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As reported Saturday night, Rangers tough guy Brandon Prust will have a hearing Sunday with league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan for his nasty elbow on Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov during the Rangers 3-0 win in Game 3 Saturday.

Although the play went un-penalized, Prust will likely face at least a one-game suspension for the reckless hit that had Volchenkov down on the ice for minutes before returning to the Devils bench.

Volchenkov called the play "dirty" while Devils coach Pete DeBoer went one step further, calling Prust's actions "Head-hunting. Plain and simple."

It does not appear that Devils forward Dainius Zubrus will face any supplementary discipline for an elbow delivered to the head of Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman in the first period, however. Zubrus also went un-penalized and Stralman remained in the game.

Recap | Box score | Photos

What it means: After Devils winger Dainius Zubrus tied the game with a deflection of Alexei Ponikarovsky's shot at 6:11 of the third, Devils captain Zach Parise tallied the go-ahead goal -- his second score of the night -- to boost the Devils over the Canadiens 5-3. Losers of three straight heading into the All-Star break, the Devils concluded their six-game homestand with their second consecutive comeback win, although it did not come without a price. Rookie defenseman Adam Larsson left the game in the third period with a bruised lower back and did not return.

Career-high for Clarkson: Gritty winger David Clarkson eclipsed his career-high mark, scoring a pair of goals to put him at 19 for the season. With the Devils on the power-play, Clarkson got a piece of Ilya Kovalchuk's blast from the left point, which also deflected off a Montreal defenseman before reaching Clarkson in front of the net. Clarkson also recorded an assist on Zubrus' third-period equalizer before adding an empty-netter with less than a minute remaining in the game.

Another shorty: The Devils surrendered their league-worst 13th short-handed goal of the season, to Mathieu Darche at 1:35 in the second. Defenseman Kurtis Foster, who turned the puck over on the play, was benched for the remainder of the period and played only one 16-second shift the rest of the game.

No goal: With the Devils trailing 2-1 early in the second, Kovalchuk's short-handed attempt teetered on the goal line behind Montreal's Carey Price. No whistle was blown, which prompted Ponikarovsky to sweep in for the put-back, but the original call on the ice -- no goal -- was upheld after video review.

Blunden blunder: Patrik Elias was assessed a boarding minor for his crushing hit on Mike Blunden that sent the Habs winger flying into the boards near Montreal's bench. Blunden, who suffered a lower-body injury on the play, did not return to the game.

Early deficit: The Devils gave up a pair goals in the first 9:23 of the game to fall behind Montreal 2-0. Winger Rene Bourque banked a sharp-angle shot from the goal line off David Desharnais' helmet at 4:11 and Andre Kostitsyn extended the Habs' lead halfway through the period. Goaltender Martin Brodeur challenged Kostitsyn with a poke-check in front, but Kostitsyn spun around him and wrapped in a goal at 9:23.

Seven on D: With Bryce Salvador playing through a "tweaked" ankle, coach Pete DeBoer elected to dress seven defensemen. Salvador deemed his ankle "definitely playable," but DeBoer replaced forward Brad Mills in the lineup with defenseman Matt Taormina after warm-ups as insurance.

Drought drags on: Former Devil Scott Gomez' woeful goal drought has lasted almost one full calendar year. The 32-year-old center, who won two Stanley Cups with New Jersey, has not tallied a goal since Feb. 5, 2011 -- a 2-0 win over his former Rangers team. In 2009, The Rangers shipped Gomez and his albatross seven-year, $51.5 million contract to Montreal, where he has been an even bigger bust since his days on Broadway. He has recorded only 19 goals over 178 games in two-plus seasons with the Canadiens.

Missing down the middle: With Adam Henrique missing his second straight game with a groin injury, the Devils are fighting the same uphill battle they have all season: lack of depth at center. The team is also without top-line pivot Travis Zajac, who is on injured reserve with lingering pain in his surgically-repaired Achilles tendon. Jacob Josefson has been inconsistent after missing almost three months with a broken clavicle; the 20-year-old Swede centered the fourth line Thursday against Montreal.

Up Next: Devils at Flyers, 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Devils missed the playoffs for the first time since 1995-96. Along the way, franchise forward Zach Parise was lost to injury and rookie head coach John MacLean was fired. The team had a remarkable surge after stalwart Jacques Lemaire appeared back behind the bench, but it wasn't enough to score a postseason berth. Can they pick up the pieces with new coach Pete DeBoer at the helm?

Main Storylines

1. Will Parise stay? That will be the question in everyone's minds all season, even though the 27-year-old winger can't resign with the Devils until Jan. 1. If he opts to test the market, it would be a devastating blow to the organization and the team's future. Teams will be clamoring after the franchise forward in what could be the biggest free-agent sweepstakes the NHL has ever seen.

