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Mottau and Brookbank Inked |
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The Devils have resigned two of their many Dmen, Mike Mottau and Sheldon Brookbank were inked to two year contracts each.
Mottau who stepped up with the Devils and became a reliable Dman that played in many situations will get a pay raise and earn roughly $750k and $775k for the two year deal. Brookbank played sparingly taking in 44 games will earn $500k and $550k for the two year deal.
I have no problem with the Mottau signing as he could easily be a good 3rd pair guy should the Devils ink a top pair Dman, or two. Brookbank puzzles me a bit as I expected Lou to cut ties with the rugged Dman who was picked up on waivers last year, even though Brookbank does add some toughness I would have rather seen an opportunity given to one of our youngsters, such as Mark Fraser, to earn the 7th Dman spot.
Perhaps Lou, who has indicated he would like to resign Bryce Salvador who seems set to test free agency, may have something up his sleeve using a Dman as trade bait thus keeping Brookbank.
Can Colin White be packaged with Gionta for a trade thus facilitating a Jason Smith return to New Jersey? Just pure speculation at this point...
On another note, Jay Pandolfo has not had communication with Lamoriello about a new deal to keep him in NJ but Jay doesn’t seem concerned. I do expect Pandolfo to remain and retire a Devils BUT… Ive seen stranger things happen with a complacent Lou, names like Rafalski and Lukowich quickly come to mind. Lets get Pando inked so that we can move onto new business.
I am looking forward to see Lou make some magic soon and I will officially begin the "Please Stay Salvador" campaign.
Also congratulations to this years Stanley Cup Finalists in Detroit and Pittsburgh. A great matchup that is very good for hockey, both on and off the ice. Zetterberg/Datsyuk/Franzen/Lidstrom/Rafalski/Osgood vs Crosby/Malkin/Hossa/Gonchar/Whitney/Fleury, you cant get better than that.
Truly yours,
The Devils Advocate
Food for Thought…
As Ek mentioned in a recent blog, I too have heard chatter of Prospal expressing some interest in the Devils as he seems to be a fan of Coach Sutter and the system. How do you think Prospal will look on the same line as Elias?
As I keep looking for trade partners for the Devils, How about this trade proposal;
Colin White, Brian Gionta and a prospect or pick to Edmonton for Joni Pitkanen and one of: Jarret Stoll, Kyle Brodziak or Raffi Torres.
The only sticking point here is that Pitkanen, and RFA as is Stoll, may be looking for a salary figure a bit too rich for Lou.
This Day in Hockey History…
1970 - The Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks were officially granted their NHL franchises, for expansion fees of $6,000,000 each.
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
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