Devils let big names walk away

Still without a new head coach, the Devils are ready to take a new direction. On the day the NHL opened its window on free agency, general manager Lou Lamoriello decided to part ways with veteran forwards Brian Gionta and John Madden. They also lost forward Mike Rupp and goalie Scott Clemmensen. Gionta, who scored 20 goals and had 60 points this past season, signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens. He will be reunited with former Devils teammate Scott Gomez. Madden (seven goals, 23 points) agreed to a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. Madden has been a significant presence for the Devils since the 1999-2000 season, when they won their second Stanley Cup. Gionta arrived two seasons later, playing on the 2003 Cup-winning team. "We have to make room for Rod Pelley and a couple of others," Lamoriello said. "And we have to get more ice time for David Clarkson." Clemmensen, who played so well when Martin Brodeur was injured last season, signed a three-year, $3.6 million deal with the Florida Panthers. Rupp agreed to a two-year, $1.65 million contract with the Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins. "That organization is on top of the Hockey world and built to have a good chance at staying there," Rupp said. "I want to be part of that team and contribute to that team." His agent, Allan Walsh, talked to the Devils but nothing came of it. The Penguins pursued Rupp vigorously. "They came at me pretty good," Rupp said of the Pens. "I was impressed by that. I feel good about the situation. They really made me want to be a part of things there." Lamoriello wanted to keep Clemmensen, the goalie said. "He definitely wanted me back," Clemmensen said. "The Devils definitely were one of the teams. Any team that is interested in me, I'm interested in them. I want to be wanted and in this industry it's hard to find that." There was some big money thrown around for prominent defensemen yesterday. Jay Bouwmeester signed with the Flames. Mattias Ohlund left Vancouver for Tampa. Scott Niedermayer remained with the Ducks and Mike Komisarek went to the Maple Leafs. The Devils , after re-signing Johnny Oduya Tuesday, pretty much kept their checkbook closed. They re-signed defenseman Andy Greene to a two-year, $1.475 million deal, a move that was expected even after they decided not to give him a qualifying offer. Without being qualified, Greene could have become an unrestricted free agent. "There were no intentions of doing that whatsoever," Greene said. "It was just a matter of getting it done. There was a lot going on with the coaching change, looking for a new coach and the draft. We weren't worried about a qualifying offer. Unrestricted free agency wasn't something we were looking into." The new deal will pay Greene $725,000 in 2009-10 and $750,000 in 2010-11. The cap hit for the Devils will be $737,500 per season. With the loss of Clemmensen and the possibility of not pursuing Kevin Weekes, minor-leaguer Jeff Frazee could be the Devils' backup goalie next season. "We'll be very happy if Frazee is our backup," Lamoriello said. "We'll make that decision over the next week or so as to whether he needs another year in the minors." Does that mean Weekes is out of the picture? Or might the Devils sign him? "There is a possibility," Lamoriello said hesitantly. Lamoriello said there is "no timetable" as far as naming a new head coach. He also suggested the current group of six players will be the team's defense next season. That is Paul Martin, Oduya, Bryce Salvador, Colin White, Greene and Mike Mottau. "Right now we have our six defensemen that we had last year," Lamoriello said. "We had a pretty good defense last year. There is no question Paul will get better and Johnny Oduya and Andy Greene. If we could have gotten better there, we would have. Bringing Johnny back was important. And no question we think Andy is going to get better and better." Rich Chere may be reached at rchere@starledger.com