One of the things I'm most interested to see this off-season is how Devils GM Lou Lamoriello goes about clearing a roster spot for Adam Larsson.
The 21-year-old defenseman isn't waiver exempt next season, meaning he'd have to go through waivers and clear to be sent to Albany, which obviously wouldn't happen.
It's not a matter of if the young Swede is on the team next season, but how Lamoriello makes room for him.
The Devils currently have five defenseman under contract for 2014-15 - Andy Greene, Jon Merrill, Bryce Salvador, Anton Volchenkov and Pete Harrold - as well as restricted free agent Eric Gelinas and unrestricted free agents Marek Zidlicky and Mark Fayne, all of whom I think Lamoriello intends to re-sign.
For the sake of the argument let's say Lamoriello re-signs all three defenseman, the Devils would have nine on their team including Larsson.
I think it's pretty likely Volchenkov will be bought out - and I think that'd be smart - but I'll save that argument for another day. Even with A-Train bought out, they still have six regulars from last season on top of Harrold and Larsson.
Presumably you'd think Lamoriello would want Larsson to be an undisputed regular so he can take the next step forward in his development. In order to become such a player, the Devils would need to move out another defenseman on top of buying out Volchenkov, should they choose to do so.
I don't see Gelinas or Merrill being traded, unless their names come up in an Evander Kane-type deal. Bryce Salvador is captain, which was voted on by the players, so I doubt he's going anywhere either. Andy Greene will be back. That leaves one of Zidlicky or Fayne, but getting rid of them would be done simply by not re-signing them, which means in either case the Devils would lose an established top-4 defenseman for nothing.
Given the offensive abilities of Gelinas, as well as some flashes shown by Merrill and Larsson on top of Greene, who's good for 30+ points a season, I could see the Devils electing to let Zidlicky walk and relying on the kids to produce offense.
Personally I'd like to see Zidlicky back, but I'm not sure there's an easier way to make room for Larsson, who at 21 the Devils need to find out what he can be, than by allowing him to go to free agency. Fayne is younger and would come cheaper, so I think the Devils will try and re-sign him.
Lamoriello could go in several different directions here, so it'll be fun to see how this all plays out.
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