SB Nation - Tyler Eckford

Senators re-sign Jim O'Brien, Eric Gryba

Peter Raaymakers — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 19:01:40 -0000

The Ottawa Senators knocked a few to-do items off their list today, re-signing restricted free agents Jim O'Brien and Eric Gryba to two-year deals. O'Brien's is a one-way deal with a cap hit of $637.5k per year, while Gryba's is a two-way deal.

First, to O'Brien: The signing basically solidifies JOB's place as the team's fourth-line centre--which all but ends Jesse Winchester's time in Ottawa, unfortunately. O'Brien's made some massive strides in proving himself as a pro over the last few seasons, and his beautiful playoff overtime drop-pass assist is the most memorable. He'll also likely serve as a key penalty killer in Ottawa.

With the Sens' defence all but filled out, Gryba's more than likely headed to Binghamton to play his ~~second~~ third full pro season. That Binghamton blue line is looking better and better: Mark Borowiecki, Patrick Wiercioch, Andre Benoit, Tyler Eckford, Fredrik Claesson, Chris Wideman, Ben Blood and now Gryba. One of those guys (likely Borowiecki) will start the season in Ottawa, but at least one or two will find themselves the odd man out and heading to the ECHL's Elmira Jackals instead. There's a lot of competition on the back-end this season.

As an aside, let me be the first to thank the Senators for publishing contract value information on Twitter instead of copping out with typical "per team policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed" nonsense. In a cap-based league, fans are nearly as interested in the dollars associated with the signing as they are in the players, and those numbers are revealed eventually. Might as well get it done right away.

Silver Nuggets: Neil Extended

DaveYoung — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 17:00:29 -0000

Chris Neil is one heck of a polarizing player. You love him, or you hate him. If you love him, chances are 99% that you are an Ottawa Senators fan. It does not work both ways however. I sure wouldn't say 99% of Ottawa fans love Chris Neil.

Neil is a player with over 2000 career penalty minutes, yet has never been suspended. There were times (many if you are a Sabres fan) that he got a little too close to the line, but the fact is, as an agitator, fighter and general shift-disturber, to have never been suspended is an impressive feat. This is especially true if you have played nearly 800 games that way.

One thing that not one person can deny about Chris Neil is that he bleeds Senator red, black and gold. Never has the team had a player more willing to shed blood and sweat for the Centurion logo, and he has played his entire career with passion. That passion sometimes boils over, and causes Neil to fight teammates in practice, but it just shows you how much he cares.

I was not always a Chris Neil fan. I thought he was entirely undeserving of his last contract. But something has happened in the last two years. The old Chris Neil has awoken. He was identified as a leader and he has embraced that veteran's role on a very young team. This past season, he contributed 13 goals and 28 points, not to mention leading the team in the physical aspects of the game. This past year, he certainly lived up to his contract.

Him taking a pay cut is another way of showing Ottawa fans how much he cares. With the way salaries are constantly increasing in the NHL, and with players like Brandon Prust getting 10 million over 4 years, you can be sure that at this time next year, Neiler could have struck it big. But he didn't. He wants to be here. He wants to continue doing what he does best:

Being an Ottawa Senator.

Bryan Murray should be commended for this contract. The term will take Neiler close to retirement, and by then, Neil will be a 4^th liner. Maybe even in the second year of the deal he will be, with all the prospects coming up. But at under 2 million a season, with the intangibles Neil has shown he brings to this team, that's more than reasonable.

Links after the jump.

Sens News

Darren gives some quick thoughts on yesterday's Neil signing. As always, worth the read. [SSS]
Here is the official Panzeri story about the Neil signing, complete with contract details. [Panzeri]
It was a slow day in the hockey world yesterday because even Harrison Mooney over at Puck Daddy wrote about the Neil signing. [PuckDaddy]
The Murrays were busy yesterday. In addition to re-upping Neil, they also signed defenceman Tyler Eckford to a two-way deal, presumably to give Bingo another body. [SSS]
Darren Kramer is done in the WHL and that means it is time for him to turn pro. Here he is talking about what he needs to do to become a more complete player, and maybe some day, a replacement for Chris Neil. [Sens]
Nichols shows why he is one of the best with this article asking if the Senators will be moving forward or backward this year. I tend to think backward, but in my mind, that's just a step on the road to forward (if that makes sense). [6thSens]
In case you missed it yesterday, Amelia continued her trend of making the rest of us look bad by penning another incredible article, this time about scouting. Solid, solid work. [SSS]

Poll

How do you feel about the Chris Neil extension?

I feel SO good! Oh I feel so good! Oh!

400 votes

On the fence

26 votes

Dislike either term or $

3 votes

Hate both

2 votes

It is good (For Peter)

50 votes

481 votes | Poll has closed

Taking a Look at The Albany Devils Depth Chart for 2011-12

Tom Stivali — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:00:31 -0000

After making the AHL playoffs for the first time in almost a decade in 2009-2010 under coach John MacLean, the Albany Devils took a big step back and were the worst team in the AHL last season. Beset by injuries at the NHL-level, the parent club was shuffling bodies back and forth from Albany to Newark. Talented players like Vladimir Zharkov and Mattias Tedenby that were rushed to the NHL hurt Albany’s depth at the onset of the season. This resulted in Albany making their own calls up from Trenton and giving a lot of ice-time to young players, especially on defense. Albany also had their own roster issues as they were missing goalie Jeff Frazee, forward Nathan Perkovitch, defenseman Tyler Eckford, and others for extended periods of time.

