Roster Focus - Defense

With the dismal performance of the Devils’ blue-line down the stretch and throughout their brief stay in the playoffs, it is no secret that upgrades, if not a complete overhaul, is needed on defense.

Players Under Contract:

Colin White - $3 million/2 yrs remaining – 81 GP, 2 G, 10 A, +8
The story of Colin White this season was eerily similar to that of Jekyll and Hyde. One night, he would show flashes of brilliance similar to that when he had two fully functional eyes and played his position above and beyond his current ability. Other times, however, he looked lost and was embarrassed on several occasions by opposing forwards. In White’s defense, he had little to no support from his staple partner Mike Mottau, who on most occasions rather than compensate for White’s aggressiveness, would play himself out of position, creating chances for the opposition. If the Devils will mercifully give him a new defensive partner, White could build on a good 2009-10 campaign, but that is a big if.

Bryce Salvador - $2.9 million/2 yrs remaining – 79 GP, 4 G, 10 A, +8
Salvador performed above and beyond expectations this season. When Paul Martin went down with a broken arm, Salvador stepped up his game tremendously and even contributed on the offensive side of play. His plus-8 was second on the team behind only Andy Greene and tied with Colin White. For a player who’s primarily defensive minded, this is quite an accomplishment as are his 4 goals. Salvador continues to bring to the team his physical edge and mean streak which is in desperately short supply, especially with White’s eye taking away from his willingness to drop the gloves [no slight to Colin]. The question mark will be whether the Devils re-sign frequent partner Paul Martin as he hits free agency July 1st, but the versatile Salvador showed ability to work well with whomever he was paired with.

Andy Greene - $750k/1 yr remaining – 78 GP, 6 G, 31 A, +9
Greene showed dramatic improvements in his all around game throughout the season. Taking on an everyday role helped allow Greene to showcase his offensive prowess by nearly quadrupling his point total from the previous season. Having 29 more games to play in, Greene regained the scoring touch he gave fans a glimpse of during the 2007 postseason against Tampa Bay. His awareness continues to be a valuable asset to the defensive corps and will only increase his contract value if he should hit the free agent market in 2011. One would hope the Devils make a serious pitch to retain his services beyond the end of his current deal.

Anssi Salmela - $625k/1 yr remaining – 9 GP, 1 G, 2 A, -5
His return to New Jersey as part of the Ilya Kovalchuk trade started off promising as he amassed his points in the first 5 games. However, as the team maintained its mediocre play, Salmela’s play dropped off, and he found himself a healthy scratch for most of the remainder of the season, and the entirety of the playoffs. With the retirement of Jacques Lemaire, Salmela may have a better shot to regain a playing positon but his competition will be stiff as Tyler Eckford and Matt Corrente seek to gain a spot with the big club and Mark Fraser seeks to become a regular.

Matt Corrente - $600k/ 1 yr remaining – 12 GP, 0 pts, E [2 GP, 0 pts, E in playoffs]
With the injury to Paul Martin, the Devils needed to find help for the blue-line throughout the organization. Corrente got the first shot, but the most amount of time filing in as the 6th defenseman went to Mark Fraser. Corrente played in 7 straight games before sitting. Corrente was looked upon to add some size and youth during the playoffs and he played well for as bad as the team played as a whole. Look for the 2006 1st round draft pick to be in strong competition to gain one of the 6 starting defense spots. Alexander Urbom, who almost made the team out of his first NHL training camp, could provide to be a formidable competitor.

Rob Davidson - $500k/1 yr remaining – 1 GP, 0 pts, E
Injuries were the only reason that Davidson made it to the Devils this season. It is highly unlikely that the former Sharks draft pick will be in consideration to make the team out of camp next season and will need to rely on injuries or inconsistency to allow him to crack the roster.


Restricted Free Agents

Mark Fraser – 2009-10 salary: $500k, 61 GP, 3 G, 3 A, +3
A pleasant surprise to the defensive corps with so many disappointments, Fraser logged the 5th most games by Devils’ defenseman this season. His size and aggressiveness gave the Devils an edge which they had lost when David Clarkson went down with an injury. With an increased role, and the status of Paul Martin as a Devil being uncertain, expect the Devils to at least offer Fraser a new contract this offseason. He has the talent and ability to make it in the NHL as a regular and will help the team greatly.

