The Newest New Jersey Devil: Introducing Martin Skoula

At SBN's In Lou We Trust, John Fischer has taken an in-depth look at Martin Skoula, the newest member of the New Jersey Devils.

An excerpt:

Combining that statistical suggestion along the way he apparently lost his coaches' confidence, it definitely doesn't suggest that he should be able to step right into New Jersey's blueline or even seriously challenge anyone on the team.  As [general manager] Lou [Lamoriello] said, this is a depth move. 

He's not replacing Mark Fraser or Anssi Salmela unless either starts stinking it up on the ice.  He's definitely not going to be taking Mike Mottau's spot in the lineup.  He's going to be used when the coaches see the need for experience on the third pairing. When Paul Martin returns, he can used to spell players or replace guys who are injured in the run up to the playoffs. To that end, I'm not expecting much.  All I want is that he plays perfectly acceptable, average defense when he does play.

Incidentally, the move for Skoula means someone's got to go down to Lowell when Martin does return. It probably would be Vladimir Zharkov, as he can go back to Lowell without passing waivers.  (Though I don't think Andrew Peters or Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond will be poached on waivers, they'll stick around for better or worse.)

He won't be a regular player, but he's definitely an asset on the Devils roster. Meanwhile, he was just tossed aside by both Pittsburgh and Toronto within 24 hours. One man's trash, another man's treasure.