The Devils have officially priced me out of going to premium games ... and likely any games for that matter

I have been a fan of this team since around 1986. When I was in high school, college and post-college, I loved going to games. I would occasionally drive from Newport, R.I., just for a night to go to a Devils game at the old Continental Airlines Arena.

And now, I know for sure, there isn’t a chance in hell I’ll be going to a home game anytime, perhaps ever.

Tonight’s home opener will likely be sold out. There are just a pocket of seats available in the upper tier and a handful in club seats (which do not come with food anymore, by the way, if you buy them on a game-by-game basis).

But it is the upper-corner seats that have me quite angry with this organization and that’s because let’s say I wasn’t in Port St. Lucie, Fla., right now and was instead in New Jersey, if I wanted to go to the game and pay the least amount possible to get in, it would cost me, per seat (and this is without all the stupid fees paid to use your own ink, printer and paper to get these tickets, mind you) $84.90. There is not a cheaper seat than $84.90 for tonight’s home opener. (See red arrow pointing to said seats).

In that very same section, a few years ago, when the Devils opened the building with a game against Ottawa, the seats — $20.

I am sorry. As much as I love this team, there is not a chance in hell I’d pay $84.90 to see the Devils. I don’t care who the opponent is. I don’t care if there will be a 3-D show at 6:45 p.m., before the game starts. These prices are too high — and I just cannot believe there are people who really pay these prices to go to games.

I understand with this new pricing scheme the Devils have developed, these same seats are cheaper for weeknights, lesser opponents, non-Opening Night games, etc. But this just irks me. For some, $84.90 is the equivalent of day’s wage. Imagine parting with that to see a game? I just don’t get it.

The new owners have done a lot of things right since they bought the team. This isn’t one of them.

And sadly, this 28-year Devils fan will likely never see his team in person at home ever again.

That is, of course, unless pricing changes.

And for that, I won’t be holding my breath.

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Greatest Devils Memories: When Lou’s people called my people (me), I was hooked for life

Lou celebrating going the 2012 Finals.

By Kevin Canessa Jr.

KEARNY, N.J. —

All these years later, these are two stories I love to talk about — and share. They’re both about Lou Lamoriello — and why as a teen, he had me hooked.

Flash back to 1992. It was the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the Devils-Rangers were playing each other. The series sold out rather quickly — and if you think a lot of Rangers fans come to Devils home games now, you likely don’t remember back then … when more than half the building wore blue shirts.

I remember how annoyed I was by this. And as a 17-year-old high school student, I was fortunate to have a fax machine.

I wrote a letter to Lou — and told him how disappointed I was the games sold out because of the infiltration on Rangers’ fans. I invited him to call me to explain how or why this happens.

He didn’t call.

But Jelsa Belotta, the team’s receptionist for many years — not sure if she’s still there — called. And what she said has stuck with me for many years.

“Kevin, Mr. Lamoriello asked me to call you,” Belotta said. “Mr. Lamoriello would like to offer you the chance to by up to four tickets for Game 3 of the Rangers-Devils series. As much as he’d like to give you the tickets, he can’t just now — but if you’d like to go to the game, you could buy the hard-to-get tickets by calling me back.”

I was floored.

And needless to say, I had two tickets to the game — one the Devils won — a few hours later. I will never forget that.

But it got better.

The night after Game 3, Belotta called back — and I was able to get two more tickets for Game 4.

All from a letter from me to Lou, one he clearly read and took to heart.

About to be forever hooked

The following year, after the Devils were eliminated in 5 by the Pens, the Islanders went on to the Eastern Conference Finals. At this point, the Devils had been eliminated in the first round each of the last four years. And in 1993, it was made all the worse by the fact a team that had no business being in the ECF — the Islanders — were still playing when the Devils weren’t.

So I wrote, again, to Lou — and asked him why I should remain a Devils fan following four years of futility.

The season I knew I was an
NJ Devils fan for life -- 1992

A few days later, I got home from school — and I had a missed call (yea, I had Caller ID back then) from 201-935-6050 (the Devils) and a voicemail (yea, I had voicemail then, too) from the Devils.

“Kevin, this is Lou Lamoriello,” he said. “And I got your letter dated May 1st. Give me a call when you can so we can talk.”

And I did.

