The revolving door is spinning again for defenseman Anssi Salmela, who will almost certainly leave the Devils again, this time as a surprising unrestricted free agent.
Salmela, 26, can walk Friday after the Devils chose not to make a $688,000 qualifying offer, which would have kept him a restricted free agent.
The team was concerned Salmela would win a heftier contract in arbitration.
Winner of a World Championships gold medal with Finland this spring, Salmela had one goal and six assists in 48 games with the Devils last season after he returned from knee reconstruction.
He signed as an undrafted free agent May 30, 2008, playing 17 games for the Devils before being traded to Atlanta at the deadline for Niclas Havelid and Miles Stoesz on March 2, 2009. Salmela returned to the Devils with Ilya Kovalchuk Feb. 4, 2010 for Niclas Bergfors, Johnny Oduya, Patrice Cormier, a first-round pick and a swap of seconds.
Salmela toned down his skating offensive game, but may find a team looking for his style and skills. The Devils did make qualifying offers to defensemen Mark Fraser and Matt Corrente, as well as goalie Jeff Frazee.