The Devils continued their losing ways tonight, this time against the Flyers as they fell 4-2 at Prudential Center. Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere each had two goals in the game. Dainius Zubrus and David Clarkson had the Devils goals. Shots were even at 20-20, but the Flyers had the 2 goal cushion. The Devils blew two one goal leads until the Flyers took control of the game.
Colin White and Henrik Tallinder continued to struggle and Johan Hedberg played well. Kovalchuk still continues to struggle to score as well and seems careless about the season right now much like the entire Devils team.
Captain Jamie Langenbrunner was a scratch tonight as reports surfaced he was asked to waive his no-trade-clause. Division rivals Flyers and Penguins have reportedly offered draft picks for Langenbrunner's services. However, it was unlikely he would be traded to a rival like the Flyers, but the Devils would not mind trading with the Penguins as they have done so in past years. Dallas, St. Louis, and San Jose are the leading Western Conference teams for Langenbrunner. Langenbrunner played most of his career with Dallas before being traded in March 2002 to the Devils along with current Dallas GM Joe Nieuwendyk for Jason Arnott, Randy McKay and a 1st round pick. There were rumbling the Devils traded Langenbrunner back to the Dallas Stars for a conditional 1st round pick, however Lou Lamoriello would not confirm anything. Langenbrunner has a $2.8 million dollar cap hit and is the easiest to trade on the Devils since he will be an unrestricted free agent in the Summer. He has been struggling thus far this year with 4 goals and 10 assists and a minus 15 plus/minus rating much like the entire Devils team.
Langenbrunner is likely the first of many Devils to get traded this year as the team will likely start a fire sale to load up on draft picks and prospects for next year and beyond. I have compiled a list of other players that might get moved in my other post. Look for more deals to get done in the future. The Devils are on track to finish last in the league and will get a top 3 pick in the draft. If they get the number one overall, it is unlikely that they will surrender the draft pick. The Devils have to forfeit a 1st rounder in one of the next 4 drafts for their penalty for circumventing the salary cap with the 17 year deal for Ilya Kovalchuk. However, other NHL teams might respect Lamoriello more if he does indeed surrender the number one overall pick and might pull back any grudges they are holding against him for the Kovalchuk saga. Many feel Lou Lamoriello has damaged his reputation for the Kovalchuk saga and might have lost respect amongst other NHL General Managers. We shall see what happens in the future for the Devils. The Devils are likely to surrender their 1st rounder if the draft is not that deep, but the 2011 one is expected to be deep. The Devils will likely pick Canadian center Sean Couturier with the number one pick if they win the lottery in April. Adam Larsson and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are the next two projected picks.
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