Devils Add Tlusty

The New Jersey Devils picked up a pretty good bargain, just before they were to release their training camp roster for the weekend.  The Devils signed unrestricted free agent forward Jiri Tlusty, giving him a 1-year deal, worth $800,000 and he'll go back to unrestricted free agency after the deal is done.

Last season, the 27-year old Czech forward split time between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Winnipeg Jets, ended up being a trade deadline deal between the two sides before the end of the year.

In total, Tlusty played in 72 games, scoring 14 goals and 31 points, ranking him just a shade outside the pool worthy rankings, down in 187th among all forwards.  If the pool this year extends through 23 teams, Tlusty would definitely be a pool worthy forward.

With the Devils, Tlusty should be able to find some quality 2nd or 3rd line minutes, which should give him ample opportunity to score goals and pick up points, possibly hooking up with fellow Czech, Patrik Elias on a line, not to mention a young draft pick in Pavel Zacha.  Tlusty hasn't even hit his 30's yet, so he should be able to give this team what they're looking for.

The Devils are not exactly an offensive power house, but neither were the Carolina Hurricanes or even the Winnipeg Jets, for that matter and his points were manufactured for the most part.  I would think that there is potential for a bit of a lift, in terms of his scoring, but I'm not in a big hurry to invest in players from New Jersey.

For now, I am going to have him projected back in the 30-point range, coming in as a late round forward.  None of the four pool guides I picked up in this off-season have Tlusty, so he could be a hidden gem from those bookworms, trying to dig for the most out of those books.