The Devils will be homeless for the first 9 games, moving into the Prudential Center for their tenth contest, against the Senators.

Newark is likely not high on people’s lists of place to visit, and the latest blemish on the locality’s record is the high-visibility shooting of four Delaware State University students.

It might be a good idea to re-christen the team the Dodge City Devils.

RIKIL made the excellent suggestion to take a poll of our readers. Will Ranger fans who used to go to the swamp attend games in downtown Newark or are there concerns (namely personal safety) that would keep them at bay? Other concerns RIKIL has posited are that the demographic that tends to comprise hockey fans will be dissuaded by the lack of parking — intended to discourage driving and push people to use unreliable public transit — and the local denizens of Newark aren’t the constituency to which the game tends to appeal.

I have to agree that this coming season may spell disaster for the Devils. Scott Gomez is a smart man who saw which way the wind was blowing. It’s true the Devils have had success under Lamoriello — it’s hard to argue with three Stanley Cups in less than 10 years — but with Gomez and Rafalski defecting, there are a lot of signs that the Devils’ best days may be behind them.

With Nashville not going anywhere, by all appearances, the Dodge City Devils may be the next club to pick up and move elsewhere. The former Colorado Rockies and the Kansas City Scouts are certainly no stranger to moving. While I’m not sure Quebec City is where they’d wind up — if this year is a total disaster attendance-wise — we may see them in Hamilton if Jim Balsillie still wants to purchase a team.

Bottom line to any of you who are local Rangers fans: will you go to Newark to see the Blueshirts play?