2. New regime: In his first year as head coach of the Devils, DeBoer will be charged with juggling several sensitive issues. What type of relationship can he forge with Parise and fellow marquee player Ilya Kovalchuk? How will he allot playing time between the two players -- both of whom play the left wing? And how will he manage veteran NHL icon Martin Brodeur between the pipes? Every move will be scrutinized and a misstep could prove costly.

3. Filling the void: The loss of first-line center Travis Zajac to a torn Achilles tendon leaves the Devils with a gaping hole down the middle. Zajac, who suffered the injury in August during an offseason workout, is expected to be out until December. Who will step up in his place? Patrik Elias, Jacob Josefson and Dainius Zubrus are all candidates to fill the void.

New additions

• D Adam Larsson: The Devils selected the 18-year-old Swedish defenseman fourth in this year's draft and hope he can step in and contribute right away. Larsson (6-2, 209) played in 37 games for Skelleftea of the Swedish Elite League last season and finished with one goal and eight assists.

• LW Eric Boulton: One of two signings this summer made to bolster the team's toughness, 35-year-old Boulton will battle it out with Cam Janssen for a role as the team's enforcer.

• RW Cam Janssen: The former Devil (2005-07) signed this summer on a two-way deal. The 27-year-old winger returns to New Jersey after racking up 370 penalty minutes in the past three-plus seasons he spent with the Blues.

Wild card

Former Devil Petr Sykora, who won a Stanley Cup with the team in 2000, is attending camp on a tryout. There will be no guarantees of a roster spot and the veteran will be likely fighting for his last chance to play in the NHL.

Bottom line

The 2011-12 season is a pivotal year for the franchise. Many questions integral to the team's future need to be resolved so the Devils can move forward and re-establish themselves as a perennial postseason lock.

The Devils are within one game of doubling their season win total since Jan. 9 as they push for their 10th win in the past 13 games Tuesday night when they host the Carolina Hurricanes. Here are three keys to look for when the action starts.

Hed Strong

The Devils will be without Martin Brodeur tonight after he departed Sunday’s game against the Canadiens after dropping into the butterfly and hearing a “click” from his right knee. Diagnosed with a "non-operable sprain" that will require rehab, Brodeur is officially day-to-day. That will put Johan Hedberg between the pipes tonight. He’ll look to rebound from a somewhat spotty showing in his last start against the Florida Panthers (25 saves on 29 shots). He stopped 14 of 15 shots in relief of Brodeur in the final 40 minutes against Montreal though, so that should give him some confidence.

Snapping Out Of It

Ilya Kovalchuk seems to be much sharper and may have put his abysmal early season behind him. He has recorded eight points in his last six games, a much more acceptable clip for the summer’s prized free agent. What’s more, he’s recorded a rating of plus-2 over that span. Considering he still sits at minus-24 for the season, that’s a decent step in the right direction.

Credit Jacques Lemaire for the turnaround. In 32 games playing for former head coach John MacLean, Kovalchuk was a minus-22. In 20 games for Lemaire, he's only a minus-2.

Catching Some Zs

The Devils’ offense has also benefited from the awakening of Dainius Zubrus and Travis Zajac (combined five goals and four assists since the start of February). Zajac is contributing in the faceoff circle as well with a winning percentage of 56.6, good for 11th in the NHL. In a blog post by Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record, Zajac gives a nod to assistant coach Adam Oates for the improvement. That should be particularly helpful tonight against the Canes, they of the 44.2 cumulative faceoff percentage, the second-worst mark in the league.

New head coach John MacLean received the dreaded vote of confidence from GM Lou Lamoriello yesterday, who stated that firing MacLean has not yet crossed his mind.

If Lamoriello isn’t blaming the coach, then it seems to me that the fault must lie with the players. With that in mind I thought we should take a look at some of the Devils’ individual performances via CORSI to see how dismally the Devs are really playing.

(To any advanced metricians out there, please let me know if I’ve screwed something up. After all, I’m an English major who hasn’t had his morning coffee yet.)

All of these stats are courtesy of Gabriel Desjardins at BehindTheNet.ca. You can find the Devils stats I’m referencing here.

Blame Not These Men

According to CORSI, which measures even-strength shots-for minus even-strength shots-against while a player is on the ice, Travis Zajac and Dainius Zubrus have been the team’s best players thus far, posting marks of 15.54 and 14.18 respectively. When they’re off the ice, the team struggles mightily. Relative CORSI measures the difference between a player’s performance when he’s on the ice and the team’s performance when he’s off it. When this pair sits, the Devils foes smile. They’re generating almost nine more shots than New Jersey when Zajac sits on the bench and about 7.5 when Zubrus takes a rest.

