Perhaps the most important position for all the skaters is the center. The center is in charge of taking faceoffs, playing both offense and defense, and being a leader on the ice. The Devils last season really lacked in this position last season. Outside of Travis Zajac, the Devils did not have any true center that made significant impact.
Last year, the Devils top line center was Travis Zajac. The 25 year old had 25 goals and 67 points last season. He is a very good two way player, registering a +22 for the +- rating. He plays on both the power play and the penalty kill. The Devils have him locked up until 2013 for a manageable $3.9 million per year contract. In my opinion, I think he is a perfectly capable first line center. It is hard to find a good, top line center in the NHL that is available for such a low amount. However, it is not star power I think the Devils need at center (though, having a player like Crosby or Malkin would always be a plus), but the problem is depth. The Devils have no other true center on the team that can make a significant impact. Rob Niedermayer and Dean McAmmond are both unrestricted free agents and I believe will not be signed again this year. The Devils organizational depth at center is not deep, and most prospects may not be NHL ready. There will be plenty of cap room if Kovalchuk and Martin do not sign, so after the Devils are able to pick up a defenseman (read previous article on Martin), the Devils can spend some money on centers. There are only a couple of ways the Devils can deal with this impending problem.
1) Trade- There aren’t a lot of teams that would want to trade top line capable centers. Jeff Carter from the Flyers will be on the trading block this off season, but the Devils obviously should not trade with their rivals. Washington seems to want to trade Alexander Semin, but it would take a lot to pull this kind of trade off. Then again, as I said before, the Devils need depth centers, not star centers. Uncle Lou can easily make a draft day trade to get a center. Another interesting, but very unlikely option, is to trade into the top two picks for the draft, which I’ll get into later.
UPDATE: As I was writing this article, the Devils just traded for Stanley Cup Hero Jason Arnott for Matt Halischuk and a 2011 2nd round draft pick. Great trade, if I do say so myself. He only played 63 games last season due to a head injury, but he still almost broke 20 goals last season and almost 50 points. He is also clutch and a good leader.
2) Free agency- Here the Devils can make a splash. While I doubt Patrick Marleau would sign with NJ, there are other good options. Saku Koivu would be a very nice fit for New Jersey. Chris Higgins and Matthew Lombardi would also be very serviceable centers who I would love to have if I were trying to help build up the centers for this team. If the Devils are able to sign 2 of these players, and use a prospect for the fourth line center, they would be set for this position
3) Prospects- Only three players are really available to step in for the Devils to play on a regular basis: Jacob Josefson, Adam Henrique, and Rod Pelley. I still consider Pelley a prospect because he only had limited time in the games he played last year. However, I do not think he is good enough to be a full time NHL center. I am expecting Henrique to make a strong run to make the team this year. He is a solid two way player the Devils could use. However, by far and away, Josefson is the Devils best center prospect. Picked 20th in 2009, he has become a very good center for Djurgardens in the Swedish Elite League.
I’m just afraid that he might need one year in the minors. If he does make it to the NHL this year, he will definetly fill a much needed gap.
4) Draft- The Devils will not be able to get an NHL ready center in the draft with the 38th pick. However, I think the Devils might be able to make a very, very strong push to get (drum roll, please) Tyler Seguin. Here me out people. If the Oilers select Taylor Hall in the draft this year, Boston will be forced to either pick Seguin, another center on an already deep Boston team, or trade the pick. Here is where the Devils come in. I don’t think there is any NHL GM capable of making this happen except for Uncle Lou. So here is my trade: Patrick Elias, the second round pick from this year, next year’s first, and throw in some salary cap saving room in Brian Rolston or Colin White. Here me out people, please. I love Elias. One of my fondest hockey memories was watching him score the game winning goal in 2000 to make an incredible 3-1 comeback against the rival Flyers. His pass to Arnott to win the cup is, in my opinion, the greatest pass in Devils history. However, he has been injured a lot these past few seasons, and to go along with his rising age and lower production, he has a six million dollar cap hit. Boston, possibly one good winger away from making their team from good to great, could be interested. The picks might have to be increased, say throw in another 3rd or 4th or something like that, and Boston may not be interested in White or Rolston, but Lou could definetly make this trade happen. Seguin would be NHL ready and would make an immediate impact on the team. He is also a two way center Lou would love.
I think if the Devils could pull off the Seguin trade, it would be fantastic. If not, the Devils could sign a free agent, bring up a prospect, and use the newly acquired Jason Arnott to back up Zajac.
New thoughts= Devils sign a defenseman, able to resign Kovy for one year or two, Lines could look like this= Parise- Zajac- Langenbrunner. Kovy- Arnott- Elias. Now those are some great lines. Let’s see what Lou can do.
Thank you for reading this. I hope you like the ideas, though I’ll be surprised if I don’t get some angry comments.
PLEASE RESPOND. I want to see your opinions on my ideas. Comment on here or email me at benfeder@gmail.com. Thank you!