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By Jamie MacDonald, CNNSI.com

At season's end: Finished first in the Atlantic Division, first in the Eastern Conference. Lost in the Stanley Cup finals (4-3) to Colorado.

		"The restraint is there [with most GMs], usually until ownership gets involved. Egos get carried away, and people think they can get something that money just can't buy. This has been a DIFFICULT SUMMER for looking down the road of the game. Some of the people doing some of these things can't afford to do so. It's short-term, one-minute managing." -- GM Lou Lamoriello on fiscal restraint during contract talks

The cruelest offseason: Giving up almost two months of golf to lose a grueling Stanley Cup series that was almost gift-wrapped for them by Patrick Roy. And while the Devils return as the Eastern Conference champions, they return to a very different set of challengers.

Washington added Jaromir Jagr to Peter Bondra, Olaf Kolzig and Ron Wilson. Philadelphia is now better and deeper thanks to free agency and Eric Lindros. Heck, even the Islanders signed two top-tier centermen. On top of that, Lindros-mania in NYC should further subdue any hype that might waft from the Jersey side of the Hudson.

And that's just the way Lou Lamoriello likes it. The most cost-efficient and perhaps very best GM in the NHL, Lamoriello chose to trust his organization. No splashy acquisitions and no weeping for the departed. In fact, if asked, Lamoreillo might well have offered Alexander Mogilny a ride to Toronto and promised to drop Sean O'Donnell off in Boston along the way. But the Devils GM didn't exactly get off easy. Bobby Holik won a one-year arbitration award of $3.5 million while Petr Sykora hit the jackpot with a 389 percent raise to $3.3 million (the two-year deal calls for $3.535 in 2001-02).

The past few springs New Jersey has been almost a lock as one of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference. The same should be true in 2001-02, only this season the Devils might be flirting with No. 3 or No. 4 because there is now a whole lot less room for error.

For more on the Devils, please check back to our NHL Preview section on Wednesday, Oct. 3 for a Sports Illustrated Scouting Report.

		BRIGHT SPOTS		GRAY AREAS
Organizational depth is among the top two or three in the NHL; fighting for National League spot is intense. For many consecutive shifts during the Cup finals, John Madden's minutes were the most worthwhile on either side. Despite playoff dodgieness, "A" line still a force. Underpaid Elias playing for a Sykora-like raise. There may be no better motivation than having lost the Stanley Cup in seven games, and there is playoff experience everywhere in the Devils' room.				While very good, Martin Brodeur wasn't amazing in the finals; the difference between a Cup won and a Cup lost. Holik blasted the organization for the way his arbitration was handled; probably isn't long in Northern Jersey. How long can Lamoriello keep going to the well in Albany? Scott Gomez suffered through inconsistency in both the regular season and the playoffs. When will their erstwhile 37-year-old defenseman with "experience" become just plain old?

Prospect Watch

Assuming Martin Brodeur plays his customary 70-something games, we will look past the relatively unimportant backup goaltender role, which will be filled by one of two thin hopefuls: J.F. Damphousse (6-foot, 175 pounds) and Ari Ahonen (6-foot-2, 170 pounds). Instead, a more intriguing name is Brian Gionta. His making the team this season isn't nearly a lock but the former Boston College sniper (123 goals and an NCAA title in four seasons) has skated with Scott Gomez in two World Junior tournaments. Both can be electrifying and have NHL gifts with the puck, but the pair would form a combination of little guys pushing the integrity of media guides to a point not seen since the generously listed "5-foot-9" Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin played on a line at UVM. Gionta may start in Albany, from which Pierre Dagenais, a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder whose scoring touch can sometimes make up for defensive lapses and sub-par passing skills, would like a promotion. Slick-skating Swede Christian Berglund is another very promising option at forward.

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