Those numbers seem to show that Zubrus is more than earning his time on the top line and deserves to stay there for the time being.

Just below them sits Zach Parise with an 8.52 CORSI rating and a 14.2 relative score. Nothing wrong with that.

Brian Rolston’s CORSI rating appears to be phenomenal (21.49) but keep in mind he’s appeared in just two games this season before going down with an injury.

The Rookie D-men

With little cap space, as well as injuries to Bryce Salvador and Anton Volchenkov, the Devs have had to lean on a trio of rookie blueliners: Matt Corrente, Matt Taormina and, most recently, Oliver Magnan-Grenier. Taormina has performed quite admirably with the increased expectations, with a CORSI rating of 5.12 and a Relative CORSI rating of 9.1, the best among defensemen. Corrente, who’s been on board for four games, has been less impressive (-3.13 CORSI) while Magnan-Grenier has been rather lousy (-8.23) in his three games with the club.

To give this some context, heralded rookie D-man John Carlson of the Washington Capitals currently owns a 12.14 rating, while top vet Chris Pronger, has posted a 33.59 mark. Former Devil Paul Martin sits a little below Pronger with a rating of 18.85.

The disparity between the Devs’ rookie D shows how tough it is to break in three fresh faces at the same time. Almost always, one of that group will be going up against an undesirable matchup.

The $100 Million Man

Ilya Kovalchuk was controversially courted by the Devils and finally won over after much labor and hardship. Thus far, according to CORSI, he hasn’t been worth the investment.

Among Devils who have played more than five games, Kovalchuk has posted the third-worst CORSI rating (-10.20), just ahead of Jason Arnott (-12.30) and Jamie Langenbrunner (-18.07). When these three are off the ice, the Devils have performed far better at generating shots and limiting those against Martin Brodeur.

To hone in a little further on Kovalchuk, consider that fellow Russian NHL stars Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin have CORSI ratings of 13.32 and 14.13 to date.

We’re still only a 10th of the way through the season, so it’s not time to panic yet, but Kovalchuk needs to turn it around to make his contract seem like merely an okay investment. But with all the hurdles the Devils had to clear to ink him, and all of the juggling they’ve had to do to fit his salary under the cap, a statistical performance like this one shows the signing to be nothing short of disastrous in the early going.

A few hours from now the Avs visit the Rock to take on the Devils. Here are three quick factors to keep an eye on Friday night.

Welcome to the Party

The Devils replaced their injured players with a trio of call-ups from Albany: forwards Jacob Josefson and Tim Sestito, and D Matt Corrente. Josefson will center the third line, flanked by Dainius Zubrus and David Clarkson. Sestito will join Adam Mair and Rod Pelley on line four, with Corrente paired with Alexander Urbom. At some point the Devils will actually make some kind of move to provide lasting cap relief (really, I swear). This trio will want to make a lasting impression to show they're capable of sticking with the big club when that time comes.

Fire at Will

Colorado (No. 5 in shots per game this season) and New Jersey (No. 10) have put a lot of rubber on the net in the early season and Colorado isn't too strong at stopping shots against. This could turn into an up-and-down game with the two goalies at the center of the action.

The First of Many?

Ilya Kovalchuk got in the goal column Wednesday against Buffalo and New Jersey would love nothing more than for its highest-paid player to get on track. The Money Line (or, if you prefer, the ZIP line) is intact again. The line came out absolutely blazing against the Dallas Stars but since faded. If Kovalchuk and Co. can't get rolling against the Avs, how much longer can head coach John MacLean wait before splitting it up?

Bergen Record scribe Tom Gulitti chatted with Martin Brodeur yesterday about his future in the sport. The netminder’s contract runs through the 2011-12 season and Brodeur says that he’ll play until that deal ends. Whether or not he returns to the ice for the 2012-13 season could be impacted by a potential work stoppage following the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement. Here’s what Brodeur had to say, via Fire and Ice:

“I don’t know if it’s going to be that’s all after this,” he told me today. “I plan the long-range (with) what I have (with his contract) and that’s what I’m focusing on, to be as good as I can be for those two years and have that goal. We’ll see how I feel next year. Next year, in the middle of the season, that’s when you’re going to start thinking about it more because there’s a lot of things that could happen with the NHL and the NHLPA. That (the end of the CBA) comes right after that season. So, who knows? I can’t just commit myself and then have a lockout or if there’s a lockout (for a full year), do I go back the year after?”

