Zajac Re-signs
For the first time in a long while, the New Jersey Devils
locked up a potential free agency before the season started.
On January 16th, first-line center Travis Zajac
signed an 8-year deal worth $46 million. Zajac, who was set to become a free
agent on July 5th [moved up from July 1st due to the
event we will not name] signed the first max contract allowable for teams to
retain their own free agent under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Critics are quick to question the Zajac contract citing his
career numbers not being as impressive as other who are in the same pay grade,
but Zajac’s talents extend beyond the scope of just points. He’s one of, if not
the, best centers in the Devils’ lineup, he’s excellent in both ends of the ice
and Zajac is an excellent leader even though he does not garner a letter on his
sweater.
Expect Zajac to produce around 35 points this year with at
least 10 goals.
Captain Salvador
On Thursday, Bryce Salvador was named the 10th
captain in Devils’ history.
This came as a surprise for many, thinking either Patrik
Elias would get a second shot at the “C” which was stripped from him by Brent
Sutter or Ilya Kovalchuk would get a crack to be the captain of a second
team.
This, however, is a solid reward from a player who showed
extreme loyalty to the team where he made a name for himself.
Playing for the St. Louis Blues, Salvador was a bottom
pairing defender. At the 2008 trading deadline, the Devils acquired Salvador in
exchange for Cam Janssen.
Since his arrival, Salvador had progressively improved his
way of play on the blue line for the Devils until 2010-2011 season where he had
to sit out with post-concussion syndrome. There were extreme fears Salvador’s
career would be over as a result of PCS, but Bryce persevered and returned to
form during the regular season, then exceeded them becoming an offensive
surprise from the blue line during the playoffs most prominently during the
second round matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Hitting the free agent market on July 1st of
2012, Salvador could have easily taken his talents to a handful of other teams
and been a steady point in their defensive corps. He instead, however, waited
for the Devils to deal with the Zach Parise soap opera and signed the day
before Parise jumped ship to head home to Minnesota.
Salvador’s deal secured him to be part of the organization
for the next 3 seasons. Now, those 3 years, he’ll be the Devils leader both in
public and behind closed doors, as was the case apparently for a while prior.
Matteau Impresses
In June, the Devils made a surprise move in the eyes of
critics by drafting Stefan Matteau, a grinding forward from the US Under-20
national team.
Fans, for one, were shocked because Matteau’s father is the
same Matteau who is part of Devils’ infamy.
Even after being dropped from the eventual gold medal
winning Under-20 team, Matteau refocused and was the only Devils’ junior player
invited to camp.
Since his arrival, Matteau has done nothing but impress his
future teammates with his focus, drive and overall on-ice play. He even managed
to pull off a feat his father had done prior and score on Brodeur during the
inter-squad scrimmage earlier this week.
As of Thursday, Matteau was still in contention for a spot
on the Devils’ 23-man roster. Should he survive the final cuts on Friday, he
could still be tested out for the 6 game maximum before being returned to his
junior team.
The future of camp-invitee Matt Darche with the Devils rests
entirely on their decision of Matteau. Should Matteau stick beyond the 6 games,
Darche would more than likely not be offered a contract at least at the NHL
level. A two-way deal is not out of the realm of possibility however, he is 36
and do the Devils need yet another over-30 forward with plenty of youth ready
for shots?
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