AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2005 > December > 15
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Player sale in New Jersey
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Of the many teams affected by the NHL’s new salary cap, perhaps no team has felt the new economic structure as much as the New Jersey Devils, whom the Thrashers play tonight.
To get under the cap, the Devils had to trade a pretty good player, winger Jeff Friesen, to Washington virtually for nothing on the eve of the season. Soon, the Devils will confront more cap troubles.
Winger Patrik Elias, who is only a few seasons removed from finishing third in the league in scoring, will come off the long-term injured reserve list. For now, while Elias is recuperating from hepatitis, the Devils have to pay Elias’ $4.18 million salary, but it does not count against the cap.
But to activate Elias, the Devils will have to clear room for him. Most likely, that means getting rid of two pretty good players for almost nothing.
What would your choices be? Here are some options:
*Center Sergei Brylin ($1.52 million), a winner of three Stanley Cups in New Jersey and a standout two-way player, is rumored to be among those being considered. He is tied for second on the team in goals with 8 with Viktor Kozlov and Scott Gomez.
*Viktor Kozlov, a center, makes $1.748 million.
*Right wing Jamie Langenbrunner ($1.655 million) was among those rumored to be on the chopping block when Friesen went to the Capitals. He’s having a very solid season with 5 goals and 12 assists and is plus-2.
*Rookie center Zach Parise ($703,000) could be sent to the AHL and has only 4 goals and 4 assists in 29 games.
*Veteran Richard Matvichuk ($1.368 million) is tied for the team lead among defenseman in plus/minus with an even rating.
*Vladimir Malakhov is the Devils’ second-highest paid defenseman at $3.6 million and has the team’s second-worst plus/minus rating at minus-8.
Do you think the Thrashers should pursue any of these players? They don’t have much room under the cap and they’re vying with the Devils for one of those final playoff spots. Do you think New Jersey would deal a valuable player to the Thrashers? They dealt Friesen to Washington to avoid sending him to a possible contender.
