INSIDE HOCKEY

There was one moment last season when I was standing in the Devils locker room that I didn't feel so petite. It was the day I was wearing 3 3/4 inch heels and I was offically taller than Brian Gionta by a couple of centimeters. It was a great day for me that day...and the last time I ever wore those heels.

I'm okay with being taller than Brian Gionta for just a few minutes in this lifetime. Gionta, after all, is one of the shortest hockey players in the NHL.

After looking over the heights of the latest New Jersey Devils draft picks, I feel like I am going to end up being Jack having to climb up a beanstalk just to get my Blackberry close enough to capture any audio from these great big giants. I'm a whole foot shorter than most of these guys, but thank goodness it will be a few years before we will see them up on NHL ice.

Then again, they will all probably grow another 2-4 inches in the coming years.

It's very rare that Lou Lamoriello allows a young guy to come up and play on NHL ice so early in their careers. He has always been very adamant about keeping the young guys in the minors until he knows they are ready. There have been exceptions to the rule, like Brendan Shanahan (drafted 2nd overall by the New Jersey Devils in 1987), but very rarely have the Devils allowed a player to hit NHL ice so quickly.

The shortest of the bunch this year comes in at 6'0" from Stockholm, Sweden. Center Jacob Josefson was the Devils first round, 20th pick overall.

The Devils 54th pick Eric Gelinas (6'4", 185 lbs.), an offensive defenseman, just recently shot up two inches since the start of last season. His father is 6'8", while his brother, Karl, is 6'4" and a pitcher in the Los Angeles Angels farm system (that's baseball for those of us who know no other sport but hockey).

Alexander Urborn (6'3", 196 lbs.) was selected 73rd, a teammate of the Devils first-round pick Josefson.

Seth Helgeson (6'5", 220 lbs.) was selected 114th. Helgeson and Zach Parise have something in common. They're both from the same hometown in Faribault, Minnesota.

But unlike Parise, Helgeson did not receive the same training as Parise, Jonathan Toews, and Sidney Crosby (i.e. he wasn't trained by Zach's father, former NHLer J.P. Parise who is also the hockey director of Shattuck-Saint Mary's school in Minnesota).

Regardless of training, Helgeson's size makes him a fierce player on the ice. His former coach Todd Knott described him as a "raw project, [with] a huge upside because of his athleticism." Helgeson will play college hockey at the University of Minnesota in the fall.

Devils also drafted left wings Derek Rodwell and Ashton Bernard, and defenseman Curtis Gedig.

(Source: Eric Marin, New Jersey Devils)

Free Agency

Free Agency begins on Wednesday. For the Devils, they've got a few names hitting that UFA list: Brian Gionta, Johnny Oduya, John Madden, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Clemmensen and Kevin Weekes, as well as RFAs Travis Zajac and Andy Greene.

Lou Lamoriello has already said he's planning on talking to Shanahan's agent and not waiting around to hear from Shanny first. Good news for Shanny fans.

As for the others, Lou had this to say to ESPN.com:

"We really haven't had any major discussions," Lamoriello told ESPN.com on Saturday when asked about Gionta. "Because what we've done is that we're trying to see where our Group 2 [restricted] players are, seeing where we'll be with the numbers, and then we'll make a decision on what's available for the Group 3s [UFAs].

"Sometimes we have to make the decision to move on. We would love to keep Brian Gionta, but we have to be very careful [with the cap]. Johnny Oduya would be a priority because of his age; he's a 27-year-old defenseman who's getting better and better. Brian [Gionta] is by no means out of the picture. He's been a Devil his whole career, that's the toughest part of it. Same as John Madden. But these have to be organizational decisions."

For the back-up goaltending situation, Lamoriello is in a tough bind. Keep the hot goaltender that could succeed Brodeur, or keep the back-up goaltender that's probably the best cheerleader any team can have? If it comes down to it, Lamoriello should keep Clemmensen and let Weekes try his chances in the Toronto/Buffalo market.

According to Weekes' interview with Rich Chere of The Star-Ledger, it looks like both the Devils and Weekes are ready to move on away from each other. Weekes is ready to start a family and moving back to the Toronto area would be more beneficial for him.

As for Gionta, I think it was decided some time ago that Gio would head to another club to make bigger bucks. That would be Gio's decision, not the Devils. I think the Devils are already well aware of Gio's thoughts. That's the way everyone was reading the situation at the end of the season.

Throw in the actuality of the situation with the salary cap and it's a no-win situation for either for Gionta to remain as a New Jersey Devil. This will be as sad as the day the Devils fans lost former defenseman Brian Rafalski.

Before there are rumors of Gionta going to the New York Rangers, there's a bigger name up on the list for the Rangers that scares practically everyone. That name is Mats Sundin. I reported earlier from the NHL Awards that there was a situation with regards to Mats and if he decides to play next season.

If he decides to play before the season begins, there is only one team he can play for...that's the New York Rangers. Apparently, Sundin was going to sign with the Rangers until a better offer came along last season. That's why he all of a sudden signed on to do this New York Rangers contest with his sponsor PokerStars.net.

But things changed. Mats was offered more money and he went to Vancouver. But for next season when the official contest is supposed to take place in a VIP luxury box at Madison Square Garden at a New York Rangers game, if Mats is playing hockey next season, it has to be for the New York Rangers or there will be a serious conflict of interest for all parties.

The Sedin twins? The Rangers can get two for the price of one at a cheaper price...if Mats decides to play hockey next season. The likelihood that the Rangers could sign Sundin in the off-season is much higher than any other club in the league thanks to PokerStars.net's Meet Mats Sundin contest.

As of two weeks ago, Sundin had absolutely no idea if he was going to play next season or not. That can change at any time.

There's also that Jaromir Jagr situation. Let's just say that Edmonton may no longer be in the cards if Jagr does make the official return before the trade deadline. Rumor has it that he's coming back home...to New York City.

One last item for the UFAs in the New York area, it's official that Mike Komisarek will be heading back home to the Islanders. If not, the Devils should start talking to him. They could use a solid defenseman after losing Niklas Havelid (who will play overseas next season).