NHL

As Devils’ vets return, decisions to be made

The Devils who are returning from injury have lofty standards, set by the makeshift replacements, to live up to. The transition has started well, and gives Lou Lamoriello an opportunity to improve the team further.

Oddly, the injuries turned around the franchise. Two months ago, it was regarded among the shallowest in the league in terms of prospects.

Prospects, heck. The Devils now have intriguing options with a raft of young players who have shown they can play — and win — in the NHL.

Jay Pandolfo and Johnny Oduya became the latest Devils to return from lengthy injuries last night, and Oduya scored a goal and Pandolfo added an assist in New Jersey’s 4-3 shootout victory over the Red Wings in Newark.

“You don’t want to come back and mess things up,” Pandolfo said.

Patrik Elias, who scored the magnificent shootout decider, and Rob Niedermayer, who scored New Jersey’s third goal, were earlier injury returnees, but the Devils still remain without Paul Martin, Dainius Zubrus and David Clarkson, all with broken bones.

As the vets trickle back, there are decisions to be made by Lou Lamoriello and Jacques Lemaire. The bevy of scouts in Newark these days could indicate the trade window is open, as it very well should be.

The Devils suddenly have excess talent, and they could still use a big-time offensive center. Lamoriello could deal vets and rely on these 60-day wonders to fortify his future, or cash in the value of adrenaline-lifted rookies, selling the upside and long term, while insuring against those kids’ downside and adding veteran forces to capitalize on the group that has the most-ever points (37) through 26 games in Devils’ history.

Lemaire is wary of comeback letdown.

“One thing I’ve been afraid of, that when you get your players back, they’ll feel ‘We’re fine. I don’t have to do as much as I was doing before,’ ” Lemaire said. “The only thing we’re getting by getting our players back that were injured is experience, because the kids have skills and they work. If the entire team drops a bit, you don’t have a better team. They have to have the same level, intensity-wise.”

Leading the group of discoveries is defenseman Andy Greene, whose description by a scout as “the most-improved defenseman in the league,” is catching on around the league.

Then there’s defenseman Mark Fraser, who was only called up as an extra in case of sudden flu somewhere. Pressed into action, he hasn’t left the lineup, playing the defense-first role that the Devils have always valued and used to such advantage. He was never high on the list until they played him.

Matt Corrente gamely tried to make sure his credentials did not go unnoticed, handily winning two fights in Friday’s 3-2 victory over Tampa in Newark. A former first-rounder, he looks like a defenseman who only needs time to become fully competent at the NHL level.

Up front, Niclas Bergfors may not pass much, or until it’s the last option and already too late, but that’s what makes goal-scorers, and they may be the most valuable of all commodities. He entered yesterday tied for second among the league’s rookies with eight goals, trailing Islander John Tavares’ 11.

Matt Halischuk, demoted yesterday, was early regarded as a likely trading chip, especially given the credentials he earned on Canada’s national junior team. Canadians, and Canadian-born GMs, notice and remember such things. Vladimir Zharkov made a big impression over the weekend, looking like a replay of Elias as a kid.

Lamoriello showed last summer that he was intent on letting vets exit and kids play, watching Brian Gionta, John Madden and Mike Rupp depart. But while injury insurance is nice, it must take a back seat to front-line strength, and Lamoriello is in a position to get some.