Rookie coach Rich Kowalsky did a good job with what he had. It's encouraging that many of the opponents’ radio announcers commented that Albany always played hard and would battle to the end of games. It's often hard to find a silver lining in a bad season, but Kowalsky didn't have the tools to win. After a mid-season trade which sent forwards Patrick Davis and Mike Swift to the Worcester Sharks for Steve Zalewski, the Albany club surged a bit, but couldn't keep the momentum and faded badly down the stretch finishing with a league low 70 points.

Despite last season’s disappointing finish, Albany should have playoff aspirations this year. (It would certainly help the poor attendance. Albany averaged a league worst 3,014 people a game last year and all Albany AHL franchises have been in the bottom 25% of attendance for the past decade.) This year should be different though. With the trade for AHL all-star Maxim Noreau, additions of talented rookies Mike Hoeffel, Brandon Burlon, Mike Sislo, Keith Kinkaid, and Eric Gelinas, Albany will look to have a bouceback year.

Who else is still on the team and what will the roster look like? After the jump I will look at the depth chart for Albany and try to project their lineup. I will also talk briefly about the AHL Development rule which impacts the configuration of each team's roster.

First let's go over the AHL development rule. The AHL (in their FAQ section) defines the rule as:

Of the 18 skaters (not counting two goaltenders) that teams may dress for a regular-season game, at least 13 must be qualified as "development players." Of those 13, 12 must have played in 260 or fewer professional games (including AHL, NHL, IHL and European elite leagues), and one must have played in 320 or fewer professional games. All calculations for development status are based on regular-season totals as of the start of the season.

Essentially this means you can dress a core of 4/5 what I will call 'veterans' per game (goalies don't count). 'Veterans' are determined by the number of games played at the AHL-level or above. Below I have listed all the Albany players who i think might be affected by this rule. Note that this rule is based upon games played at the beginning of the year so players won't cross into veteran territory during the season. After the official signing of Tim Sestito on Sunday, Albany will seemingly have Sestito, Stephen Gionta, Noreau, and Leach as their veteran players. Luckily AHL all-star Matt Anderson only has 219 games of experience meaning that he is still considered a development player.

From the chart you can also see why having Mark Fraser or Anssi Salmela with the AHL club wouldn't make much sense. It also shows why players like Vladimir Zharkov and Matt Corrente who might be on two-way deals next year would need to fight for their NHL spots or risk being sent back to the AHL for development.

With the ability to dress only so many veterans you can also see this influencing AHL trades and re-signings. Players like Davison, Wiseman, and Magnan may be valuable to the organization but teams have to weigh who they want as their core veterans. Perhaps one of the three mentioned get re-signed, but certainly not all three of them will be in Albany next year. Magnan was a steady defenseman at Albany last year, didn't play too badly during his NHL stint but it's likely that his veteran status plays a role in him not returning to the team.

Taking the development rule and recent signings into consideration this is how the Albany roster currently looks for 2011-2012

Goalies: With the re-signing of Johan Hedberg, Jeff Frazee will once again be the starter in goal for Albany. Keith Kinkaid, an undrafted free agent from UnionCollege, will be slated as the backup but will likely see plenty of time considering Frazee's injury history and the AHL schedule. For those of you who don't follow the AHL, many times teams play three games in three nights on the weekends. This helps create more opportunities for younger players to step into the lineup on a more frequent basis and will help ease Kinkaid into the AHL. Having only playedabout 40 games a year in college, it would be hard to expect him to shoulder the goaltending load for the majority of the season.

Defense: (Note I am not including Adam Larsson in this discussion. I think if he does not make the NHL roster he will go back to the SEL.)

It's been a quiet offseason for the New Jersey Devils, but at the AHL-level the team made a trade that should help them immensely. Acquiring AHL all-star Maxim Noreau gives the team an even-strength puck mover that they didn't have last season, a power play quarterback so desperately needed, and another experienced defenseman. Noreau and Jay Leach will be the anchors to the defensive unit, likely on separate pairings. Based upon the end of last season, I would expect Alexander Urbom to play with Noreau and Dan Kelly to be paired with Leach. Now, we get to a problem area: Who gets the playing time as the third pairing defenders?

Burlon leaving college early must have took the Devils by surprise, andhelped create the extra defensive bodies now at Albany. Managing a rotation of Gelinas, Sova, Young, and possibly free agent Mike Banwell ( a UFA from Maine signed by Albany last year), the Devils had a nice mix of players to rotate into the lineup. I could easily see the stay-at-home Young being matched up with the more offensively talented Gelinas or Sova. Now I am not sure how Kowalsky will allocate the playing time to his young defensemen with Burlon now in the mix.

Burlon's addition means that it's doubtful that Banwell is brought back. It's also unlikely that Davison and Magnan are brought back because of the limits on veteran players that they can dress per game.

