About Stan

What the Devils have to do to repeat

One of the most difficult challenges any big-league hockey team faces is trying to successfully defend a Stanley Cup championship.

Ask the Devils of 1995-96 or New Jersey's sextet in 2000-01.

The former club under Jacques Lemaire missed the playoffs completely the second time around, while Larry Robinson's club (in 2001) went to the Seventh game of the Finals before being defeated.

Thus, it would not be stretching a point to question whether Pat Burns can lead the Devs to two straight titles.

To determine the answer, we'll examine the team position by position.

GOAL

Vezina Trophy-winner Martin Brodeur is at the apex of his career. With three Cup rings, he stands as the best in the business. Corey Schwab is a splendid back-up who played only 11 games. That's too few for someone with his ability. Expect his workload to reach as high as 20. After a long season and postseason, Brodeur will need more rest in this upcoming campaign to be playoff-fresh when next Spring rolls around.

Conclusion: Goaltending is as good as can be expected.

DEFENSE

Stan wonders how much gas Scott Stevens has left in his tank? (AP)

My guess is that Pat Burns will try to balance his top six with three offensive defensemen and three defensive defensemen.

The makeup will go something like this.

• Brian Rafalski-Stevens
• Scott Niedermayer-Colin White
• Oleg Tverdovsky-Smehlik

The backups will be comprised of two from the following collection -- Daneyko, Albelin, Ray Giroux or Hale. That is; unless Lou Lamoriello decides to deal Smehlik to get younger on the blueline. Giroux looks like the best bet to be promoted from Albany.

Conclusion: On defense the Devs boast one of the deepest, most experienced units in the NHL. As always, health will be important. With this group, a carbon-copy of this past year would be sufficient. Some added scoring would be a bonus.

P.S. Stevens' workload may have to be trimmed so that he's playoff fresh a la Brodeur.

FORWARDS

Joe Nieuwendyk's status is a key issue. An unrestricted Free Agent he could opt for Toronto and play alongside his pal, Gary Roberts.

Grant Marshall's play earned him a permanent spot on the Gomez-Elias line. (AP)

Grant Marshall should remain on the line with Scott Gomez and Patrik Elias. Marshall helps make them better. Grant is a good soldier, unafraid to battle for and dig-out pucks of corners, protect his linemates, intimidate the opponent and score rebound goals (see Round 2/Game 5 vs. Tampa in 3 OT).

Sergei Brylin, Turner Stevenson and Pascal Rheaume neatly jelled throughout the playoffs, providing a gritty fourth-line. This trio played big roles and an integral part of the success story. Signing Rheaume is an off-season must for Lou, providing Pascal is reasonable with his demands: which I think he will be.

John Madden, Jay Pandolfo and Brian Gionta should enter 2003-04 as Pat Burns' top defensive unit. Madden is Burns' lieutenant on the ice supported by Pandolfo ably and the pesky Gionta.

From Game One of the 2002-2003 season in Ottawa (where he scored two goals, including the game-winner) until Game Seven of the Finals (where he smothered Paul Kariya all-game long), Mad Dog was and is the beating heart of this team.

Gionta and Jiri Bicek showed they belong this past year. Jim McKenzie will return as the club's enforcer. Christian Berglund and Steven Guolla must raise their level of play to compete for a roster spot -- a la Gionta and Bicek -- or they'll remain in Albany.

Conclusion: Some more scoring will be needed to defend the crown. The power play must -- and that's a big MUST -- get better. The talent is there, it is just a matter of getting more productivity from these guys. Lou Lamoriello made this group better by down-sizing and making the team quicker rather than bigger as in years past. Everyone figured the loss of bigger players would be a detriment. But once again, Lamoriello knew what he was building for -- a faster league, featuring less clutching and grabbing that catered more to quicker players than taller (and sometimes slower and more outspoken) ones.

COACHING

Pat Burns was a five-star winner and there can be no arguing that. He's smart enough to learn from past experiences with Montreal, Toronto and Boston to retain momentum in the second year.

His main challenge will be getting more out of Gomez and Elias.

Figure the coach to ease up just enough with his skaters and perhaps with the media as well.