Plenty more through that link, and more to come in Saturday’s Record.

Cap crunch coming

Still no news on the extent of Salvador’s injury. Salvador was taken for tests on Wednesday after exiting Tuesday’s preseason game following hits from James van Riemsdyk and Scott Hartnell.

With the deadline for the Devils to become cap compliant creeping closer, an injury to Salvador could help buy the team some time. If they can put the defenseman on injured reserve his salary won’t count against the cap. New Jersey would have to make a move to get him back into the lineup however.

The New York Post speculates that the Devils could carry just 20 players (21 if Salvador is hurt) in order to alleviate the cap concerns. Still in the scenario presented, the team would need to waive Colin White and Dainius Zubrus to make it work.

The Devils have until Wednesday to get under the cap.

New Jersey rookies Alexander Urbom and Jacob Josefson acquitted themselves well in their first NHL preseason game, as the Devils and Flyers worked a little overtime to start the 2010-11 preseason. With nearly all of its top NHL talent dressed for last night’s game in Philadelphia, the Flyers claimed a 4-3 shootout win after Mike Richards potted the decisive marker in the fourth round.

Box Score

The Flyers leapt out to a two-goal lead before Adam Mair put the Devils on the board late in the first period. In the second, Dainius Zubrus may have helped his case to remain on the roster (or his trade stock …) by drawing the Devils even at 2. Jamie Langenbrunner put the Devils up 3-2 on a goal from Henrik Tallinder and Urbom, marking that pair’s second assists of the night.

Goalie Mike McKenna (20 saves on 21 shots), on in relief of starter Johan Hedberg (11 on 13), couldn’t quite nail down the victory, setting up the shootout.

Buzzy prospect Josefson missed his shootout opportunity to equalize after Richards' goal, and finished the night plus-1 with no shots on goal. Head coach John MacLean was impressed the way the rookie held his own against some physical competition. While the Flyers dressed most of the opening-day roster, the Devils traveled light with only a handful of New Jersey’s players skating in the NHL last season.

More on the game, including impressions on the rookies below.

Morning Links

• The New York Post discusses how Devils vets are actually auditioning for other teams this preseason.
• The Post article also breaks down some of the training camp battles thusly:

Because of the uncertainty, the Devils are examining an oversized group of hopefuls. There are nine set forwards, possibly leaving Tim Sestito, Pierre-Luc Leblond, Mattias Tedenby, Jacob Josefson, Rod Pelley, Marcus Nilson, Vladimir Zharkov, and Adam Mair in the mix for five roster slots, or more, depending on who exits.

There are five certain defensemen, perhaps setting up Mark Fraser, Matt Corrente, Rob Davison, Alexander Urbom, Tyler Eckford and Matt Taormina for up to three slots, or more if defensemen leave.

• Mark Everson explores Ilya Kovalchuk’s shift to the right wing in a little more detail.
• Tom Gulitti spoke with Josefson about his first NHL preseason game.
• Also on Fire and Ice, MacLean says he was pleased with his team’s performance.
• It may have been Game 1 of the preseason, but In Lou We Trust is already in midseason form, breaking down just about everything from last night. You may need a Power Bar and a Red Bull to finish, but you won’t find a more detailed analysis of last night’s game. (Trust me, I looked.)
• Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger writes on new backup netminder Hedberg.

Add $3 million dollars and a first- and third-round draft pick to the cost of signing Ilya Kovalchuk.

Despite arbitrator Richard Bloch noting that the Devils did not act in poor faith when they first signed Kovalchuk to the 17-year, $102M contract he interpreted as a form of salary cap circumvention, the NHL nevertheless severely punished New Jersey for the attempt.

The penalty, issued Monday night, strips the Devils of their third-round pick in the 2011 draft and a first-round draft pick sometime in the next four years.

Even as many debate whether the acquisition of Kovalchuk will help the Devils, the cost keeps escalating. The first price was a package of the Devils’ 2010 first-round pick, Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors and prospect Patrice Cormier, sent to Atlanta for Kovalchuk, in addition to Anssi Salmella and flipping second-round picks with the Thrashers. Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record has a running tab over at the Fire and Ice Blog. (And bartender … keep it open.)

Because of Kovalchuk’s new contract, New Jersey must still balance its salary-cap ledger by shedding at least $3M from its 2010-11 player payroll, which will likely require two players to be traded or relegated to the minor leagues/a European team. Should one of those players be talented young center Travis Zajac, or if Kovalchuk’s signing prohibits them from retaining 26-year-old star Zach Parise -- a restricted free agent after the season -- the move may well be indefensible without a Stanley Cup to balance the columns.