Will one of the defensemen get traded? If I had to speculate, I think Gelinas would be the most likely prospect to move, but that's a guess. Should the team's defensive unit stay status quo with the eight defensemen listed above? As we saw last season injuries can hit a team fast and furious during the AHL/ NHL season. I would expect that even if no trades occur that all of the defenders at Albany will get playing time. But will it be enough?

My expectation is that Burlon and Young will initially start out together on a third pairing with game-by-game changes inserting Gelinas and Sova into the lineup.

Once the inevitable injuries at the NHL-level occur, I would expect Noreau and Urbom to get first crack at going to New Jersey.

Forwards: With the departure of Alexander Vasyunuv and the trade of David McIntyre, the Devils opened up some opportunities for players like Mike Hoeffel and Mike Sislo. With the return of AHL all-star Matt Anderson I would expect the Devils top six forwards to consist of Henrique, Gionta, Zalewski, Anderson, Sestito and Hoeffel. Of course as NHL need arises this configuration will likely change quite a few times during the year. Also important is the position plans the Devils have for Henrique. Does he begin the year at center? If so, you might see Sestito centering a third line with Perkovitch or Sislo moved up to be part of the top six. If re-signed UFA Brad Mills will probably factor into the top two lines.

Rounding out at least five of the bottom six forward spots will be our old pugilist friend from Newark PL3, JS Berube, Sislo, and Perkovitch. I would expect Darcy Zajac to be re-signed to an AHL deal (if not a NHL two-way contract )and for him to play a good chunk of minutes for Albany. Extra forwards wil likely consist of It's likely that center Kory Nagy and former ECHL Trenton Devil players such as Ryan Ginand, Ryan Hayes and Matt Lombardi.

It's not the most offensively dynamic team assembled, however, the forwards Albany has are great grinders and with an improved power play and defensive unit should find the back of the net more often in 2011-2012.

Final Thoughts:

I might be placing too much focus on the addition of Maxim Noreau, but his addition will help the power play improve upon its 13.6% conversion rate last year to keep the Devils in more games this season. The maturing of players like Alex Urbom and Dan Kelly will help a league worst penalty killing unit (although taking less penalties better be emphasized this year) and raise its league low 77.1% kill rate. The Devils had a -46 goal differential on special teams last season. If they can improve upon that and at least break even they should be a very competitive team this year.

Musical Chairs in the West [UPDATED 7/5]

Quisp — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 20:18:20 -0000

Canucks - in: Marco Sturm, Andrew Ebbett, Mark Mancari, Steve Pinizzotto; out: Tanner Glass, Raffi Torres, Christian Ehrhoff, Alexandre Bolduc, Rick Rypien.
Sharks - in: Martin Havlat, Brent Burns, Michal Handzus, Jim Vandermeer; out: Dany Heatley, Scott Nichol, Devin Setoguchi, Ben Eager, Jamal Mayers, Ian White, Kent Huskins.
Red Wings - in: Mike Commodore, Garnet Exelby, White ; out: Derek Meech, Brian Rafalski, Ruslan Salei.
Kings - in: Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Colin Fraser; out: Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Ryan Smyth, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Peter Harrold, Handzus.
Coyotes - in: Curtis McElhinney, Boyd Gordon, Mike Smith, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Matt Clackson, Tyler Eckford, Torres, Bolduc; out: Vernon Fiddler,Ed Jovanovski, Ilya Bryzgalov, Ebbett.
Ducks - in: Kurtis Foster, Andrew Gordon, Bryan Rodney; out: Andreas Lilja, Andy Sutton, Josh Green.
Stars - in: Sheldon Souray; Michael Ryder, Radek Dvorak, Adam Pardy, Fiddler; out: Brad Richards, Marc Crawford (coach).
Wild - in: Darroll Powe, David McIntyre, Setoguchi, Heatley; out: Chuck Kobasew, Cam Barker, Andrew Brunette, Jose Theodore, Maxim Noreau, Burns, Havlat.
Blackhawks - in: Dan Carcillo, Sean O`Donnell, Steve Montador, Rostislav Olesz, Brunette, Mayers; out: Troy Brouwer, Tomas Kopecky, Brian Campbell, Marty Turco.
Predators in: Brett Lebda, Robert Slaney, Brodie Dupont, Niclas Bergfors, Zack Stortini; out: Matthew Lombardi, Cody Franson, Steve Sullivan, Joel Ward, Marcel Goc, Taylor Stefishen, Andreas Thuresson,Aaron Johnson.
Flames - in: Chris Butler, Paul Byron, Ben Walter, Clay Wilson; out: Ales Kotalik, Robyn Regehr, Pardy.
Blues - in: Evgeny Grachev, Brett Sterling, Huskins, Elliott, Nichol; out: none?
Avalanche - in: Semyon Varlamov, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Kobasew, Hejda; out: Brian Elliott, Tomas Fleischmann, Peter Budaj, John-Michael Liles, Walter.
Blue Jackets - in: Jeff Carter, Curtis Sanford, James Wisniewski, Alex Giroux, Aaron Johnson; out: Jakub Voracek, Jan Hejda, Scottie Upshall, Mathieu Garon, Nikita Filatov, Commodore.
Oilers - in: Eric Belanger, Corey Potter, Darcy Hordichuk, Smyth, Eager, Barker, Sutton, Green; out: Richard Petiot, Fraser, Foster, Souray, Vandermeer.

