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Bob McKenzie: "keep an eye on the NJ Devils" + notes on win over the Leafs

February 22, 2012, 3:16 PM ET [96 Comments]
Todd Cordell
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
For the most part Devils President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello has remained pretty quiet at the trade deadline, focusing on adding depth and role players or nobody at all; but it sounds like things could be different this year. Here are some Devils deadline notes plus a few notes on last night's overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

- In a recent insider video for TSN and TSN.ca, Bob McKenzie said to keep an eye on the New Jersey Devils heading into next week's deadline. He noted that they feel the Eastern Conference is wide open and that they are in a good position to make a run at it. McKenzie didn't really speculate on many names but did say that the Devils may be interested in Oilers forward Ales Hemsky.

- Couple thoughts on Devils possibly acquiring Ales Hemsky: depending on the price, I think he would be a good fit. He could slide on to the Devils second line in place of David Clarkson to give them some more flare and skill up there. Clarkson would likely go back down to the third line and play with Alexei Ponikarovsky and Dainius Zubrus, and Steve Bernier would slide down to the 4th line giving New Jersey even more depth up front. Obviously there's a better chance than not that Ales Hemsky will not be traded to New Jersey, but look at these potential line combinations.

Parise - Henrique - Kovalchuk
Sykora - Elias - Hemsky
Ponikarovsky - Zubrus - Clarkson
Boulton - Josefson - Bernier

That's a very deep core. It's worth noting that Travis Zajac and Ryan Carter should be back to finish off the season and help the Devils in the playoffs, too.

- Considering what the asking price is for defenseman right now, I don't think the Devils should go out and get one unless it's a legitimate top-four guy. The Devils have a lot of depth defenseman and are missing a few regulars right now so I think it's best to just stand pat and wait until they're healthy unless they can land a top-four guy; like I said.

Marek Zidlicky and Lubomir Visnovsky are a couple of defenseman that fit the bill. I'm not sure if Visnovsky will be available, though, considering the run the Ducks are on. As for Zidlicky, he's very much available and I think a change of scenery could do very good things for him. I also believe he would be a good fit in Pete DeBoer's system.

- Now on to last night's game. Ilya Kovalchuk was the best player on the ice, in my opinion. He played over 27 minutes, tallied seven shots and notched an assist. He was good defensively and the effort was certainly there from him all game long.

I was at the game and one play that really stood out from him was a back check to break up a Leafs 2-on-1. It was at the end of a shift and he gave everything he had to get back and break it up. The phrase 'Ilya Kovalchuk does not play defense' should be thrown out the window.

- Adam Henrique was also very good last night. He tallied two assists to lead to his league leading total in points, among rookies. He now has 41 on the season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is second with 35 points.

- The Devils third line was arguably their best line once again. Alexei Ponikarovksy, Dainus Zubrus and Steve Bernier all had good games. It's easy to see why Pete DeBoer loves throwing them out there and has so much confidence in them right now.

- Rich Chere wrote an article the other day about the Devils chemistry, how they are a tight knit group and love to play for each other, and David Clarkson was a perfect example of it last night. Just seconds after Dion Phaneuf leveled - and appeared to injure, at the time at least - Zach Parise, David Clarkson jumped over the boards and challenged Phaneuf to a fight. It was a pretty even fight but Clarkson made sent a message to the Leafs, and most importantly to his team. That message was if you mess with one of the Devils you're going to have to answer for it. It may not seem like much but Zach Parise's post-game quotes on it show how much it means.

- Last note: the Devils are second in the Eastern Conference in points. Not bad for a team that many had outside the playoffs. I read 10-15 playoff prediction blogs before the season and the only person beside myself to have the Devils in the top-8 (I had them 5th) was credentialed Flyers writer Dustin Leed of TheHockeyGuys.net. He had them 6th.

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