Less than 14 months have passed since one game and two goals separated the New Jersey Devils from another Stanley Cup. One year later, the Devils finished a disappointing 2001-02 season with a first-round playoff loss to Carolina. While the Devils finished just six points behind Boston in the Eastern Conference, and four clear of the Hurricanes, they displayed little of the continuity and confidence that marked their success the preceding two seasons.

	2001-02 by the numbers
	Record: 41-28-9-4, 95 points (T10th overall, 5th East, 3rd Atlantic) Goals for: 205/2.50 (T20th overall) Goals against: 187/2.28 (T3rd overall) Differential: 18 (T13th overall) 20-goal scorers: Patrik Elias (29), Bobby Holik (25), Jason Arnott (22), Petr Sykora (21) 50-point scorers: Elias (61), Holik (54)

The campaign began with contentious contract negotiations between general manager Lou Lamoriello and key players, including Bobby Holik and Petr Sykora, and a search to replace departed winger Alexander Mogilny's offense. With the Devils struggling in January, head coach Larry Robinson did the unthinkable, breaking up the "A" line of Jason Arnott, Patrik Elias and Sykora. The move proved both ineffective and to be Robinson's death knell. Sensing things weren't likely to improve without serious changes, Lamoriello fired Robinson in February and one month later dealt Arnott and winger Randy McKay to the Dallas Stars for veteran center Joe Nieuwendyk and winger Jamie Langenbrunner. The team responded, winning 14 of its final 18 games, but couldn't overcome back-to-back 2-1 losses to open their first-round series.

Looking at next season
For better or worse, the Devils will have a new look. Pat Burns takes over for Kevin Constantine behind the bench, and he'll have a new cast of characters with which to work. In addition to Arnott and McKay, the team will open the season without the services of Sykora, Bobby Holik, Mike Commodore, Stephane Richer, Valeri Kamensky and John Vanbiesbrouck. Sykora may be the most talented player in the group, but losing Holik hurts the most. Opening a pocketbook that many critics thought was welded shut, Lamoriello tried desperately to re-sign the talented two-way center. But despite an offer that would have put him in the same salary class as Martin Brodeur and Scott Stevens, Holik bolted for slightly greener pastures with the Rangers.

Losing Sykora, who disappointed after winning big in arbitration, also hurts, but at least the team got something in return. In return for the winger and prospects Commodore, Igor Pohanka and J.F. Damphousse, New Jersey received versatile forward Jeff Friesen, defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky and prospect Maxim Balmochnykh.

Friesen can play center or wing, but Lamoriello has stated he envisions him on the wing with Patrik Elias at center. That's a curious decision considering he also wants Joe Nieuwendyk, Scott Gomez and John Madden to play center. With only Friesen, Jamie Langenbrunner, Sergei Brylin, Turner Stevenson and Jay Pandolfo as established options at left and right wing, a lot will be expected from unproven players like Brian Gionta, Andreas Salomonsson and Christian Berglund.

With Tverdovsky joining Brian Rafalski and Scott Niedermayer as defensemen with offensive skills, the Devils appear ill-suited to play a complete trap. Burns favors defensive hockey, but he's shown a willingness in past coaching stops to utilize the skills of the players he's given. Veterans Scott Stevens and Ken Daneyko are beginning to show signs of slowing down, but both are still capable of filling their roles. That means at least one more season of heavy minutes for Stevens.

Goalie Martin Brodeur is, with Stevens, the heart and soul of the team, but is his game declining? Making 70-plus starts for the fifth straight season, Brodeur's save percentage hovered at .906, a mark he's posted in three of the past four seasons despite a .911 career percentage. Used to answering critics with dazzling playoff performances, Brodeur was merely average against the Hurricanes. It's not unreasonable to think that the years of frequent usage have taken a toll beyond what his age suggests.

Where do the Devils go from here? They weren't a bad team last season, although they were inconsistent, but this year's edition will have to forge its own identity. As with the majority of NHL teams, New Jersey doesn't have the payroll to stock three solid lines of forwards. Instead, they'll try and get by with a couple of legitimate playmakers and mix-and-match combinations. Considering they scored the fewest goals of any playoff team last season and essentially swapped Holik and Sykora for Friesen and Tverdovsky, they're likely to again rely on defense. Unless Brodeur rebounds with a Vezina-quality season, that may not be enough to get them out of the Eastern Conference.