Who am I missing? Who did better? Who did worse?

2011 Offseason: New Jersey Devils Tender Qualifying Offers for 9 Out of 11 Restricted Free Agents

John Fischer — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:40:30 -0000

Today was an important day in the offseason for NHL teams. At 5 PM EST, NHL teams were required to submit qualifying offers for restricted free agents. Any restricted free agent who was not tendered a qualifying offer and not going to team-elected arbitration will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The New Jersey Devils had 11 restricted free agents (RFAs) on the books per Capgeek going into this offseason. As Tom Gulitti reported earlier today, everyone of them except for Anssi Salmela and Zach Parise has been tendered a qualifying offer. A qualifying offer doesn't mean the player will be re-signed, just that his rights will be owned by New Jersey going into free agency. Right now, only Salmela will become an unrestricted free agent this Friday unless he re-signs with New Jersey beforehand. This is especially pertinent in the case of Alexander Vasyunov, whose agent confirmed to Gulitti that he will spend the 2011-12 season with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL.

Don't freak out over Parise not getting a qualifying offer. Since he's been elected to go to arbitration by the Devils, he doesn't need to be given a qualifying offer. Section 10.2(a).iv in the collective bargaining agreement justifies this decision. Parise will still either come to an agreement with the Devils on a contract before their arbitration hearing or go to arbitration and be a Devil for this coming season. In effect, only Salmela not being qualified is of particular note - he'll be an UFA on Friday unless he signs a deal before then.

What does this mean for the Devils? Quite simply, a lot of bodies on the roster. Let's talk about it after the jump.

I'm a little annoyed at the number of qualifying offer the Devils gave out today.

I figured that those who spent most of the season down in Albany would be qualified and possibly retained on two-way deals. Namely defenseman Maxim Noreau whom the Devils traded for David McIntyre, goaltender Jeff Frazee, forward Steven Zalewski, forward Nathan Perkovich, and Vasyunov. I'm perfectly fine with the Devils qualifying Vladimir Zharkov, who I believe is a fine fourth line winger in the NHL. What gets me is that while the Devils seemingly chose Matt Taormina (and possibly Noreau) over Anssi Salmela, they also decided to qualify both Mark Fraser and Matthew Corrente.

I don't get it. Corrente and Fraser are essentially the same defenseman. They are physical, their positioning and decision making on defense is suspect, and they bring very little offense to the table. They are third pairing defensemen at best; and so there's no reason to try and keep both of them unless one of them will be dealt away in a later transaction.

I'm also annoyed by the fact that now with the signing of Jay Leach in mind, the Devils can have up to 15 16 defenseman in their system. There is no need for this many defenders to be on professional NHL contracts. Teams cannot have more than 50 players under contract. Right now, the Devils look to have 41 (Vasyunov won't play in NJ or Albany next season, but his rights will stay on this list) before adding additional free agents. The total will be exacerbated when there is the possibility of adding Adam Larsson (I don't think he should be here for 11-12, but I can't rule it out), the possibility of re-signing the team's key unrestricted free agent Andy Greene (who knows how that is going), and Lou mentioning to Gulitti that they could still re-sign Salmela.

I know Lou doesn't want to show his hand, but if he goes out and looks to re-sign a third pairing defenseman like Salmela on top of keeping Taormina and Noreau who can probably handle a third pairing role, then I have to question what he's intending to do. For roster purposes - both in terms of the the contract list and the lineup - I don't see the need to keep them all. It's not like I hate Salmela (or Fraser or Corrente), but the Devils don't need this many third-pairing-at-best caliber players on either roster. Especially when they have others with potential looking to break through to the NHL roster in 2011-12.

Speaking of business factors, what does this all do for the salary cap? Nothing right now, that will come when there is an actual signing. As noted earlier in this offseason, while each individual qualifying offer may not seem like much, it can add up in a hurry. The total of all nine qualifying offers is $5,520,800. While not all nine will be in the NHL, the total cap impact will likely sum up to be about a million or so assuming players accept the salary offered in the qualifying offer and doesn't demand and/or receive a raise. I don't a team can sign a player less than the tendered qualifying offer. Thankfully, the salary cap is set at $64.3 million and most of these players will be in Albany for this coming season; so the Devils should have enough space remaining for Zach Parise and other signings. To reiterate: until contracts are officially signed and submitted to the league, the cap isn't a concern just yet. Today just sets up what will probably happen over the next few days.

I will say that I think today's qualifying offers should be curtains for Tyler Eckford, Olivier Magnan-Grenier, and Rob Davison in the organization. They are definitely not needed as possible depth for New Jersey (which is stretching it at best for these three) or playing on a very crowded Albany blueline. The Devils have too many defensemen in their system as-is, they don't need to add anyone. I really do think there has to be some sort of trade or other transactions coming in the future. If only to reduce the stockpile of defenders in the Devils organization and free up part of the roster.

