Bob Belber said Thursday he felt as if two cement blocks had been lifted from his shoulders.


After more than two months of negotiations, the New Jersey Devils finally made the official annoucement Thursday that their American Hockey League affiliate would be moved from Lowell, Mass., to Albany's Times Union Center.


Belber, the arena's general manager, had been working to find a tenant since the Albany River Rats sold their franchise Feb. 10 and announced that they would be playing next season in Charlotte, N.C.


"It's been quite a road," Belber said. "It's just terrific to be able to finally confirm that there's a signed contract for them to bring their AHL team here for the next five years."


The Devils are no strangers to Albany. They housed their players here for 13 seasons as an affiliate of the River Rats.


When the Rats opted to end that agreement and align with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Devils bought their own AHL team and set up shop in Lowell, where they had the AHL's poorest attendance each of their four seasons.


"There's a lot of difference," Devils president Lou Lamoriello said of distinction between owning the AHL team and merely supplying the players. "We will be in there with our complete staff. We'll be marketing and promoting and doing everything we possibly can, as well as the hockey. So we will be in total control as to the whole operation."


The Devils enjoyed their greatest AHL success in Albany in the first six seasons of their River Rats relationship. They won three division titles and the 1995 Calder Cup championship, compiling a 265-157-58 record (.613) in that span.


The final seven years were the opposite -- 174-330-56 (.361) -- prompting the Rats to look for a new partner.


"Winning is always a priority," Lamoriello said. "The most important thing is developing (players for the NHL), but winning is important in developing, so the players have the positive experience. We didn't have success for a period of years in that category. Our team last year was one of the better teams (39-31-4-6). Then I had some call-ups because of injuries, but there will be an outstanding hockey team in Albany, and we're expecting to win there."


The move was hardly a surprise.


Once the Devils submitted a letter of intent April 26 to the Albany County civic center committee, it was a matter of contract language and a few last-second details.


The letter of intent was necessary for the county legislature to approve a $1.6 million arena upgrade, which includes a new scoreboard and LED ribbon boards.


Belber said those should be in place by September. The AHL regular season begins Oct. 8.


"This is something that will be good for Albany County, good for our budget," Belber said. "It keeps the many hockey games coming to downtown Albany, and that helps the downtown businesses. It certainly helps the hotel community with the people who are going to be coming in from out of town. It also helps with our suites to make sure the value of the suites is there."


Former Rats owner Walter Robb was in New York on Thursday and could not be reached.


Garen Szablewski, who was the Rats' president/CEO under Robb and previously the late Al Lawrence, said, "That's been the goal of Mr. Robb and originally Mr. Lawrence, to have AHL hockey, so it's good news for sure."


Pete Dougherty can be reached at 454-5416 or by e-mail at pdougherty@timesunion.com. Visit the hockey blog at http://blog.timesunion.com/hockey.





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