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New Jersey Devils Notes: Loktionov, Kovalchuk, Fancy Stats & More

June 22, 2013, 10:11 AM ET [24 Comments]
Todd Cordell
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The details of Andrei Loktionov's one-year contract extension with the New Jersey Devils have finally been released. While the Devils still haven't officially announced that Loktionov has re-signed, it appears to be official.

Notes on Loktionov's contract as well as Patrik Elias, Ilya Kovalchuk and more:

- Loktionov's contract extension with the Devils is for $725K. As you would expect, it's a one-way deal. Obviously Loktionov's production in the NHL is of small simple size, but I thought he definitely warranted more than the $725K he will make.

Loktionov was a 59% possession player, scored eight goals and added four assists for 12 points in 28 games. Again, that's a small body of work but the point totals and underlying numbers were pretty impressive in that span.

When I look at this contract, all I can do is applaud Lou Lamoriello for getting him to sign so cheap. I didn't expect Lamoriello to break the bank, but I certainly thought Loktionov would make more than he will.

Loktionov will be a restricted free agent again next summer but should he have a good season, I'm sure Lamoriello will happily dish out a little extra cash on his next contract. To me, this is a 'prove it' contract for the 23-year-old center. If he plays well over a larger span of time, he should be rewarded.

- I was looking through the Devils roster on CapGeek, and I noticed the Devils only have eight forwards (nine if you count Stefan Matteau) signed for the upcoming season. What stood out to me about that, though, is that only two of them make over $1 million: Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac. That's pretty staggering if you think about it. It's also pretty impressive because there are a few players, Steve Bernier, Ryan Carter, Stephen Gionta and Loktionov, for example, who in reality should be making at least $1 million who aren't. Excellent cap management by Lamoriello.

- While I was on CapGeek, another thing stood out to me. The Devils have two forwards and five players signed through next season. Five players. Those players are Anton Volchenkov, Andy Greene, Bryce Salvador, Kovalchuk and Zajac. Depending on how the team performs and the moves Lamoriello makes, the roster could look dramatically different than it does now in just over a year.

- Last night I was looking through some advanced stats of Devils players, because that's how I spend my Friday nights, and I found out that Patrik Elias and Kovalchuk don't play well together at even strength - at least they didn't last season. At all.

When Kovalchuk is playing with Elias during 5 vs. 5 play, Kovalchuk is a 46% possession player. If No. 17 isn't playing with Elias, he's over a 60% possession player.

Kovalchuk is on the ice for .472 goals for / .943 goals against per 20 minutes of 5 vs. 5 when playing with Elias while without Elias he's on the ice for .613 goals for / .469 goals against in the same situation.

This isn't an overly large body of work as they only played together 42 minutes in this scenario all season, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Most players who played a good amount of minutes with Elias last season like Adam Henrique (172:31), David Clarkson (407:05) and Zajac (264:14) benefited in both goals for / against splits as well as possession time.

It'll be interesting to see who Elias is playing with and how he's utilized by Pete DeBoer if/when he re-signs.

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Notes on Mattias Tedenby's new contract, David Clarkson, Patrik Elias and more.

Brendan Ross and myself rank the top-60 prospects and more in TheHockeyGuys 2013 NHL Draft Guide.

I rank the top-10 forwards and top-5 defenseman in this year's draft.

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