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The New Jersey Devils aren't going to replace what Ilya Kovalchuk brought to the team, but that won't stop them from trying.

Lou Lamoriello and the Devils appear to be targeting Swiss forward Damien Brunner, according to multiple reports from Europe.

Sports.ru reports the #NJDevils are close to signing Damien Brunner

— Hockey Tracker (@Hockey_tracker) July 13, 2013

Also, @damien_brunner appears to be headed to the #NJDevils. They're doing a lot of background work on him right now.

— Nicola Berger (@BergerNeueLZ) July 13, 2013

Whether these reports turn out to be true remains to be seen, but I think he'd be a good fit.

Brunner, 27, can score goals and produce points. He's not a physical player, he won't play 20+ minutes a night, but he's capable of producing some offense and he's just getting used to hockey on North American ice.

If he signs with the Devils, I expect the cap hit to be somewhere between $3-$3.5 million.

**

Lamoriello, Devils ready for life without Kovalchuk.

My take on Marek Zidlicky's extension with the Devils.

Just how good is Reid Boucher?

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