Sources say the Jamie Langenbrunner auction is on in earnest, and the hammer may come down soon if Lou Lamoriello asks the Devils captain to waive his no-trade clause, and Langenbrunner submits.
Those sources say that it may be sooner rather than later before the trades begin in this historic disaster of a Devils season, and that Langenbrunner is the player teams want most.
It is believed Los Angeles and San Jose are prime suitors for Langenbrunner, but he may end up going to an Eastern contender, perhaps Washington or Pittsburgh, or even Boston — if he waives his no-trade.
The Flyers, who visit Newark tonight, could certainly find room for this class of a captain, even if they’d have to find salary-cap space. Langenbrunner, an upcoming unrestricted free agent, is a self-confessed streak scorer with four goals this season, so the Devils would be dealing him at the bottom of his market.
Langenbrunner, 35, came to New Jersey in 2002 after winning a Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999, and losing in the Final to the Devils in 2000. He shared the playoff lead in goal-scoring in the Devils’ 2003 Stanley Cup championship and succeeded Patrik Elias as captain when Brent Sutter became coach.
Langenbrunner is a tough, sacrificing team player who returned from knee arthroscopy after only a week to play and score in the Devils’ 2009 playoffs. He had an overblown beef with Jacques Lemaire late last season because he didn’t want to be rested, but that situation seems past, and not a factor in any deal.
The NHL-worst Devils have lost 13 of 15 games and two straight to already match the number (27) of regulation losses they sustained in each of their prior two complete seasons.
The playoffs are not a mathematical impossibility, but that’s all, and this team that seemed to grow so old so suddenly needs quality youth, and it’ll best gain some by selling off its aging stars to contenders. Draft picks and defensemen are the obvious desires.
Lamoriello usually shops early when he’s in the rental business, a regular occurrence during his 13-year playoff run. It appears he’ll try to sell early, and perhaps the nine no-trade clauses on his roster won’t be quite such an impediment, after all, given the rotten situation brewing in Newark.
Martin Brodeur, Johan Hedberg, Colin White, Brian Rolston, Langenbrunner, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jason Arnott, Patrik Elias and Anton Volchenkov all have no-trade or no-movement deals.
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Dainius Zubrus is expected to remain out tonight with an unspecified injury, perhaps to his foot.