With recent news that Mark Fayne's wrist will be fully recovered before the regular season starts in October, pending a new CBA being agreed upon, the New Jersey Devils are soon set to face the inevitable that is picking the odd man out on a blue line that has eight NHL caliber defenseman as well as a few very good prospects waiting in the wings.

Here are some notes on the Devils defense, a few names Devils fans should keep their eye on as well as notes on Mattias Tedenby and Shane Doan.

- I'll start with the blue line. With Fayne expected to be healthy and ready to go come October, the Devils log jam on defense just got that much more interesting. Before the news broke, the Devils likely figured that they would go with the other seven NHL defenseman they have until he returned and then worry about who the odd man out is when he returns. Now, they don't have the luxury of time on their side. They have eight NHL defenseman (Adam Larsson, Bryce Salvador, Marek Zidlicky, Anton Volchenkov, Andy Greene, Henrik Tallinder, Peter Harrold and Fayne) and seven of which are regulars and wouldn't be too happy if they were asked to sit.

Peter Harrold is the only defenseman of the eight who is in and out of the lineup and versatile, plus he just re-signed so I would be very surprised if he was moved. He also seems to enjoy the role and his trade value wouldn't be very high so moving him wouldn't make much sense.

My viewing is this: the Devils are open to moving one of their defenseman, but they're not in a hurry. I think they would be okay heading into preseason with all eight defenseman as chances are one of them will suffer an injury at some point, and if none of them do some defenseman on other teams surely would which would leave them searching for defense. Then, the Devils could jump in and work something out with that said team.

Lou Lamoriello is a Hall of Fame General Manager and he knows how to manage assets. He certainly won't force a bad trade to get rid of a problem that is actually more so a luxury. You know what they say, you can never have too much depth on defense.

- With Alex Semin signing with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Devils free agent options just got that much thinner. In my opinion, there are three guys Devils fans need to keep their eyes on: Andrei Kostitsyn, Kristian Huselius and Petr Sykora.

Kostitsyn is a young, skilled forward who has dealt with some off ice issues throughout his career. I think signing with a stable; no non-sense team like the Devils would help him.

Huselius is a veteran forward loaded with skill, but the problem with him is he has trouble staying healthy. In his last season with 70+ games, he put up 63 points. If he would sign cheap, I think it would be a risk worth taking for the Devils. If he can't stay healthy, they're not paying him much and if he's healthy he would surely be worth more than he signed for.

As I've said all along, though, the most likely option is bringing Sykora back on a one year deal. He has showed he can still play, and if the Devils don't have to break the bank to sign him no harm can really be done.

- According to my count, the Devils have seven forwards that are locks to play in the top-9. That means the Devils have two vacancies there. I think they should re-sign Sykora or bring in one of the other guys listed above, and give Tedenby a shot to earn a spot.

Here is the thing with Tedenby. He is talented enough to play in the NHL. He showed that during the 2010-11 season. Sure he's small and not loaded with strength, but you have to remember he's only played in North America for two years now. The players in the NHL, even AHL, are much bigger, stronger and faster than the players he played against in Sweden and he's still adjusting.

The NHL is harder than ever to play in, especially if you're smaller in stature. Tedenby is realizing that and trying to adjust on the fly. He needs time. He's obviously been training all summer, and I think you can expect him to show some added strength in preseason when we get our first look at him in game.

One thing that has stalled Tedenby's development: he's had no confidence shown in him, and he's had no stability. He's played at least 12 games in the NHL and AHL both seasons as a pro. He's had no time to get comfortable and gain confidence and that's very important for a player; especially a young one. He also hasn't been used properly, in my opinion.

With a skilled guy like him, he needs to be given a role and allowed to play in it. He'll make mistakes, but all young players do. It's part of the learning curve. He needs to be given confidence from the coaching staff that if he makes a mistake he won't be sent to the minors or sat on the bench for extended periods of time, he'll be thrown right back out there. He needs to play with players who can help him produce. He can't be thrown on the 4th line, he can't be benched in the 3rd period, he needs to play and play with legitimate players. If the Devils don't want to use him in that role, they need to leave him in Albany and let him play that role there. If he's given a full season in the NHL or AHL this year to play in a role with talented players and allowed to get comfortable and gain confidence, I think he'll have a very good year.

The thing people need to understand is that development takes time and players need to be used properly. You can't put a guy in a bad situation for his game / style of play and expect him to flourish and develop nicely. If the Devils want Tedenby to develop into a top-6 forward, they'll need to give him some ice time and play him with players that will give him opportunities to produce.

As I've said before, the Calgary Flames said Martin St. Louis was too small, wasn't strong enough or good enough defensively, and look at him now. Tampa Bay gave him the opportunity, developed him properly and he turned into one of the better forwards in the league. The Devils need to use Tedenby the way Tampa Bay used St. Louis.

- Doan's agent, Terry Bross, told USA Today that Doan will talk to the Phoenix Coyotes again today and if he's not comfortable the situation there will be resolved in the near future, he'll start considering all the offers that have been sent from other teams.

Personally I think he'll end up in Philadelphia if he doesn't re-sign in Phoenix. The Flyers are obviously a very good team and they probably offered him a good chunk of cash. They'll make it hard for him to turn them down.

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