Tyler Eckford – 2009-10 salary: $685k, 3 GP, 0 G, 1 A, E
Eckford earned himself playing time at the NHL level in only his second season as a professional. He spent three years playing for University of Alaska-Fairbanks amassing 16 goals and 71 points, while his first season in Lowell, he tallied 2 goals and 27 points. Expect the 7th round pick to be given an offer from the Devils to remain part of the organization. While he should compete for a roster spot during camp, expect his contract to have a 2-way clause so that the soon to be 25 year old will have a chance to further hone his skills.


Unrestricted Free Agents

Paul Martin – 2009-10 salary: $4.5 million – 22 GP, 2 G, 9 A, 11 pts, +10
The decision on whether or not to retain Paul Martin will probably be the second most challenging one facing the Devils this offseason, right behind trying to keep explosive winger Ilya Kovalchuk. Martin has become one of the best American-born defensemen in the game and will probably be paid as such should he hit the free agent market. He could easily command over $5 million per season, and with how many needs the Devils need to address, retaining the 2nd round pick from 2000 could prove to be too difficult. His play since returning from injury was subpar and he never seemed to fully reach his pre-injury form. Expect the Devils to make an offer, but don’t be surprised if he tests the waters and earns a bigger paycheck from another club.

Mike Mottau – 2009-10 salary: $775k – 79 GP, 2 G, 16 A, +4
One of the biggest disappointments in the eyes of the fans, Mottau struggled to play consistent all season long and throughout the playoffs. His liability on defense and absentmindedness failed to compensate and cover his partners mistakes or aggressiveness. Failure to make reads, failure to play the body and not chase the puck around like a pee-wee player explained why he was a career minor leaguer until arriving on the Devils in 2007. How he continued to log not only top minutes, but play over 200 games during the past 3 seasons is a miracle in its own right, that or pure stupidity and lack of better options by an organization struggling to build a solid defensive core. Unfortunately, I see the Devils continuing to compound their mistake and give Mottau not only a contract, but a multi-year deal worth well above his value. I see a 3 year, $1.5 million for a massive liability, and why not throw a no trade clause to boot for this 32 year old.

Matrin Skoula – 2009-10 salary: $575k [acquired from TOR via PIT] – 19 GP, 0 G, 3 A, +7
Skoula didn’t put up jawdropping numbers, but for the first time in a few years, the Devils deadline deal for a defenseman did not leave the fans palm-slapping their faces and begging for a do-over. He sure was no Nick Havelid. Could Skoula remain a Devil? Yes it is a possibility, but look for the Devils to try and go with a younger look and for defenders who can fill a leadership role on a team dieing for some identity, backbone and heart.


Where to go from here?

The Devils could make a run at retaining Martin should they fail to sign Kovalchuk. Even with re-signing Martin, they would need to add at least one more veteran defender.

Mottau and Skoula should be allowed to walk, Mottau especially should be escorted out so that he may not plague our backline ever again.

Fraser and Eckford should be tendered offers to ensure youth is maintained.

Who’s out there that could fit?

Wishing on a shooting star:

Scott Neidermayer – 09/10 salary: $6.75 million, 80 GP, 10 G, 38 A, -9
With 48 points, Neids would have outscored almost the entire Devils roster, save from Elias, Langenbrunner, Zajac, and Parise. The bad news is he will turn 37 this summer so one has to wonder, should he not retire, how much will he have left in the tank. The really bad news is how large of a price tag he will garnish should he choose to leave Anaheim. The Devils should highly consider making him an offer if not just for his offensive prowess which the defensive unit is sorely missing, but for his leadership which the Devils are in desperately short supply. The Devils need a new leader, Neidermayer knows the system and could teach the inexperienced defense a thing or two about winning and being a team.

Who we should get:

Dan Hamhuis, NSH – 09/10 salary: $2.5 million, 78 GP, 5G, 19A, +4
At 27, Hamhuis looks to be entering his first free agency of his career. The Predators blue-liner has played in nearly every regular season game since 2003-04, missing a grand total of 9 games. He finished 3rd on the Predators defense in scoring but only registered one assist on the power play so his contributions in that category could be lacking. What he can bring to the team is an immense amount of experience from international competitions, so he knows how to adapt to various styles of playing. Hamhuis is also very disciplined when it comes to penalties, as he only amassed 49 minutes on the year, including one fighting major.


