Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
There is talk that free agent winger Damien Brunner has offers from a few teams after him, and the Detroit Red Wings couldn’t come to terms with him.
The New Jersey Devils have been rumored to have been talking to him all summer. With all the moves that were already madeby the Devils, there is no room for him on this team. There is currently one spot on the offense that is up for grabs, and it has a competition that consists of a ton of people.
They have players that are probably on their last shot with the team in Mattias Tedenby and Jacob Josefson. They have young guns who have a ton of talent in Reid Boucher and Stefan Matteau. They have veteran players who bring something different to the team in Krys Barch, Rostislav Olesz, Rod Pelley and Cam Jansen.
That is six guys who are going to play their butts off trying to get that one spot — why end the competition just to sign a short-term guy?
The Devils have an unusual problem that nobody really saw coming. They have an influx of talent at the forward position. That may sound crazy, but think about it. They know basically who their lineup is going to be — they just have to figure out the lines. They have some talented guys who seem to be NHL-ready — mostly on the defense, but two or three on the offensive side as well.
Unless the injury to Jaromir Jagr is more than just “general soreness,” there is no real reason to sign Brunner. He will cause an overflow of forwards this season. If that sounds like a good idea, remember what happened to the defense last season.
Devils fans desperately want to replace the offense they have lost in the past two years. It will be counter productive to have too many players and then having them lose confidence by not playing. It could be worse since some have one-way contracts and the team could lose those talents to waivers. Don’t over-complicate this team. Keep it simple and make sure this team has a shot.
Nick Villano is the New Jersey Devils writer for Rant Sports. He also contributes to their NFL and MLB content. You can follow him on Twitter and add him to your Google network.
