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We're a few months into the off-season and the New Jersey Devils have yet to make any truly meaningful additions to the team via free agency or trade.
Brian Boyle is a very good depth forward (
I really like the signing) and Mirco Mueller *could* develop into a decent defenseman, but neither player really moves the needle all that much.
There isn't much help remaining on the open market, either, but I'm confident Ray Shero still has a few moves up his sleeves.
If you include the money the Devils will clear up when Ryane Clowe hits long-term injured reserve, they have approximately $30 million to spend. No other team in the league can say that.
The Devils don't have to spend all of it, nor will they, but they'll most certainly spend some.
They would still like to add another forward or two to insulate the kids and avoid dressing a roster full of them. They'd also like to add at least one top-4 defenseman.
Last year, the Devils' top-4 blueliners (in terms of average ice per game) were Andy Greene, Damon Severson, Ben Lovejoy, and John Moore. If the puck dropped tomorrow, that'd almost certainly be the case again.
Defense was the biggest cause for concern last season and not much has been done to address it (no offense to Mueller). You could argue the blue line is actually worse now than it was a few months ago as, regardless of how you feel about Merrill, he was at least established at the NHL level.
Shero isn't going to spend on anyone and everyone but he wants the Devils to start making some strides next season and, as currently assembled, they're unlikely to be able to do so. You can bet Shero is trying to change that.
I know it's difficult to stay patient when other teams are making moves but Shero still has time -- and $30 million -- on his side. He isn't done. Far from it.
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