A good start would be helpful for the Devils with their first three games of the season played at home....
Steckel's faceoff skill cannot be denied,but he seemed to be out of place in the Devils system and it was best for both parties.
The trade brings the final total for last season's trade of Jason Arnott to Washington's second rounder and Toronto's fourth.
Both picks will come in handy,if the Devils decide to pay the penalty this season for the Ilya Kovalchuk signing,which with two extra picks,I would guess that they do unless it would be a very high one...
The Devils made very few moves this season to add to the team,but managed to add a large amount of cap space.
The moves that removed Brian Rolston,Trent Hunter (Obtained for Rolston),Colin White and now David Steckel placed the Devils 4.6 million under this seasons cap and 25+ million under next seasons cap-money that will be needed to sign Zach Parise long term and any other additions to the squad.
The Devils named Zach Parise as the team captain this week in an expected move.
Will the move help retain Parise after the season?
Perhaps,but one thing that cannot be denied is that Parise's injury sent the team into a scoring tailspin that created a hole that the team could not dig out of.
The lines are always fluid as the season wears on,so I will not attempt to go by lines,but the team is strongest at left wing with Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk as their two.
Considering the talents of the pair,one could argue that either line that they play would be the top line.
These two players must produce if the Devils are to return to the playoffs.
Patrik Elias,Mattias Tedenby and rookie Adam Henrique will see time at left wing along with time at center for Elias and Henrique and right wing for Tedenby.
Eric Boulton was added as a free agent to add muscle after spending last season with Atlanta.
The loss of Travis Zajac for the early portion of the season is a huge one for a team that is not elite at the center position.
Zajac will return before the first of the year,but to make up for the deficit,Dainius Zubrus has been moved to center and will need to step things up as will second year man Jacob Josefson,who is one of the three young Swedish would be stars that the team is hoping to infuse new blood to the squad.
The talent dips quickly after those two,although as noted above Patrik Elias and Adam Henrique will see center time on occasion.
Rod Pelley is back as the faceoff/checking center and Brad Mills has made the team for now after splitting last season between Albany and New Jersey.
The right wing is where Mattias Tedenby will likely spend most of his ice time.
The Devils will need Tedenby to add scoring punch because beyond him,the right wingers are filled with questions and less than terrific answers.
David Clarkson returns and needs to show signs of his past play/
Too many times last year,Clarkson did not crash the net and did not play as physical as in the past.
Clarkson can be a very effective player,when he uses his skills wisely.
Nick Palmeiri was a pleasant surprise last season and looked to have some chemistry when playing with Ilya Kovalchuk.
Look for Palmeiri to spend lots of ice time there again this season.
The feel good story was former Devil Petr Sykora making the team after playing in Europe most of last season.
Sykora's scoring touch would be a huge boost,if there is anything left in the tank.
Another former Devil was signed as a free agent in enforcer Cam Janssen.
I am questioning why the team needs both Janssen and Eric Boulton considering their limited skill set or lack thereof.
Devils fans are excited about top pick Adam Larsson making the team as the first top ten the team has had in over twenty years.
Larsson could only stay for nine games,if the Devils wish to keep the Entry Level Contract from kicking in,so we will know more on November 2nd,which is Game 10 of the campaign.
Look for Larsson to be paired with steady Swede Henrik Tallinder,who did a terrific job breaking in Tyler Myers when Tallinder was with Buffalo.
Punishing hitter Anton Volchenkov will be attempting to bounce back from an injury plagued first season in New Jersey.
Volchenkov brings the type of physical presence that was badly needed at times last season.
Andy Greene was brought back from free agency and Bryce Salvador returns after missing all of last year with concussion issues.
Mark Fayne was a huge surprise as a rookie last season and rounds out the top six defensemen.
Mark Fraser will be the seventh defender..
Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg both return as the goalie tandem and should give the team quality net minding...
I think this is a playoff team,but not a division title contender.
No comments:
Post a Comment