With the New Jersey Devils rumored to be searching for another top-6 forward to help replace some of the offense and other attributes Zach Parise brought to the table, a lot of rumors have been tossed around as to who that potential replacement may be. Here are some notes on who it won't be, and a closer look at Adam Larsson's rookie season.

- The sexy topic to discuss right now is who will replace Parise. While there are not many free agent options available, there are a few that have been mentioned the most: Alex Semin, Shane Doan, Peter Mueller and Andrei Kostitsyn.

Semin, Mueller and/or Kostitsyn could be good fits in New Jersey if they can be had for the right price, but chances are the Devils will sign one of those three at most.

Doan would be perhaps the best fit of them all, but he's not going to sign in New Jersey.

He still wants to re-sign in Phoenix, and should there be a glimmer of hope for the Coyotes to stay in Phoenix for at least a few more years, Doan will re-sign. If and when he determines that the Coyotes are in jeopardy of relocation and/or finds out their ownership issues won't be resolved, he will start to seriously consider other offers. That said, his main objective is to stay out West close to his family and farm. The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are rumored to be interested in his services, and if he doesn't re-sign in Phoenix I think he will end up on one of those teams.

- All things considered, Larsson had a pretty successful rookie season. He played in 65 regular season games, averaged almost 21 minutes a night and, according to Hockey-Reference.com's goals created calculator, created five goals which tied Andy Greene for second on the team among Devils defenseman. Mark Fayne, the leader among Devils defenseman, created six but played in 17 more games than Larsson.

The formula for Goals Created is determined by this (from Hockey-Reference.com): "add goals scored to 0.5 times assists, then multiplying by team goals divided by team goals plus 0.5 times team assists. For example in 2006-07, Sidney Crosby had 36 goals and 84 assists. The Penguins as a team had 267 goals and 468 assists. Thus Crosby is credited with (36 + 0.5 * 84) * (267 / (267 + 0.5 * 468)) = 41.57 goals created. Note that the sum of player goals created is equal to the sum of player goals scored for all teams."

Based on games played, point totals, penalty minute totals, average time on ice and goals created, Larsson's rookie season is extremely similar to Kris Letang's. I'm not comparing their style of play, but seeing how good Letang is now, it's encouraging to see.

- Speaking of Larsson, one person who was very influential in how he developed this past season is Larry Robinson. Robinson has still not decided if he will return for another season, but if he did it would be very beneficial to Larsson. Robinson is experienced, smart and very calm on the bench which is very good, especially when dealing with young defenseman like Larsson. Larsson told the media several times throughout the year that Robinson really helped him out, and you have to believe that another year with Robinson coaching him up would only speed up the development process.

- Sara Orlesky of TSN has been on top of the NHL and NHLPA's discussions/negotiations towards putting together a new Collective Bargaining Agreement over the past week or so.

Orlesky reported yesterday that the two sides met for four hours and started discussing issues within the current CBA. Bill Daly released a statement afterword's saying that it was a very productive meeting and that some important issues were discussed between the two sides. Daly also said he was looking forward to the next meeting which will take place Tuesday in Toronto.

Obviously they're just scratching the surface of key issues now, but several representatives and agents I've contacted remain optimistic a new CBA can be reached in time for the upcoming season to begin. Let's hope they're right.

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