Kaberle An Option For The Devils?

Once again ousted in the first round of the playoffs and sitting just a few years away from the retirement of Martin Brodeur, the New Jersey Devils look primed to exhibit a win-all philosophy heading into next season. From their current head coach search to filling out the roster of players, general manager Lou Lamoriello is believed to be pulling all punches in trying to make the final years of Brodeur's career as successful as possible.

A key area that the Devils would love to improve is offense provided by their defensemen. According to The New York Post, Tomas Kaberle might be on New Jersey's radar.

Per an e-mail sent out to general managers throughout the NHL by Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, Kaberle's current no-trade clause will be lifted for a limited amount of time between the NHL Draft (which starts on June 25) through the end of July. Burke would like a young player capable of stepping into the Leafs lineup right away, as well as a high draft pick in a few weeks.

The former of those requests shouldn't be too big a problem for the Devils, depending on who Lamoriello is willing to part with. David Clarkson or maybe even Travis Zajac, who unbelievably didn't have to be a part of the package sent to Atlanta for Ilya Kovalchuk, would probably be enough to please Burke. The draft pick part might not be as easy. As a result of the Phil Kessel trade last summer, Burke is left without a first round pick at this year's draft and remains very interested in getting back into the top 30. New Jersey dealt its first round pick to the Thrashers in that same Kovalchuk trade, leaving the team without a selection in the first. However, there might be some hope for the Devils in that department. As The Post points out, there was a swap of second rounds pick. And that gives the Devils the 38th overall pick in the draft. If the Devils package Clarkson (since Zajac is probably unlikely), the second round pick from Atlanta (38th overall) and a player from the minors, Lamoriello might just be in business. I doubt the market is going to be that much better for Kaberle.

Before Lamoriello goes and pulls the trigger, he needs to decide whether he's interested in bringing back Paul Martin, who currently stands as the Devils' top offensive option from the blue line. He played just 22 games last season courtesy of a broken left arm, but he still posted 11 points - nine of which came during the final 13 games of the season he played since returning on March 13. At a price of $4.5 million last season and heading into unrestricted free agency on July 1, Martin is going to cost a pretty penny. And it will likely be more than the $3.833 annual cap hit from his current contract.

It will, therefore, be very difficult for the Devils to retain Martin and trade for Kaberle, who is scheduled to make $4.25 million - with a similar cap hit - next season in the final year of his contract. The Devils have some cap flexibility, as right now they have $41.1 million already committed to their 2010-11 payroll between 15 players. That's not including Ilya Kovalchuk, though, who will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and is likely to command at least $8 million a season. He alone could kill any cap space they have if Lamoriello is intent on retaining his services. Plus, New Jersey better start worrying about Zach Parise, who is in the final year of his current deal before becoming a restricted free agent next summer. You can bet he'll demand a mighty raise from the $5 million ($3.125 million cap hit) he's set to earn in 2010-11.

So, it could boil down to one or the other if New Jersey wants to avoid eating up too much cap space for other areas. Kaberle is the older of the two at 32, but only by three years. And he is a much better option offensively. Kaberle has the ability to post 50+ points a season, a lot more than the 30 or so Martin will hover around during a healthy campaign. And he will be a major upgrade on the power play, where the Devils haven't had a really reliable quarterback in a number of years.

If money is going to be relatively similar between the two, Kaberle has to be the obvious choice for the Devils. New Jersey could sorely use a player with his skills, which will be necessary if it seriously intends on getting past the hurdle of the opening round of the playoffs to make a serious push for the Cup.