What do you make of the Devils' decision to tender nine out of ten possible qualifying offers for their restricted free agents? Are you annoyed as I am with the decision to qualify Fraser and Corrente? As well as with just the sheer number of defensemen on the roster? Do you also think there has to be deal or other transaction coming? Please leave your thoughts and feelings on this matter in the comments.

2011 Offseason: Can the Devils Replace Andy Greene From Within? Part 1 - On-Ice/Off-Ice Stats

John Fischer — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 23:30:37 -0000

One of the looming questions that must be answered in some way or form by the New Jersey Devils in this coming offseason is what do with Andy Greene. He will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2011 at the end of a 2-year deal where his cap hit was a mere $737,500. Even if the salary cap goes up, trying to re-sign Greene on top of retaining all of their restricted free agents will be a challenge.

Recently, I've taken a closer look at the defenseman to see what he could command and how important he has been at even strength. Greene has played a lot of minutes in the last two seasons, yet the advanced stats from his 2010-11 season wasn't all that impressive beyond his large total of ice time. When comparing him to other impending UFA defensemen who have played significant minutes for their teams, Greene is somewhere in the middle among most advanced stats: both in terms of Corsi and quality of competition or on-ice/off-ice even strength stats. It's a UFA group where the average defenseman had a cap hit of just under $3 million and Greene being somewhere in the middle may belie a salary similar to that. A salary that may be too much for the Devils unless they clear some significant cap space. Not to mention that most of the UFA defenders who have played significant minutes are either veterans coming off big contracts or younger guys who aren't particularly great one way or another. The Devils may have to clear significant cap space just to sign a replacement.

Let's consider another option. What if the Devils don't re-sign Greene or anyone else? Can the Devils fill in their defense from within? To answer those questions, I went through the 5-on-5 stats at Behind the Net for all the Devils defenseman. It serves two purposes: to show how Greene stacked up on the Devils and to show whether anyone else may be able to step into Greene's role for next season.

After the jump, I will show the on-ice/off-ice stats at 5-on-5 play for Devils defensemen who have suited up at least 10 games for the Devils this season. This will show the impact they had on the team along with Greene.

Now, the following charts and subsequent parts will show 10 defensemen. 13 have played at least 1 game for the Devils; but Alexander Urbom, Jay Leach, and Tyler Eckford all played less than 10. Of those three, only Urbom is of some interest. He could compete for a job in training camp this fall. However, that's going to be contingent on how many other defensemen are signed for 2011-12. Even so, I wouldn't put the hopes of replacing Greene on a 20-year old defenseman after only 8 games of NHL experience.

I set the mark at 10 games so I can include someone who has made more of a case for a roster spot: Matt Taormina. His injury limited his time to playing only under John MacLean, so he never got a shot to prove his worth late or to be instructed by Jacques Lemaire. In his short time, he did fairly well. This also means Olivier Magnan (a.k.a. Olivier Magnan-Grenier) is also here; though, I wouldn't hold my breath on a return to the NHL for him.

Lastly, here's the link to Behind the Net's on-ice/off-ice data used in the following charts for your information. I calculated the difference between the two for each stat and organized them. For the purposes of context, I included the amount of games each defender has played, their TOI/60 at 5-on-5, their quality of competition value, and their quality of teammates.

Devils Defenseman by Goals For per 60 Minutes

Surprise, surprise, the Devils struggled to score goals last season. Anyway, Matthew Corrente had the top differential largely from easy situations. One of the lowest quality of competitions on the team plus not good teammates. Olivier Magnan brought up the rear with similar minutes to Corrente, weaker competition, and much better teammates. Tough break for him. Greene's near the bottom and one of only two regular defensemen to have a negative GF/60 differential. The other was his second-half partner Anssi Salmela.

Devils Defenseman by Goals Against per 60 Minutes

Greene ends up right by the bottom in terms of GA/60 differential, just ahead of his second-half partner, Anssi Salmela. Henrik Tallinder surprisingly shows up here; though at least he can claim that he's faced tougher competition than Greene and even played more than him at 5-on-5. Fortunately, Mark Fayne and Colin White are on the right side of this differential. Curiously, the top three are all players who either got limited minutes, strong teammates, and/or weak competition: Taormina, Magnan, and Mark Fraser. I guess if the protected guys aren't leading to massive jumps in goals against, then the protection is working to some degree.

Devils Defenseman by Shots For per 60 Minutes

I'm more interested in the shooting rates changing since that's going to more controllable than goals. So seeing Andy Greene not near the bottom in on-ice/off-ice differential is good. It's even better if you're a fan of Fayne and Tallinder, since the team shot more when both were on the ice by a good margin. Unlike Fraser (again, limited minutes, relatively weak competition), this increased with Fayne & Tallinder facing decent competition. It's not a surprise to see Colin White to have a negative differential, since he's pretty much the definition of a defensive defenseman. Though it is a little surprising to see it go up for Anton Volchenkov, who is also a defensive defenseman and played quite a bit with White under Lemaire. Then again, White played more than Volchenkov and with varying partners under MacLean which could be skewing the results here. That may explain the differences in quality of competition; while also providing some context for the negative SF/60 differential for Salmela.

