The Devils were one home win away from repeating as Stanley Cup champs and entering the realm of NHL dynasties. Unfortunately for New Jersey, the Avalanche won Games 6 and 7 to take the Cup and end what was an otherwise great season for the Devils. Coach Larry Robinson's club was the league's best offensive team in the regular season with 295 goals, and the Devils won 48 games en route to earning the East's No. 1 seed. But in the playoffs, New Jersey didn't play its best hockey as consistently as the previous year's playoff run. Carolina took the Devils to six games, and Toronto pushed New Jersey to seven. However, to reach the finals in a 30-team league means the Devils remain an elite team even if they fell short of their goal of winning the Cup.

2000-01 by the numbers

Record: 48-19-12-3, 111 points (T2nd overall, 1st East, 1st Atlantic) Man-games lost to injury: 81 (30th) Goals for: 295/3.60 (1st overall) Goals against: 195/2.38 (T5th overall) Differential: 100 (1st overall) 20-goal scorers: Alexander Mogilny (43), Patrik Elias (40), Petr Sykora (35), Sergei Brylin (23), Randy McKay (23), John Madden (23), Jason Arnott (21) 50-point scorers: Elias (96), Mogilny (83), Sykora (81), Scott Gomez (63), Arnott (55), Brylin (52), Brian Rafalski (52), Bobby Holik (50)

Looking at next season
Unless something shocking occurs, the Devils will enter next season with very few additions from last season. Acquiring defenseman Tommy Albelin hardly qualifies as being active on the open market. And on the flip side, the Devils lost some significant talent. GM Lou Lamoriello wasn't impressed with Alexander Mogilny's postseason performance (one goal in final two rounds) and lost him to Toronto when Lamoriello didn't pursue the 43-goal scorer aggressively enough. Sean O'Donnell struggled in the playoffs, but he's a solid blueliner and now a member of the Bruins. Ken Sutton was another player who provided valuable depth on defense, and he's with the Islanders. In net, John Vanbiesbrouck wasn't around long, but there aren't many backup goalies in the NHL better than the now-retired Beezer.

With that in mind, another trip to the finals is predicated on two things: New talent filling holes and current talent improving.

Goalie Martin Brodeur remains firmly entrenched as the No. 1 goalie, but a few candidates will compete for the backup role, including former Boston College netminder Scott Clemmensen, minor-league prospect Jean-Francois Damphousse and his AHL backup in Albany, Frederic Henry. Finnish prospect Ari Ahonen is another possibility. On the blue line, the Devils hope Mike Commodore can step into a top-six role after skating 20 games with the big club in 2000-01. Commodore is big (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) and young (22 in November), but still needs to improve his skating and decision-making before making an impact at the NHL level.

Up front, there are two players to watch, both right wings with vastly disparate characteristics. Brian Gionta was a college star at Boston College and possesses great on-ice vision and hockey instincts; however, he's just 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds and needs to prove durable enough to play 82 NHL games. Pierre Dagenais, on the other hand, stands 6-foot-5 and carries 215 pounds. Dagenais scored 34 goals in 69 games for New Jersey's AHL affiliate in Albany -- the 34 included a team-high eight game-winning goals. Dagenais played nine games for the Devils, scoring three times and adding two assists.

It's unlikely either right wing can replace Mogilny's production, yet both have great potential. Things might slip a bit on defense for the Devils, but it's likely the Devils will be every bit as good as last season with players like Brian Rafalski, Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, Jason Arnott and Scott Gomez continuing to mature and improve.

Of course, there will be increased pressure on the aforementioned players because intra-division rival Philadelphia improved itself markedly in the offseason and will challenge New Jersey's hold on the Eastern Conference's top spot. Lamoriello seems content to expect even greater things from his young stars and then make some sort of trade-deadline move to help the Devils reach the finals for a third consecutive time.

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com and can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com.