Chere: Oduya Close to Re-Signing with New Jersey Devils

by John Fischer on Jun 29, 2009 11:11 PM EDT in Devils Issues, Views & Analysis

Rich Chere comes in with this late night post with some potentially excellent news for Devils fans!

It appears the Devils will be able to keep highly-regarded defenseman Johnny Oduya from testing the market when the free agency period officiallly begins at noon Wednesday.

Oduya has been priority No. 1 for Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello, who said Monday night that a deal with the speedy defenseman could be finalized Tuesday. Lamoriello and agent Don Meehan are believed to be close to a multi-year contract at about $3 million per season.

"I think that's close," Lamoriello said Monday night about re-signing Oduya.

In fact, Lamoriello wasn't content to stop there.

"Hopefully we can get one or two things done in the next 48 hours," he said.

Emphasis mine. If it's truly for $3 million per season, then I suppose Aftonbladet's report (in Swedish, I used Google trasnaltion on it in this post) wasn't completely out of hand! The quotes from Lou are night and day from what Gulitti had on Sunday, further proving that a "no" from Lou isn't always a "no." Except when it is, of course. Get it? Me neither, and I've been a fan of this team since I was 10.

Anyway, about $3 million/year is an excellent price for a top 4 defenseman who plays well the the Devils' #1 defenseman, Paul Martin; has some offensive skills of his own; and who is still improving the more he plays NHL hockey. He may not be a true #2 defenseman, but in the Devils' system he is in that role. Given that it looks like he will be for more than just a few years is simply great for stability and continuity on defense. The best is yet to come from Oduya, and consdering all this, it's no wonder why I have said over and over and over that the Devils really should and need to re-sign Oduya.

Thankfully Lou is apparently making that happen, which is great for Oduya (he gets a massive raise), the Devils' salary cap (it's not a massive, cap-killing deal), and for other teams in the league (GMs can point to the eventual announcement to justify their deals to other defenders). It's also a sign that the Devils don't need a head coach to have a free agent sign with the Devils - though I can certainly understand the desire for one to be present. Thanks to Chere for posting this up in the evening as it happened! I can't wait for the official announcement. (And if something goes awry, I will admit my error. I have no shame in admitting errors!)

Now I wonder what else Lou has up his sleeve between now and Wednesday?

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Comments

Gionta?

Wasn’t sure if Gio was the next “surprise” Lou had. To be honest, I have no idea whether or not Gionta wants to stay or leave, I keep on hearing mixed reports and since I can’t ask Gionta directly, I’ll let this site and its sources figure that one out! We definitely need at least one more forward via free agency and a shutdown Dman wouldn’t be a bad idea, either. I like Mottau and Leach but there’s better out there (Ohlund, Bergeron) that will help us offensively as well as defensively with speed and skill.

by i4ni on Jun 30, 2009 12:42 AM EDT reply actions

Gionta

Gionta’s agent has reportedly said that even though he won’t be getting an offer from the Devils before July 1st (or will he…) he’s not opposed to re-signing here. Since Madden clearly wants out, this works in our favor because hopefully once the Oduya deal is signed sealed and delivered we can work on a deal for Gionta. I’ve always believed—for better or worse—that Gionta really needs a Gomez-type player to feed him the puck, and there is no one like that on this team right now. If we get Gionta locked up maybe we can try and pursue such a player, although I really believe our defense needs the most work, unless it’s time for the kids to shine, i.e. Corrente, Eckford, etc.

by thejerseydevil on Jun 30, 2009 11:08 AM EDT reply actions

Let Him Walk!!!!!!

I would let Gio walk, Rolston can easily take his place. And you have about 4 million free for a free agent center. Like said before the Devils have about 6-8 million to spend, spend 6 million on a REAL center and 2 million for an offensive defenseman. Like Bergeron or maybe Beauchemin. Koivu can fill that role at center. Should be an exciting July 1st….

by LetsGoDevils on Jun 30, 2009 12:16 PM EDT reply actions