Why the Devils are one player away from being legit cup contenders

Skuola signed somewhere in the KHL…

then they need to make a deal for brent burns who would be a great fit or kaberle who will be hard to get

They aren’t going to pony up Toronto’s asking price for Kaberle, so that isn’t an issue. As for Brent Burns, the Devils simply don’t have the payroll room once Kovalchuk comes aboard. They’ll have to ship out Zubrus or Salvador just to sneak under the cap, and might trade both so there’s enough wiggle room during the season if necessary.

Adding another Top 4 defenseman sounds like a nice concept, but the money just doesn’t work. You don’t spend all the way to the cap line on Opening Night, because that puts you in a pickle when minor injuries inevitably strike. Just ask Calgary two years ago — they had a stretch after acquiring Olli Jokinen where they were dressing 17-18 men a night because they didn’t even have the cap space to call up a warm body for a night.

In the modern-day NHL, teams will need to get some contributions from young players whose cap numbers are low, simply so they can afford the stars who command big money. The Devils need to find a way to do the same, which means bringing up some kids to play the 4th line and fill out the defense.

With Kovalchuk on the roster acquiring another contract thats over $2mil is unlikely (unless someone like Rolston waives his NTC, even then he wont bring a return like Kaberle or Burns). This is why Eckford and Salmella likely make the team and get 10-15 minutes a night.

Assuming a Salvador trade the top 4 looks like this:

Greene
Tallinder
Volchenkov
White

Would be nice to add another Andy Greene type player but the cap room is limited.

last year the d was terrible

Really? Were you watching the same Devils team that the rest of us were, the team that won the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the league? All this despite not having their top two defensemen (Martin and Oduya) for large parts of the season?

What would make you happy? Video-game defense where your goalie’s GAA sits slightly below 1.00?

White has one working eye and a NTC, he is not getting traded.

Rolston did not publicly say he waive his NTC. What team trades for a D man with one working eye who makes $3mil a year?

he would waive it

Why would he waive it? Where are you planning to ship him out to, and what do you think you’re getting in return? If your plan is to dump him on Florida or the Islanders for the cap space, I think you’ve got a surprise coming when Colin White tells you he prefers to play for a team that has a chance to win.

rolston said he would

Again, where are you planning to ship him out to, and what sort of return do you think you can get? Rolston’s contract is so bad that you’ll likely have to pay a team to take him on. It might not be much, but it also could cost you a good prospect or a high draft pick.

sigh…. Could we stop with the concept that all these no-trade clauses are so easily worked around? Did you pay attention to Dany Heatley vetoing a trade to Edmonton last summer? How about the handful of times Brian Burke thought he had a deal for Kaberle only to have the D-man nix it? Maybe you saw Ray Whitney scuttle a deal at the trade deadline last year because Los Angeles wouldn’t give him a three-year extension?

A NTC gives the hammer to the player. They don’t get moved unless they want to be moved, and that’s all that needs to be said about that.

Id temper your expectations, both Rolston and White are very likely to be on the team this coming season.

You’ve got to come up with something better than that. Give a specific citation from a source that does more than spews garbage before you expect us to buy Rolston being moved is a possibility. Do you remember how many times Kovalchuk was signed and sealed to Los Angeles before last Monday’s announcement? Or Eklund’s comment that the Devils and Caps explored a Brodeur-for-Semin trade?

Like we’ve told all the visitors from other NHL blogs in the Kovalchuk discussions — come up with some hard evidence to back up your point. None of this “A rumour said” garbage, or “everyone knows” bs.

Why would a contender (most of who are near the upper limit of the cap) trade for a player who is vastly under performing considering his contract is for $5 million?

You don’t know your history, then. Heatley demanded a trade out of Ottawa, and Edmonton anted up with the package Ottawa thought was best for them. At the last moment, Heatley said “no thanks, I don’t want to go there” after having publicly demanded his trade. If he hadn’t had a no-trade, Heatley wouldn’t have the leverage to dictate where he was sent after deciding he didn’t want to play for the Senators anymore. Instead, the Sens had to settle for the pu-pu platter from the Sharks.

Brian Burke is entitled to ask for the moon for Kaberle if he wants — Kaberle is among the top defensemen available in a market that doesn’t have much in the way of offensive D-men.

rolston could be dealt to a playoff contender

Sure, he could be dealt to a playoff contender….. and I could be offered a multi-year contract to be Lou Lamorello’s assistant GM and successor. I’m not holding my breath expecting either to happen. For starters, I don’t see a lot of teams with the cap space to absorb Rolston’s contract without the Devils taking back an equally bad contract. Of the teams that remain, they wield the hammer with the Devils even if Rolston would consent to a deal — the biggest gains the Devils make out of the trade is shedding salary and opening up a roster spot for someone else, and they’ll have to pay dearly for the privledge.

If you meant to say “Rolston could be dealt to a Cup conteder” (emphasis mine), I don’t see it. Most of those teams are pretty much settled at this point, and Rolston isn’t going to give them anything more than he gave the Devils, meaning he’d be nothing more than a very expensive complementary piece to them. Since those teams are generally clustered around the upper limit, there’s no reason for them to take on that kind of salary, either.

How about providing a link, and to someone more credible than Scott Burnside. If you’re making these claims that he can be moved, back it up with some evidence.

How about a link, so everyone can see what you’ve found? And lift it from there to here if it is under Insider, since most of us don’t pay for that privledge?

And what is the source of this “rumour”? No offense, but a lot of the places ESPN takes information from are pure garbage. The same goes for a number of their hockey writers.