And for 30 minutes, the general manager of the Devils took my call — and chatted with me — like we were the best of friends.

“I need you to be patient,” he said. “We’ve got a great new coach coming in — and I think what you’ll see in goal is something you’ll like, too. And I assure you, it won’t be just a round we’ll be winning — it’ll be championships.”

A few months later, the Devils got to the Eastern Conference Finals — and were one goal away from the Finals. And one year away from Cup 1 of 3.

Here I was — at 18 — talking the legend, Lou. And he promised it would be better — quickly.

He let me vent. He let me talk about my soon-to-be-life in Newport, R.I., and he had me hooked forever.

I never would have abandoned my team — I loved it way too much back then, as I do now. But two phone calls — and 30 minutes on the phone, as a fan, with a man like Lou, had me hooked for life.

Because quite frankly, there has never been a better general manager in all of sports. No one has done more — with so little. And based on what he’s been able to do (as he has since 1987) — as few other GMs can do — there likely will never be one like Lou ever again.

In any sport.

And I couldn’t have been a luckier fan than I was in 1992 and 1993.

And still am, today, in 2014.

NYR fans: Want to see a playoff game? Head to Pitt Friday night

Seems to be quite a few tickets available at face value. As of 11:40 a.m., Thursday, May 1.

Available tickets for Penguins-Rangers Game 1 in Pittsburgh Friday night. Each blue dot represents an available seat. If you're a Rangers fan and want to see a playoff game, this might be your best bet. 

Starting at midnight Friday, Devils offering fee-free single-game ticket purchasing option; Yankee Stadium game not included in deal

The Devils are offering fans a chance to buy single-game tickets without any fees from midnight until 11:59 p.m., Friday, Nov. 29. This includes tickets to all games played at the Prudential Center (not the game at Yankee Stadium) in all seating levels. Click here for the deal, but remember not to buy the tickets, if you're going to get any, until midnight tonight. Note: Depending on where you buy seats, you could save anywhere from about $6 to $15 per ticket. The fees are higher for the better seats (especially those in the club areas).

Devils have 4 October home dates, ticket sales not looking so great

The New Jersey Devils have 4 home games in October — and based on what I’ve seen on Ticketmaster’s website, ticket sales don’t look half as good as they did last year early on.

Opening Night against the Islanders is close to sold out, but there are still quantities of upper-level seats that are not just single-seating.

The game against the New York Rangers has some seats available in pairs or more in the lower tier, but most of the upper tier are single-seats only.

Two other games — against Vancouver and Tampa Bay — have plenty of seating throughout the arena.

This makes me wonder if last year’s fantastic attendance was a one and done deal. Or, whether tickets were being given away last year to fill seats.

I realize it’s still early on — and that with 41 home dates instead of 24, selling out often won’t be as easy as it was a year ago.

But we’ll continue, as we did last season, to keep you updated on ticket availability and attendance.

Also, don’t forget — you can often get good deals on tickets to Devils games by using our TiqIQ graphic on the upper-right-hand corner of each page of this website.

Interested in going to Opening Night? Better act fast as tix are limited

Here’s a look at perhaps the most available seats in the arena — and there still aren’t all that many. I, of course, suggest you give TiqIQ a try by clicking the banner at the top right of this page. They have the best inventory of secondary-market tickets — often below face-value prices. Give it a shot then, eh?

With that said, after the team’s second-best attendance numbers ever last year, I am interested in seeing how they draw in this first full season post lockout.

One thing is for sure though — the energy in the building is going to be intense, whatever the attendance is. Based on crowd noise alone in the Monday night pre-season game v. NYR, you would never have known it was a pre-season game. The atmosphere was great.

Some of the available tickets for Devils Opening Night at the Prudential Center. 

It's now official — we've partnered with TiqIQ — and I hope you'll consider buying your next ducats right here with them (us)

Fellow Devils fans and hockey fans, I am thrilled to announce we've officially partnered up with TiqIQ. At TiqIQ, you can get some of the best seats to sold-out Devils games at the Prudential Center right here — at THE most reasonable prices anywhere online. Simply click the tickets graphic — and you'll be taken to a full inventory of upcoming games.

But it's not just Devils games, either — you can buy tickets to virtually any sporting event anywhere in North America. So give it a shot. You won't be disappointed. I know I haven't been.