Devils Defenseman by Shots Against per 60 Minutes

Only two regulars had a worse SA/60 differential than Greene: White and Salmela, and like with the SF/60 differential, they both did have at least a higher quality of competition. On the other side, it's very heartening to see a positive change when Fayne and Tallinder came on the ice. Moreso for Tallinder, since he has played considerably more minutes at 5-on-5 than Fayne. What's not so heartening is to see that the opposition bombed away when Fraser and Corrente were on the ice with limited 5-on-5 minutes and weak competition. At least the protected Taormina and Magnan came out ahead when it came to shots - especially Taormina.

Commentary So Far

The whole purpose of looking at the differential for on-ice/off-ice stats for each defenseman is to highlight what happened when they were out there. It's not an be-all, end-all way of looking at things.

That said, Anssi Salmela looks pretty bad by each of these metrics. When he was out there, the opposition shot and scored more, while the Devils did not. At least we can say (for now) that he didn't get soft competition and didn't get great teammates. That mitigates some of the ugliness. Yet, I still recall this comment Tom made when I first looked at Andy Greene earlier this month:

Poor Greene, though. Playing for what will probably be his biggest career contract and he is stuck for the final quarter of the year with Salmela. Out of good faith does Salmela just send him a check for $500,000 with a note that says’ Sorry Man’…?

Well, the early Greene-Tallinder pairing didn't go so well either if memory serves; but Behind the Net doesn't allow for splits by games. Anyway, despite whether Salmela was some kind of anvil, at least Greene finished in a decent spot when it came to both shots for and against per 60 minutes. Being on the wrong side of the differentials for goals for and against could be just unfortunate (and I will show that in a later post). All the same, Greene's on-ice/off-ice numbers weren't impressive on their own and they're not impressive among his fellow defensemen in this past season. While there's much more to look at, it's a sign that Greene may be replaceable.

Who looks good coming out of this? Fayne and Tallinder. That pairing really worked well together under Lemaire, and their differentials are good. Only when it came to GA/60 differential was either of them poor, and that was only for Tallinder anyway. For next season, the on-ice/off-ice stats show that this is a pairing that could (should?) stay intact. I wouldn't anoint Fayne as the replacement or immediately state that Tallinder makes Greene redundant, though.

Lastly, I wouldn't put a lot of stock into the numbers of Taormina, Fraser, Corrente, and Magnan since they all got weak competition and only so many games. As of right now, I don't think Fraser or Corrente as anything more than third-pairing defensemen (and Salmela too, while I'm at it) and even less of Magnan. Taormina's interesting in that he actually did get a significant amount of minutes; though I was surprised to see that his SF/60 differential wasn't all that good considering his low quality of competition value. By the same token, his SA/60 differential suggests his defense against said weak competition was on-point. Fair enough.

Part 2 will go over quality of competition, teammates, and Corsi and you should see that in the coming days. In the meantime, please let me know what you think of these stats, how Andy Greene stacked up against his fellow teammates, and other thoughts about the Devils' defensemen discussed here in the comments. Thanks for reading.

A Quick Overview of the Impending Free Agents of the New Jersey Devils for 2011

John Fischer — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:53:49 -0000

While the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs begin tonight, this is the third day of the 2011 offseason of the New Jersey Devils. Last night was a reason for celebration, as the Devils won the 2011 NHL draft lottery and have moved up in the first round to draft 4th overall. As exciting as it is to have a great shot to get a great prospect, I want to turn attention to the other main feature of the offseason: free agency.

Every team in the league, from the Stanley Cup winners to the 30th-place dwellers, has to answer difficult questions with their roster. Here are a couple that come to mind: Which restricted free agents do they re-sign, and for what terms? Who among impending unrestricted free agents will walk on July 1? What needs must be addressed by the open market and what can be addressed from within? How do they manage their salary cap for the upcoming 2011-12 season?

Even though it's still April, you can believe the Devils are considering of these questions right now. Assuming the salary cap does rise to $62.2 million for next season as reported here by James O'Brien at ProHockeyTalk, the Devils will have approximately $10 million in cap space to re-sign impending free agents and to acquire available players after July 1. According to CapGeek's salary chart, the Devils have 17 players under contract on their NHL roster. The Devils don't have to sign too many players, but considering who's up for new contracts, they could stand to add a few.

Today, I want to give a quick overview of each impending free agent after the jump. I did something like this last season, though I will be organizing this one a bit differently. As a point of clarification, this is not meant to be a final decision on what I think the Devils should do with each impending free agent. This is just a gut-reaction, a brief thought over who I want to stay in the organization, who I wouldn't mind stays in the organization, and who I wouldn't mind going elsewhere. More detailed analysis will come later in the offseason. Unfortunately, we have a lot of a time for it now.

The Current Situation as of April 13, 2011

Per CapGeek's team chart, the Devils have 11 forwards, 5 defensemen, and 1 goaltender on their NHL roster. Combined, they take up $52,177,500 in salary. According to their reserve list, 30 spots on their 50-man reserve limit are taken up. The team has 10 impending restricted free agents (RFAs) and 11 impending unrestricted free agents (UFAs). The Devils cannot just re-sign everyone available, as that will violate the limit on the reserve list. That should be fine since they really shouldn't just re-sign everyone.

Note: All of the following salary information comes from CapGeek.

