Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell

Lou Lamoriello has taken care of most items on his off-season check list, but a few things still remain.

On top of making a trade or two to clear some room up front, Lamoriello has a few players to re-sign, with Eric Gelinas being the most notable.

The 23-year-old is coming off an impressive rookie campaign where he recorded 29 points in 60 games and was the most efficient power play defenseman in hockey, yet didn't fully establish himself as an NHL regular due to some issues without the puck.

His 5 vs 5 goals for% was still 50%, so for all his deficiencies defensively the Devils still drew even at full strength with him on the ice. Factor in his elite power play efficiency and you can make a strong case he should have been in the lineup more frequently, but I can understand why he spent some time in the seats.

Nevertheless, Gelinas is in need of a new contract, which is something you may have forgotten for how little talk there's been about his status this off-season.

He's a restricted free agent so he doesn't have much leverage in negotiations. Even if he's able to nickel and dime Lamoriello into giving him some extra coin, he still figures to carry a cap friendly hit and certainly won't break the bank.

For a better idea of how his next contract may look, I charted what some other young defensemen with comparable production totals in their contract years garnered in their next deals.



As you'll notice, Gelinas' 13-14 campaign ranked atop comparable defenders in points and points per game. All of the other defensemen landed multi-year deals in the neighbourhood of a $2.1 million on average. Jason Demers' contract was signed when the salary cap was much lower, so his number would be higher had the cap hit been similar in 2011.

Production wise Dmitry Kulikov seems like the best comparable, but I think Patrick Wiercioch's case is pretty similar to Gelinas'.

Wiercioch is a guy who, like Gelinas, produces points at a high rate - especially on the PP - when in the lineup. He's also a guy who, like Gelinas, has been knocked for his defensive play at times, and has yet to establish himself as a full-time NHLer because of that.



I have a lot of time for both players, and I think ultimately Gelinas' contract will look similar to Wiercioch's. I expect he'll come in at about $2 million per, but on a two-year deal rather than three.

The Devils want to fully know what they have before investing big money into Gelinas, and a short-term deal will benefit Gelinas should he establish himself as a regular and continue to produce points at a high clip.

We'll have to wait a bit longer to see his next deal, but I think it's safe to say it'll be pretty similar to the ones listed above.

Devils posts

Where does Jacob Josefson fit in?

Grading the Devils' off-season to date

On Cory Schneider's long-term extension

On Evander Kane and the constant trade rumors

My in-depth Devils draft review

Jackets posts

On Brandon Dubinsky's contract extension

Galaxies Apart

Blue Jackets draft review

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Email: [email protected]