The winners of the Free Agent Frenzy this year are the New Jersey Devils. Let’s be honest. With the resigning of Ilya Kovalchuk to only a cap hit of 6 million per season, the Devils have locked up the Russian sniper for the rest of his playing days. So let’s see, the Devils have signed Ilya Kovalchuk, Henrik Tallinder, Anton Volchenkov, and Johan Hedberg. Yes it is understood that the Devils are about 1.8 million over the salary cap but like I have said all along, the situation can be easily rectified. Some will say no but the reality is Lou The Lion outdid himself this Frenzy. The crowning obviously was this player.
To make this really easy on everyone, Volenchkov signed for less than Dan Hamhuis and really Hamhuis is not the player Volchenkov is. Yes there are some question as to where the offense from the blueline will come from but the Devils may not be done just yet. Some defensive liabilities may go for a plus. The time is now for the NJ Devils and it will be interesting to see how the East plays out. The Penguins and Devils clearly did the most for their teams and then after that, well it was not close.
The question to the readers now is this. First, who will win the Atlantic? Pittsburgh or New Jersey? Then the bigger inquiry is this. Can the Devils finally figure out the playoffs? Something that has clearly bugged them the past several appearances? No one is really sure on both accounts but this year will not be dull.
