest that the pick will be the best rated defenseman or center and probably rule out a winger? He also mentions Lou's mandate that character is a big influence on who they pick, so does that tip the scales toward or away from anyone?

Man I wish it was Friday already, the suspense is killing me!

Nothing new or exciting. Basically a rehash of what we've been talking about around here for months now, but overall a pretty objective (I think) look at the team as it currently stands, its needs, its prospects, who they might draft and what they might do to get ready for next season.

My favorite part, if you click the provided link to Capgeek about 3/4 of the way down, is where they have Parise signed for a $6.7m cap hit. Where do we sign up for that?

The US outshot Norway 49-15, but were down 2-0 at the start of the third period before Palmieri opened the scoring and then potted the GWG on the PP.

Nice to see his name on the scoresheet. After a good rookie season, this experience can only help him and hopefully he'll be ready for an even better sophomore season!

From the Devils Supporters Section Facebook page:

The Devils are hosting an event on March 30th prior to the Devils-Islanders game to discuss the idea of a "Devils Supporters" season ticket section with "special benefits."

If any of you are interested in purchasing season tickets in this section then please try to make it out to this event. Please call Thomas Stocky at 973-757-6179 to RSVP.

You must call and RSVP if you want to attend. They would like everyone to arrive around 5PM to begin the meeting at 5:30PM in the Cure Club. Everyone should use the Mulberry Street VIP Entrance located in the front of the building and everyone who does RSVP will have their name on the list to enter through that entrance. Please only call if you are interested in the goal of what this section is about, this is if you want to CHANT, STAND, BE LOUD, and WEAR YOUR DEVILS RED PROUDLY throughout the entire 2011-12 season!

From the Facebook feed for Devils Supporter's Section:

"Hey everyone, as a thank you the Devils are offering us free tickets for tonights game against the Sharks. IF YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OFFER YOU MUST BE WILLING TO STAND, BE LOUD, CHANT, AND WEAR RED! Call 973-757-6250 and tell them you are from the Devils Supporters. DO NOT USE THIS OFFER IF YOU DON'T PLAN ON JOINING ALONG WITH US."

Seems pretty thin.

So sayeth they: The Devils have a substantial lack of talent in their system, although I think the 2010 selection of Jon Merrill helped them substantially as I felt he was a top ten prospect. Merrill and Tedenby is actually a very good combo of 1-2 prospects and would put them in the top 10 in the league in that regard. It’s everything after them that make the Devils system less than desirable.

The Devils are good in the shootout.

Is it a slow time in hockey news, you ask?

Yes, it is a slow time in hockey news.

I just found it neat that both Brodeur and Hedberg (8-0 at home!) are both very good in the shootout. Hopefully we won't need a lot of them this year, but it's nice to know both of your goalies are more than capable should it come down to it.

And, just another little tidbit for your mental consumption: the next time someone on an anti-Marty tirade attempts to diminish his accomplishments by mentioning how his win totals are inflated due to the shootout, kindly point out he leads the league in those, too.

Interesting article that just goes to remind one how much we, perhaps very unwisely, entrust other people to properly handle our food.

On the plus side, the Pru rated pretty well with only 6% of vendors in violation, and that being, "Inspectors noted that at one location, the person in charge 'did not demonstrate adequate knowledge of food safety,' and the sink lacked soap and paper towels, and there was no sanitizer solution."

Contrarily, Ye Olde Mellon Arena scored 55% of vendors in violation, including, "one of the arena's higher-end clubs, inspectors found a live cockroach on top of a soda dispenser holster behind the bar," and the Verizon Center in DC had 100% (!!) of vendors in violation including mouse droppings at at least 10 vendors.

Gross.

We've covered the Hawks situation before, but The Falconer at Bird Watchers Anonymous fills in the up to date numbers including the expected salary cap increase and Toews $1.3m bonus for being named the MVP.

Key point:

"Now here is where it gets tricky. NHL clubs must make Qualifying Offers (QOs) to all RFAS to retain their rights, if they fail to qualify to do so the players become unrestricted free agents. The qualifying offers must at least match last season's salary, if a player made less than $1 million then the qualifying offer must include a minimum raise (either 5% or 10%). Now here's the key part: Right now the Blackhawks are so hard up against the cap that they probably can't even deliver their qualifying offers to their RFA players. The deadline for making those qualifying offers is fast approaching which means that Chicago will be almost certainly have to move one of their $3 million cap players in the next few days."

So anyone who was eying Ladd, Skille, Eager, Hjalmarsson or Niemi has greater reason to be optimistic about landing them.

His take on the playoffs post-Devils and the future of the team.

Interesting stat mentioned in the article, "Philadelphia became the fourth team since 2002 to reach the Final after ousting the Devils."

I guess if there's any consolation to be had, it's that they're just running into the wrong teams at the wrong time... it's not like they're losing to scrubs.

Pretty favorably, actually. The continued good work by Bird Watchers Anonymous supports what Devils' fans already knew: we've got a pretty darn well rounded team here.

They did well against non-playoff teams, but didn't feast on them (though I, like many, do wish there were a few more wins against bottom feeders), and finished top 5 in the league in W% against playoff teams.

Interesting data, and perhaps further fuel for those (like me) who think some teams may be getting a little too much credit this year.

Link to missy over at Nucks Misconduct's original post that gathers data from "Sports Club Stats":http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL.html (a great site, if you've never visited).

Of special note for the Devils:

* 16 games left
* Need 4-10-2 to clinch
* Can drop out with 0-15-1
* Most likely finishing position: *2nd* in East (52%)

Emphasis mine.