Who we probably will get:

Willie Mitchell, VAN – 09/10 salary: $3.5 million, 48 GP, 4 G, 8 A, +13
This former Devils’ season came to an abrupt halt thanks to a concussion suffered on January 16th against the Penguins. He has played in at least 60 games in every season since leaving the Devils except for the past one, and he has been a plus player his entire career except for a minus-12 in 2001-2002 while playing for Minnesota. Should Vancouver decide not to re-up their 4 year veteran, I could easily see Lou Lamoriello extending an offer to bring back Mitchell after a 9 year absence from the organization. He would bring consistency as well as leadership should the effects of his concussion not linger.

Devils Ride Parise's Back-to-Back 2 Goal Nights to Victories

For the first time since mid-January, the Devils lost two of their previous three games this past week. Some felt that the Washington loss did not sting nearly as much as their loss to the Kings.

On paper, when comparing the two records side by side, anyone would agree with that statement. However, when looking inside the numbers, you can see that Los Angeles came into the game absolutely on a tear. Winning five of their previous 6 games and earning points in 6 of their last 7 [the first game of this section was an overtime loss to Dallas], the Kings came into Newark kicking some rear-end and taking names. The teams they defeated were no simple task: Colorado, Minnesota, Chicago, Ottawa [okay, maybe that one should have been a win, no matter who you are], and the same Washington Capitals who dominated the Devils last Tuesday night at The Rock.

So the Devils had some motivation, like they needed any extra, going into Monday night’s contest with the New York Rangers. The same Rangers team who were utterly embarrassed by Dallas at MSG Sunday by a count of 10-2. Going into the contest, the two teams were knotted at 2 wins a piece in the season series, but the Devils had won the previous 2 match-ups including an 8-5 victory in the Prudential Center.

Henrik Lundqvist, who allowed the flu to keep him on the bench while Stephen Valiquette was lit up like the 4th of July on Sunday, was back in net for the Rangers. Coach Tom Renny had his team pressing the entire first period, trying to lure the Devils into making a mistake which the Rangers hoped to capitalize on, and were successful in drawing numerous first period penalties, but had nothing to show for it.

David Clarkson squared off against Erik Reitz in a sloppy fight which neither player truly grabbed an upper hand until Clarkson landed a few solid punches before taking Reitz to the ice. Fights like this one were exactly what this rivalry seemed to have been missing as of late. Neither side seemed willing to really take it to the other, physical wise, until Monday’s game.

There were countless hits into the boards, “extra curricular activities” as Doc Emerick calls them, following whistles, gave this game all the makings you would expect from a Devils-Rangers game.

Following a Colton Orr victory over Mike Rupp in what I have to admit was a solid, the Rangers seemed to not only take the momentum from the Devils, but take some life out of the Prudential Center as well.

But less than four minutes later, the Devils stole it all right back, as Bobby Holik found a Breandan Shanahan rebound right in front of Lundqvist and stuffed it 5 hole before the keeper could get into a butterfly position.

Thanks to a Brandon Dubinsky penalty at 1315, the Rangers found themselves short handed for the second time in the game. Zach Parise made sure they would pay for it as he leveled the score, putting home a Travis Zajac rebound for the power play goal and his 31st goal of the season.

The Rangers would only be able to muster 11 shots in the third period, with only two or three giving the crowd any semblance of nervousness.

Parise would seal the victory with an empty netter as Scott Clemmensen would notch his first shutout victory since 2003-2004, and his 23rd win on the season.

Wednesday night brought with it the plummeting New York Islanders to the Prudential Center. This time last season, Devils fans would cringe at the sight of either New York metro area team on the schedule because regardless of how bad of hockey they were playing, the Devils just could not seem to find a way to beat them.

This season, however, the Devils had not dropped a contest to the Islanders in 4 tries.

The Islanders struck very early in the first period after some nice passing, and horrendous reaction timing by goaltender Kevin Weekes, Radek Martinek scored on pretty much an open net.

Great positioning helped lead the Devils to the equalizer as time was running out in the first. After a blue line pass from Johnny Oduya, Paul Martin’s shot was deflected in front of the net, and the rebound kicked right to, surprise surprise, Parise who hit the back of the net for the 3rd time in 2 games.

After a Kyle Okposo power play goal, Jamie Langenbrunner would pull the Devils even again on a power play with a blistering slap shot through a great screen in front of the net. The shot came off a great feed from Martin who registered his 2nd point of the night, as did Parise who received a secondary assist.

This time, however, the Devils did not surrender the go ahead goal, and instead added their own in the 2nd half of the 3rd period. Again on the power play, swift passing and great positioning helped set up Martin’s shot from the point the goaltender Jamie MacDonald was unable to control. Parise pounced on the loose puck and ripped it into the back of the net fro his 2nd of the game and 3rd point overall.

