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New Jersey Devils GM, Lou Lamoriello, has yet to re-sign any of the team's unrestricted or restricted free agents, but yesterday he shed some light on who he won't be re-signing.
Lamoriello spoke to members of the Devils media and said that veteran winger Steve Sulllivan and Matt D'Agostini will not be re-signed by the team. Lamoriello also said that he hopes to re-sign defenseman Peter Harrold and Jeff Frazee.
To nobody's surprise, Lamoriello would like to re-sign David Clarkson, Patrik Elias, Dainius Zubrus up front, and perhaps Alexei Ponikarovsky as well.
Here are my thoughts on each news bit:
- I'm not surprised that Sullivan is being shown the door. The Devils were battling a lot of injuries up front and needed any help they could get. Obviously trading for Sullivan was just a short-term depth add who doesn't fit in the team's plans. Sullivan is pretty long in the tooth and doesn't appear to have much left in the tank, in what has been a great career, so it makes sense to let him go.
- D'Agostini's an RFA, but he will need a $1.8 million qualifying offer to be re-signed. Lamoriello doesn't think he's worth that and his production doesn't suggest he is, either, so it's not too surprising the Devils will let him go.
- I know Lamoriello and Pete DeBoer appreciate what Harrold brings to the table and given he wont cost much, it makes sense to re-sign him. He's a good depth guy who understands his rolea nd I think the Devils are smart to try and bring him back. Sure, it'd be nice for them to try one of their kids in Albany out, but realistically Harrold isn't a guy who will prevent the Devils from doing that. Harrold's not an every day player, and letting him go to bring up a young defenseman to play one out of every two or three games on average doesn't make sense from a developing stand point.
- Regarding the Devils wanting to re-sign Frazee, I think I understand the train of thought. Frazee still has some potential and he is a quite capable backup for Keith Kinkaid. Having Frazee stick around will allow Albany a fall back option for Kinkaid and it also means Scott Wedgewood doesn't have to back up Kinkaid. Instead, Wedgewood will get a ton of starts at the ECHL level and continue to hone his craft there rather than splitting time at the AHL level.
- My take on the Devils UFA forward crop is this: If one or two of Clarkson, Elias or Zubrus leave the Devils, Lamoriello wants to bring Ponikarovsky back. Otherwise he'll will likely let Ponikarovsky walk and give a guy like Stefan Matteau his minutes.
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Could Hunter Shinkaruk be the Devils 9th overall pick?
I posted a scouting report on draft eligible defenseman, Jordan Subban, at TheHockeyGuys. You can
view the report here.
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