New Jersey Devils: Team Should Avoid Karl Alzner At All Costs
By Nick Villano
The Montreal Canadiens made the surprise announcement that they are waiving defenseman Karl Alzner in the second year of a five-year deal. Even if he becomes available for free, the New Jersey Devils should steer clear of him.
Today is a day of many surprises. The Philadelphia Flyers fired their GM Ron Hextall. The fallout is coming after Dylan Strome and Brandon Perlini were traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Nick Schmaltz. Now, the Montreal Canadiens announced they are waiving defenseman Karl Alzner.
That last one is the only thing that should remotely interest New Jersey Devils fans. Ray Shero won’t bring on Hextall because they have very different philosophies. Also, he saw what happened when Josh Harris brought him in to work with Lou Lamoriello. Alzner is a 30 year old who was given a five-year deal just last year. The Canadiens paid him to run their second line, with Shea Weber being their top guy. With Weber hurt to start the season, it seemed like it was a chance for Alzner to shine.
He did the exact opposite. He’s been awful this entire season. Just look at this chart from Micah McCurdy with HockeyViz.
Karl Alzner (rumours of waivers) is a shutdown defender who hurts his own offence more than his opponents, doesn't shoot well, is an average penalty killer, has a weak penalty differential, and a scandalous contract. pic.twitter.com/cPIE1fCrIl
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) November 26, 2018
Nobody signs Alzner to be an offensive defenseman. He’s signed to shut down the opposing team. The issue with the Devils is they already have enough players who provide no offensive value. Andy Greene, Ben Lovejoy and Mirco Mueller could all be described in a similar sense. The Devils need better puck movers on the back end. They also need players who position themselves well, which Alzner hasn’t done this season.
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Beyond all of that, his contract is an atrocity. I would rather have the rest of Zach Parise‘s contract than this one. Okay, that may be a little much, but I would definitely consider it.
He currently still has three years left on his contract, paying him $4.625 million. Then, we have what is owed for the rest of the season. Shero did not skip out on free agency this season to bring this albatross of a contract.
With how the defense of the Devils played last night, it might seem like a good idea to put a flier in on Alzner, but it is not worth it. The way he’s playing, he is not enough of an upgrade to make him worth the contract. He’s also not a good reason to take Egor Yakovlev out of the lineup. This is a 100% stay away. Let some other team deal with this.