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New Jersey Devils: On Severson & The Need For An Offensive Defenseman |
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A few New Jersey Devils notes as they continue to prepare for what will be a very important off-season:
- Adding another top-6 point producer should be the biggest item on GM Ray Shero's to do list but one thing that doesn't get talked about enough is the lack of offense from the Devils' blue liners.
Damon Severson was benched at times, and finished 6th on the team in power play minutes, yet he still led Devils defensemen with 21 points.
David Schlemko was the only defenseman on the team to contribute more than five goals, too, so producing offense was a real problem for the Devils by all accounts.
Schlemko is a good player, and I think he should be re-signed, but he's not a big point producer. I don't think Adam Larsson will ever be a huge point producer and we already know that holds true for Andy Greene, Jon Merrill and John Moore.
Severson is the one guy with another gear, I think, so I'd like to see the Devils turn him loose. In saying that the Devils could certainly use another weapon on the back end.
- If Shero and co. want to add an offensive defenseman this summer there should be a few good options available.
Keith Yandle is the biggest name free agent, and has a long history of piling up points, but he will certainly not come cheap. With that in mind Jason Demers and/or Alex Goligoski are a couple guys that make a lot of sense if the Devils want to sign cheaper options (relative to Yandle).
I prefer Demers, I think, but both Stars' defensemen would be upgrades over what the Devils have.
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