Mirco Mueller
Mirco Mueller was given a decent one-year contract for the amount of production he’s given the Devils since he was traded from the San Jose Sharks. The Devils re-signed him for a $1.4 million deal. It’s a one-year deal, so the money doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that Mueller comes in as the likely eighth defender. Ty Smith is making this team. So, now Mueller has to find out what his role actually is.
Here’s the thing, Mueller has nowhere to go but up this preseason. If he isn’t up to snuff, he’ll continue to be an eighth defenseman barring injuries. Yet, he could play really well and make life hard for Ray Shero and Hynes. If Mueller plays as well as he has on his best nights all preseason, the Devils will try to find a way to fit him into the lineup. Whether that’s rolling out seven defensemen, or having a heavy rotation of healthy scratch defenders.
The other option is the Devils could really like what they see from Mueller, and they could trade a defenseman before the season. Every team deals with injuries before the year, and if a team loses a defenseman they could make a call to the Devils.
Either way, Mueller seems like he might not have much of a chance to crack this roster, but that’s never how John Hynes and the rest of his coaching staff works. If Mueller blows people away, he is going to get playing time. And he should.