Monday, June 11 Devils pack bags with plenty of disappointment Associated Press EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- While the Colorado Avalanche celebrated a Stanley Cup victory with a parade in Denver, the New Jersey Devils cleaned out their lockers, wondered what might have been and looked forward to next year. "This was not a success. This was not a failure," Devils center Bobby Holik said Monday. "We had one heck of a year, but not good enough. We set such high standards. Our standards are higher than most organizations." New Jersey met most of them, coming just a game of winning a second consecutive Cup and third in seven years. The Devils posted the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference and moved through the playoffs en route to a conference championship. They even led the best-of-seven final series 3-2 before losing the final two games to Colorado. "I don't feel good because I think we're at a point with this organization that unless we win, we haven't had success," team president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said. "We had the ability and capability and allowed it to slip away. We'll be back." For the next couple of weeks, Lamoriello plans to evaluate the team before making decisions. "Time is on our side now," Lamoriello said. The most immediate decisions will involve eight free agents. Right wing Alexander Mogilny, who led the team with 43 goals, is one of four unrestricted free agents, along with defensemen Sean O'Donnell and Ken Sutton and forward Bob Corkum. Forwards Petr Sykora, Bobby Holik, Sergei Brylin and Turner Stevenson are restricted free agents. Unlike a year ago, when the Devils were methodical and disciplined in winning the Cup, they were inconsistent in failing to defend it. They easily beat Carolina in the first three games of their first-round series, then needed three more games to eliminate the Hurricanes. After falling behind 3-2 in the second round against Toronto, the Devils found the groove again. They won the last two games of that series, then defeated Mario Lemieux and his Pittsburgh Penguins in five games in the conference finals. In the Stanley Cup finals against Colorado, New Jersey was as poor in its defeats -- getting outscored 15-2 in those games -- as it was impressive in its victories. "Maybe this is one of the biggest learning experiences we'll have," coach Larry Robinson said. "You learn more through failure than through success. "We don't have success to bail us out any more. If we had won Game 7, if we had won the Cup, all the bad penalties, all the undisciplined penalties would have been forgotten. You forget because you are standing there with the Cup." On Saturday night, though, Joe Sakic, Ray Bourque, Patrick Roy, Adam Foote, Rob Blake and the others in Avalanche uniforms got to hoist hockey's biggest prize. "Whether you win it all or not, you still have to improve," Holik said. "It just gets harder and harder every year." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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