Non NHL-Roster Impending Restricted Free Agents

The Devils have four non-NHL roster impending RFAs for this summer: forward Alexander Vasyunov (2010-11 NHL Salary: $850,000); goaltender Jeff Frazee ($541,667); forward Nathan Perkovich ($515,000); forward Steve Zalewski ($500,000). All are on two-way contracts; only Zalewski is not coming off of an entry level contract.

I can see the Devils retaining all four of these players, though they may be qualified just to stay in Albany. Vasyunov was the only one who played in the NHL last season. He got 18 games, scored 1 goal, got 4 assists, and played an average of 11:28. Vasyunov didn't look completely out of place, but he wasn't particularly impressive. Therefore, he could be stuck in the numbers game at forward at training camp in the fall.

It's unclear whether or not Frazee has a future in New Jersey as a goaltender. While he suffered from injuries last season, he's turning 24 in May and who knows if he'll be anything more than an AHL goalie at this point. Perkovich played his second season of pro hockey with Albany, where he may remain to bolster that roster. Zalewski was acquired in a trade with San Jose. He has largely been an AHL player in his career and if he doesn't mind that, he could help bolster the Albany roster. Though, Tom would be a better judge on that front.

I wouldn't mind seeing all of them retained, but I wouldn't get too attached to them on a long-term basis.

Non NHL-Roster Impending Unrestricted Free Agents

The Devils have seven impending UFAs not on New Jersey's roster: defenseman Tyler Eckford (2010-11 NHL Salary: $550,000); forward Brad Mills ($505,000); defenseman Olivier Magnan ($500,000); forward Tim Sestito ($500,000); goaltender Mike McKenna ($500,000); forward Chad Wiseman ($500,000); and defenseman Rob Davison ($500,000). All were on two-way contracts except for Davison, who was on a one-way deal.

Due to the Devils' injury woes in the first half of the season, most of these players got some time in the NHL. Eckford, Mills, Magnan, Sestito, and McKenna all played at least one game. I don't think any of them are NHL-quality players. Eckford and Magnan did little on defense. McKenna got one game based on a "gut feeling" from John MacLean. While he was OK, there was no reason to think he could move up in the system. Sestito (36 games, 2 assists) lasted the longest and didn't bring much to the proverbial table. The only one among them who looked intriguing to me was Mills but he doesn't seem to be much more than a banger with a cool last name (take him...to the Mills). I wouldn't expect any of these guys to at least get two-way deals unless it's the only way they'll remain in the organization and the Devils want to keep them.

That said, I don't think most of these guys will return. Eckford, Magnan-Grenier, and Davison don't have a real future with New Jersey and I can only see Davison sticking around as a veteran depth player. Physical players are readily available and I question whether Albany needs Mills all that much. I could see two of Sestito, McKenna and Wiseman re-signed, but only to really play for Albany. All three are veterans and can possibly help the AHL affiliate to be more successful next season. Wiseman was productive with Albany; Sestito could be useful in a checking role; and McKenna could do better in a split role with Frazee. But if either of them (or all of them) don't return, I wouldn't be too torn up about it. Wiseman has been an AHL journeyman, while McKenna and/or Sestito may want to try his luck cracking into the NHL with a different organization. Again, Tom would be a better appraiser of what Albany needs to not be a last place team next season in the A.

NHL-Roster Impending Restricted Free Agents

The Devils have six impending RFAs currently on their NHL roster: forward Zach Parise (2010-11 NHL Salary: $5,000,000); forward Vladimir Zharkov ($610,000); defenseman Anssi Salmela ($625,000); defenseman Matthew Corrente ($600,000); defenseman Matt Taormina ($510,000); and defenseman Mark Fraser ($500,000). Zharkov, Corrente, and Taormina were on two-way deals and coming off an entry level contract.

The decision to re-sign Zach Parise is very simple; he should definitely be re-signed. The decision for how long and how much are far more difficult. It will undoubtedly impact what the Devils do for their other free agents this summer and whether they trade anyone for cap relief. What we can expect is that Parise's next contract will take up a big chunk of whatever cap space the Devils may have for next season.

I'm admittedly a Zharkov fan and I think he brings more to a fourth line than, say, Tim Sestito. I hope he's re-signed. But he's got 11 other forwards plus guys in the AHL to compete with for a spot next season. It'll be interesting to see if he signs a short-term, lower salary deal like Fraser did last season. That should help his chances from a salary cap point of view.

Even if Zach Parise , the other four impending RFAs aren't easy decisions either. All are defensemen who are on the bubble, so to speak. Salmela came back from injury and was a regular on the blueline. Some nights, he was miserable to the point where you wonder if he truly belonged. On other nights, he looked like more than just a bottom-pairing defenseman. I wouldn't go so far to say that he's an offensive defenseman, but he doesn't look totally out of place on the attack. I think he'll be re-signed but not to a very long deal. The Devils may have a similar, and possibly superior, defender in Matt Taormina, who was a regular on the blueline prior to Salmela's return who showed some at-least-decent offensive skills. I would have loved to see what Jacques Lemaire would have done with him, but a significant injury made that impossible. I think he'll be re-signed but also to a short deal. This coming season may be the deciding point for whoever the Devils go with. I think one of them will eventually win out - probably Taormina at this point - but that remains to be seen.

