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When news came out that
the New Jersey Devils were likely to let Marek Zidlicky go, fans were quick to call out Mark Streit's name as a possible replacement.
Though Streit had a pretty respectable season, signing him to replace Zidlicky doesn't make much sense for a few reasons.
First and foremost, 39-year-old Sergei Gonchar, who isn't the player he once was and is somewhat of a defensive liability, just cashed in on a two-year, $10 million deal with the Dallas Stars. That set the standard for UFA defenseman, and you have to believe a better, younger, more mobile Streit will be in for the same contract, if not better.
The next question: is Streit even better than Zidlicky? Offensively, all numbers say yes. But if you were frustrated watching Zidlicky because he's a defensive liability, signing Streit wouldn't make it any better. During 5 vs. 5 hockey this season, the Devils allowed .703 goals against per 20 minutes when Zidlicky was on the ice. So 2.1 goals per 60 minutes of 5 vs 5. Zidlicky was also a 57% possession player. Streit, on the other hand, was out for .892 goals against per 20 minutes of 5 vs. 5, which equates to almost 2.7 goals against per 60 minutes of 5 vs. 5. Streit was also a very mediocre puck possession player at 49%.
The Devils defense isn't very mobile and it's old. Devils GM, Lou Lamoriello, knows the defense needs to get younger and signing a defenseman who turns 36 this year to a big contract doesn't help the situation. If the Devils can't pull of a trade for a legitimate, relatively young puck-moving defenseman, I think they'll try out some of their top defensive prospects such as Eric Gelinas, Jon Merrill, etc.
Lastly, the final nail in the coffin for me is that Lamoriello hates bidding wars. He won't be a part of a money throwing spree and he's not going to bid with 10+ other teams for a soon to be 36-year-old defenseman who's defensive ability is mediocre at best. I like Streit, but that's how it is.
Lamoriello has said Patrik Elias, Dainius Zubrus and David Clarkson, etc. will be all but gone if they're not re-signed by July 5th because he won't get in a bidding war for them, so I'm sure the same rule applies for players that aren't even on his roster, a la Streit.
Signing Streit would help the Devils generate a little more offense, no doubt, but defensively he's not much of an upgrade, if at all, over Zidlicky. Given his age, asking price and several other reasons listed, targeting Streit doesn't make much sense from the Devils perspective.
**
In case you missed it,
why signing Andrei Loktionov to a one-year extension makes sense for both teams.
I posted a scouting report on draft eligible forward, Ryan Kujawinski, at TheHockeyGuys. You can
view the report here.
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