Devils Mid-Season Report
With Saturday's game being the 43rd of the season, the New Jersey Devils picked today as the day to release a mid-season report for the team.
Coming into the season, Devils management, behind closed doors, agreed with the belief held by many league pundits and fellow GMs: that the Devils would easily stumble to a 2nd-worst overall record in the league, on top of only the lowly San Jose Sharks (who will finish 32nd solely because there is not a 33rd in the league).
While the Devils are far from lighting up the league and will be very hard pressed to make the playoffs with their current roster, the expectations of nearly all CPHL experts and 'experts' alike have clearly been surpassed. As of Saturday's games, the Devils sit with the 24th-best standing in the league. Teams currently below the Devils include the likes of the Sabres, Flyers, Senators, Ducks, Wings, and Bruins, who were clearly not expecting to find themselves in the positions they are in.
"Of course we'd like to find ourselves not only competing for a playoff spot but also in the Top 5 teams in the league, but we knew that was not going to happen going into the season. Indeed, our performance this year has been a pleasant surprise," explains Devils GM Steve R.
The Devils have made some controversial, head-scratcher type moves this season, including two follies sending the Sharks' first round pick (sure to be the 1st overall pick) back to the Sharks in a lopsided deal. Rumors persist that the Devils received a tax credit for their charitable donation to the Sharks project remain unsubstantiated. In a separate, though slightly less dumbfounding deal, the Devils also sent their own 1st round draft pick for this season to the struggling Bruins.
"Yes, that draft pick will almost certainly be a Top 10 pick this year," mused GM Steve R., "But we did acquire a solid young defenseman from the Bruins in that deal."
The Devils' cause has been helped by the rapid development of rookies Paul Stastny and Marc-Eduard Vlasic, who have joined the team and made immediate contributions. These young men remain bright spots in the Devils' future plans.
Team MVP: Nikolai Khabibulin, whom the team simply can not win without
Biggest Surprise: Tom Kostopolous, unheralded forward scoring nearly a point a game
Biggest Disappointment: See above re: losing two top 10 draft picks
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