Mark Fraser and Matthew Corrente are also similar players: physical, stay-at-home defensemen. Fraser has been around for a few seasons and you know what you're going to get from him. He'll throw his body about, show a little temper, and give decent enough defense on a third pairing while prone to some errors due to inexperience. I could say the same thing for Corrente. Corrente had his season cut short due to injury. As unfortunate as that is, he's not getting any younger and nased on what I seen of Corrente, I'm not sure what he does that Fraser doesn't already do on the ice. While I think they'll be re-signed, I have a feeling these two will be victims of the numbers game on defense sooner rather than later.

Above all else, I hope the Devils do not give one-way contracts to all four of these defensemen if only to preserve some roster flexibility. There is no need to have as many as nine defensemen on one-way deals. If the player isn't willing (Fraser and Salmela, who are on one-way deals), then maybe it's time to cut them loose.

NHL-Roster Impending Unrestricted Free Agents

The Devils have four impending UFAs on their NHL roster: goaltender Johan Hedberg (2010-11 NHL salary: $1,000,000); defenseman Andy Greene ($750,000); forward Adam Mair ($515,000); and defenseman Jay Leach ($500,000). Leach was on a two-way contract.

Johan Hedberg played very well as a backup. He was awesome in February, he filled in for Martin Brodeur when he was injured, and the only thing about him that bothered me is his game outside of the crease. The Moose was fine. However, he's 37 and it's unclear as to whether he'll even play hockey next season. Moreover, it's a buyer's market for goaltending; the Devils could (and should) get a viable backup for less than seven figures. Then again, Hedberg may be willing to come back on the cheap and if he can still "go" at 38, then I wouldn't mind one more season with him as the #2 keeper. I'm not holding my breath, though.

Andy Greene deserves a raise. He will be making seven figures after July 1. The big question is how much. Greene played out of his mind and filled as much of the injured-Paul-Martin void as one could hope for and more two seasons ago. In this past season, he didn't play nearly as well - but he wasn't bad at all. He got big minutes under Lemaire, and he did it with Anssi Salmela as his partner. Greene is also one of the few two-way defensemen on the roster, and perhaps the only one who could play 20+ minutes without being exposed every night.

However, Greene may be able to maximize his money elsewhere and the Devils have a crowded blueline. The team does have 5 defensemen already signed, 4 RFA defensemen, Alexander Urbom competing for a spot, and Bryce Salvador (hopefully) coming back from a serious concussion. Greene would definitely be on the roster despite all of the bodies given what he can do on the ice and what he has done in the last two seasons. That said, he's not irreplaceable. I could see him walking on July 1, though I'd rather have the Devils dump other players to keep Greene for at least another season or two.

I wouldn't mind if the other two UFAs went elsewhere. Unlike Tim Sestito, Adam Mair had some flashes of usefulness. However, like Sestito, he didn't bring much to the table on the fourth line. Since the Devils have David Steckel for another season, he can center that line with David Clarkson, (hopefully) Zharkov, and Rod Pelley as a spare player. I don't think he's needed and so he should not be re-signed. Leach may be more palatable if he's willing to be a veteran presence down in Albany. If he's retained, it should only be on a two-way contract and for a minimum salary.

Concluding Thoughts

As it turns out, my initial reaction is that the Devils will likely retain their RFAs, pushing them up to 40 on the reserve list. The main driver of how much that will cost will be Parise. His extension will be the X-factor. He will get more than $5 million, since that's how much he made this past season. When he was last healthy, he was definitely worth more than $5 million. If the two sides can agree to a cap hit around $7 million, then that would seem manageable for other re-signings.

Some of the RFAs will definitely be two-way deals so they all won't be on the salary cap; they would be signed specifically to stay in Albany but be available for any call-up duty if needed. I could see one or two of the four defensemen RFAs not qualified to create a little relief, but right now, I don't feel that way.

Andy Greene is the X-factor. If he's willing to hang around for under $2 million for a little bit, then I think keeping him can be viable. Difficult, but viable. If he wants $2 million or more, then he may not be able to stay. That kind of sucks, since I'm not confident in the lack of versatility of a top four consisting of Volchenkov, Tallinder, White, and Fayne. Of course, this is also contingent on what Parise gets.

The biggest surprise to me is that the Devils may not need to go out and sign someone off the open market except for a goalie. And that may be filled if Hedberg returns (and hopefully for less money). As noted in the beginning of this post, they nearly have a full roster already to go for next season. One RFA signing at forward and defenseman and they are at the minimum for personnel. Should they qualify and retain all of their RFAs, they'll have a glut of defenders. That would open up the possibility for some trades; something the Devils may have to do anyway for some cap relief.

Ultimately, the Devils have tough decisions to make with respect to who to keep long-term, who to keep short-term, and who to let go. I turn the question over to you. Who do you want to see re-signed by the Devils, outside of Zach Parise (I am assuming this is a universal sentiment among Devils fans - there's no need to repeat it)? Do you think the Devils can keep all of their RFAs and still have space for significant UFAs? What are your quick reactions to impending free agency for 2011? Please leave your answers and other free agency thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading.