Langenbrunner could become trade bait with sucess of Devils rookies.

While Jamie Langenbrunner is nursing a sore neck, the Devils youth is continuing to thrive with his absence. Most notably it is the play of Mattias Tedenby and Alexander Vasyunov. Both players are making strong cases to remain with the team for the entire season. The question now is, who goes back to Albany when the Devils finally receive some of their injured players back? Langenbrunner and Taormina are very likely to return the earliest, which could send Fayne and Magnan back to AHL. Fayne has played well in two games thus far. Following them it is Anssi Salmela, who could return next weekend from a knee injury. This could send Taormina or Corrente back to Albany. Then it is Brodeur, but McKenna will go back to the AHL. Now the question is, who will become trade bait when Parise, Salvador and Josefson are ready to return? Parise and Josefson could send players like Gionta and Vasyunov/Tedenby back to Albany.

The question is do the Devils want to get younger on defense, which could put Salvador and White on the trade block. Tedenby and Vasyunov would be easy to send to Albany since they are in year one of their deal. It seems obvious that the Devils would need to trade a big salary contract to clear up cap space since the team will need to sign Parise to a new contract. Brian Rolston and Colin White would be difficult to trade since they have hefty salaries and no movement clauses. Rolston would have a cap hit of $5.025 million, while White is at $3 million. Salvador is at $2.9 million and Langenbrunner is at $2.8 million, so they would be easier to move. Dainius Zubrus is also a possibility as well as David Clarkson or Travis Zajac. But, with the play of Josefson, when he was healthy and now Tedenby, Langenbrunner would be a good trade bait. He is in the final year of his deal and has a flexible no movement clause.

If Langenbrunner is dealt, it could pave the way for Parise to become the new captain of the New Jersey Devils. Or, Patrik Elias could regain that role. With Langenberunner hurt, Elias has become more vocal in the locker room. So, we should see what transpires between now and the NHL trade deadline, which will be sometime in late February, early March.