New Jersey Devils: Projecting Ceiling For Eric Gryba
By Nick Villano
July 1st came and went with the New Jersey Devils signing defenseman Eric Gryba, and that’s about it. While many of us are trying to forget what happened that day, what can we actually expect from him?
The New Jersey Devils defense is in a very interesting situation coming into this preseason. They have too many mediocre defensemen who likely deserve a spot on the NHL roster, but none of which have top-line upside. Obviously, Sami Vatanen, Will Butcher, Andy Greene and Damon Severson will live in the top four, but how will the team fill that bottom pairing?
The obvious pick is Ben Lovejoy and Mirco Mueller. They both played for the Devils in the playoffs, and showed signs of being decent. Then, there’s Yegor Yakovlev, who has the highest upside of the entire group. There’s Steve Santini, who signed a one-way deal for three years this offseason.
Then, there’s Eric Gryba. Where does Eric Gryba fit in this team? Actually, a better question is what can we actually expect from Gryba this season?
To be honest, it’s hard to expect Gryba making the NHL roster without an injury. Unless the Devils want some of the younger players to avoid the owner’s box, it seems like there is a long line before he makes the lineup.
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Let’s say everything works out perfectly for Gryba on the Devils, for whatever reason. What does that look like?
Well, for one, Gryba would need to stay on the NHL roster the whole season. Or, at least get a call up and stay there. Gryba couldn’t even stay on the Edmonton Oilers defense. That one is worse than the Devils minus Vatanen.
However, if Gryba can find what made him successful back when he played with the Ottawa Senators, he could be a decent player on this roster.
The answer to the question is basically, Gryba’s ceiling is that of a useful player on the main roster, or a team leader in Binghamton. The expectations are very low, despite his name being the biggest of the free agency signings. As long as Gryba can do better than Dalton Prout did last season when called upon, he should be able to keep the crowd of haters away.