The Devils would try to get Praise the hat trick when the Islanders pulled their goalie but when it was clear he would not be able to get a clean shot off, he elected to pass it off to Langenbrunner who netted his 2nd of the game, giving Parise a 4 point night.

Weekes stopped 23 shots to notch his 5th win of the season, while MacDonald stopped 45 shots.

NOTES: The win was their 11th in their past 13 games… With the win, the Devils tied Washington for 2nd in the Eastern Conference with 73 points… With 50 shots in the game, the Devils passed 40 shots in a game for the 4th time this season… Parise moved into a tie with Philadelphia’s Jeff Carter for 2nd in the league in goals scored with 34… Langenbrunner scored 2 goals in a game for the 4th time in 8 games, and he now has goals in 5 of the last 8… New Jersey will now have a tough weekend as they take on the leaders of both conferences. First Boston on Friday and then San Jose on Sunday on NBC. Both games will be at the Prudential Center in Newark.

Devils Off-Season Analysis [July Edition]

After a week in the Bahamas, and taking a much needed break from writing all together, I have taken the time to put together the first of my two Off-Season analysis, starting first with the Devils.

When free-agency opened on July 1st, many Devils fans wondered if this would truly be the year they have hoped for throughout their team’s existence, the year they make a big splash in the free agent market.

The result, however, was a combination of both anticipation and shock.

Rather than adding a shooter from the blue line, something desperately needed for this offensively anemic franchise, they opted to address size at the center position and added some semblance of a power play threat.

To fulfill these two desires, the Devils looked towards former players rather than introduce new blood into the locker room.

First, the Devils re-acquired Brian Rolston. Rolston, who won a Stanley Cup with the Devils in 1995, just a year after being drafted, signed a four year deal worth over $20 million. The 6’2” winger has spent time with Boston, Colorado and most recently Minnesota since being traded by the Devils to the Avalanche in 1999. Rolston brings with him not only much needed size, leadership and experience, but also solid power play awareness as he will be looked upon to be the quarterback on the first power play unit.

Later in the evening on July 1st, the Devils made a surprising move in re-acquiring center Bobby Holik. Holik left the Devils in 2002, signing with the rival New York Rangers to chase a larger contract. The move failed miserably and Holik was traded by the Rangers before his third season with the squad to the Thrashers, where he as spent the last few seasons.

This move came to a shock for many fans, if not simply for the animosity felt by most for his jumping ship for the Rangers, but for the plummeting in Holik’s skills as his age increases. Now 37, Holik is signed for one season, presumably to take one more shot at winning the Cup before retiring.

The major question mark which the Devils still need to address is brining in not only size, but experience to a very small and very young defensive unit.

Passing on Jason Smith was a great move by Lou Lamoriello. Smith has phenomenal leadership capabilities, but his speed is a massive question mark and his age also would present a frailty possibility as well.

Keeping Bryce Salvador is a questionable move, but does have the potential to pay immediate dividends, if he can stay healthy. Salvador was acquired at the trading deadline for Cam Janssen, aka the equivalent of a bag of pucks. He was only able to play 8 regular season games, however, and was limited in the playoffs as well. Salvador is not an offensive threat, but he is a physical player who knows how to throw the body around. He will play a key role, as will Holik, in ensuring that players like Sean Avery do not harass Martin Brodeur on a regular basis.

The Devils have solidified their front four lines, but they need to make a move to address the lack of an offensive threat on the blue line. This will not be an easy task to achieve as they have been in search of a one since the loss of Scott Neidermyer in 2004. Former Devil and current Red Wing Brian Rafalski was looked upon to shoulder the burden of Neidermyer’s departure but that plan never fully worked out as planned.

Now with both players with other squads, Paul Martin looks to be the most viable offensive threat in the defense. Andy Greene has shown glimmers of offensive capabilities during the playoffs in 2007 and briefly in 2007-2008, but never caught fire. The same holds true for Johnny Oduya and Mike Mottau.

Oduya, however, has shown the most offensive promise behind Martin. During the home stretch of the 07-08 season, Oduya showed an awareness for joining rushes and even tallied a pair of goals in one game, including a diving goal that rivaled the brilliance of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.

With a little over a month before training camp opens up for the Devils, expect a move or two, but not a big splash. The Devils do have a few NHL ready prospects who could be chips in a major deal, but with Lou Lamoriello at the helm, it is unlikely they will be dealt.