Why use TiqIQ over other sites? TiqIQ brings you available tickets from multiple sources — and even more, they'll let you know if you're getting a good deal or a crappy deal on the price (based on the tickets' face value).

And of course, your support of our partner TiqIQ makes keeping this site up and running on a consistent basis possible.

Thanks! And happy ticket-buying!

Proud to announce preliminarily — we're partnering with TiqIQ

I am very pleased to announce — preliminarily — that we'll be partnering with TiqIQ in the coming days. We'll have more information to share soon — but in the meantime, I wanted to let everyone know. TiqIQ is a wonderful spot to get the best tickets to Devils games (home and away) — and tickets to other hot sporting events. And we're very fortunate to be working with them! More to come soon.

Sunday's game v. Jets should be another packed house

NEWARK —

Looks like Sunday's 5 p.m. tilt against the Winnipeg Jets will be sold out. There are limited tickets available in upper corners — and in the club areas. Want to go? Click here to order tickets.

Islanders: Come to 4 of our games, we'll send you to see the Rangers

OK — I know they're saying if you buy a four-pack of Islanders tickets, they'll ensure one of the games is against the hated New York Rangers. But this makes it look like you'll get tickets to a Rangers game by buying Islanders ducats. OK. I'll stop picking on the Islanders for today — I'm jinxing things, and John Tavares is going to score a hat trick tonight to shut me up ... watch.

How I was dead wrong about Devs not selling out Tuesday

NEWARK —

Many thanks to our friend,  Henry, aka @fake_ronbarr on Twitter. Those seats I saw from opening night that appeared to be unsold were actually holds for players and families, according to Rick Krezwick, of Devils Arena Entertainment. Great stuff from Henry.

I'd be shocked if tonight's Devils-Flyers game is a sellout

NEWARK —

If tonight's game sells out, it'll surprise me.

Just 2.5 hours before the first game at home in Post-Lockout 3 era, there are still, literally, hundreds of seats available for the game between the Devils and Flyers.

Keep something in mind here, however.

Almost the entire 100 and 200 sections are sold. It's the double-digit club seats — some of which sell for $414 a piece tonight (as a premium game) that are not sold. In fact, a look at the "Find Your Own Seat" portion of Ticketmaster's website reveals nearly half of section 18 and a good chunk of section 20 are still available for purchase. (See screen grabs for yourself).

What baffles me here is that the Devils seriously think people can afford $303 for ONE SEAT to a regular-season game. (Yes, these sections do include food as club seats — but come on. This price is absurd — and the availability of the seats reflects that price absurdity).

If these seats don't go by 7:30 p.m. — and how could they at these prices — the Devils will join just the Lightning as being the only team not to sell out Opening Night. And if it does, indeed, happen — I say good for the fans who refused to pay what amounts to robbery for one ticket to a regular-season game.

Above: Section 20 ticket availability for Devils-Flyers tonight as of 5:10 p.m. ET — just a little over 2 hours before gametime.

Above: Section 18 ticket availability for Devils-Flyers tonight as of 5:10 p.m. ET — just a little over 2 hours before gametime.

The NHL REALLY wants me at a game

So, this is my first hockey season living in Port St. Lucie, Fla. And the other day, when I was updating my profile on NHL.com, I let them know I moved from Jersey to here.

I must admit — this is pretty good marketing.

The league is encouraging me to go see the Devils when they play the Panthers in Sunrise. Check out a screengrab of the email I just got.

I'll go — if the tickets are free. But good job by the league here.

Oh and did I remind you — the Panthers are selling tickets for as little as $7, including parking?

Going out to the Island for Devils-Islanders? Better have tickets already, as sellout is likely

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — So much for the fans not coming back.

A check of Ticketmaster's online inventory for tonight's 7 p.m. Devils-Islanders matchup reveals what will likely be a sellout. Only a few pockets of multiple seats together remain, along with a bunch of single seats scattered throughout the Coliseum.

Looks like only a handful of seats remain for tonight's opener between the Devs and Icelanders.

So if you were planning on going to the game without tickets in hand, you might want to reconsider — or check out the secondary ticket market.

Ticket go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m.

NEWARK —

Regular-season tickets for games at the Prudential Center will go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. — a strange time for the start of a ticket sale, nonetheless. Click here for details from the Devils' website.