Trading Zajac is a last resort, but the most likely trade candidates all carry bad contracts most teams are in no hurry to acquire. And the league requirement for salary cap compliance by the start of the NHL season already strips Devils GM Lou Lamoriello of any and all leverage. Some media speculated that Lamoriello may have to entice trading partners by adding a top prospect or draft pick in addition to The Expendables -- Dainius Zubrus and Bryce Salvador, the most likely players for the Devils to deal.

But now short two more future draft picks, New Jersey’s picks and prospects become even more valuable (New Jersey already swapped its 2011 second-round pick in exchange for Jason Arnott this summer), particularly as the team looks for young, cost-controlled players to balance against Kovalchuk’s $6.67M cap hit. Fortunately for the Devils, the $3M fine will not count against the team’s salary cap, as it could have under league rules. That concession was “won” at the time the Kovalchuk deal was signed, after negotiations between the league and the NHLPA, according to an AP report.

However, with the other teams under scrutiny for possible salary cap circumvention at that time -- the Flyers (Chris Pronger’s contract), the Blackhawks (Marian Hossa), the Canucks (Roberto Luongo) and the Bruins (Marc Savard) – going unpunished by the league, it certainly provides the appearance the Devils are being made the scapegoat for franchises with similar sins. After many of those pacts were finalized last season, the league did warn team to stop signing players to such excessive, long-term deals, so perhaps New Jersey shouldn’t have been surprised by the ruling. However, the league did still accept those previous deals, while the Devils were the team out of which the NHL finally made an example.

Morning Links

• Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski discusses the NHL’s lack of sympathy for the Devils.
• The New York Post says the Devils could appeal to the NHL Board of Governors, or take the league to court -- though both options are unlikely.
• Lou Lamoriello issued a short statement. In summary, he’s less than thrilled.
• In a poll on In Lou We Trust, 60 percent of voters said Kovalchuk was worth it, through 7:50 a.m. Tuesday. The site also posted its training camp preview this morning.

We all know the Devils’ summer was defined by Ilya Kovalchuk, but how much of next season will be? A New York Post preview article raises an interesting point about how Kovalchuk’s acquisition altered the team’s playing style last season -- and it wasn’t for the better, according to Mark Everson:

“Previously, the team prospered by dumping the puck from the red line when confronted by defenses, winning races and outbumping opponents.

“Suddenly, star players were intent on carrying the puck across the blue line, making passing plays and keeping possession.

“It didn't work then, was never solved, and now, it's up to MacLean to get these two distinct philosophies playing the same way, reacting similarly to the same keys. Good luck.”

The article goes on to list some prospects with a shot to stick on the Devils’ roster this season. Among them lie jewels like Jacob Josefson and Mattias Tedenby, as well as the likes of Alexander Urbom, Tyler Eckford, Matt Corrente, Adam Henrique, Nick Palmeri and Vladimir Zharkov.

In other roster news, a previous Post article puts Dainius Zubrus on the record as not wanting to leave New Jersey. That reluctance probably means he won’t be willing to sit out the NHL season and play in Europe, a move that could alleviate his salary cap hit ($3.4 million) the same way the Blackhawks buried the contract of G Cristobal Huet.

Morning Links

• In Lou We Trust looks at the implications of potentially waiving Brian Rolston to clear his $5M-plus hit.
• Meanwhile, the team’s rookies reported to camp today. Tom Gulitti has the entire training camp roster.

As the Devils try to clear cap space, The Post sites rumblings that GM Lou Lamoriello is hesitant to part with D Bryce Salvador, thought to be one of the most likely players to leave. The article also adds former first-round pick Matt Corrente to the speculation (likely as an incentive for teams to take on a bad contract) and sites the Toronto Maple Leafs as an oft-mentioned, but unlikely, trading partner.

Meanwhile, In Lou We Trust is already cleaning out Salvador’s locker and says the final cap casualty will come down to Dainius Zubrus and Brian Rolston, offering an interesting head-to-head comparison along the way.

Morning Links

• The Sporting News offers a summer post-mortem with Ilya Kovalchuk’s agent, Jay Grossman, who says the decision came down to New Jersey’s ability to win night in and night out. I'm guessing the $100 million helped too. Just a little.
• With Kovalchuk added to the roster, the Devils currently have the third-highest payroll in the league. Who’d have ever thunk it? Only the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins have more money on the books. All three teams will have to shed salary before the start of the season to be salary cap compliant.
• Hockey’s Future looks at Mattias Tedenby and the rest of the organization’s top prospects.
• The team’s summer tour stopped by Cranford Tuesday.
• Mike Mottau and Jay Pandolfo are still looking for contracts, according to the Bergen Record’s Tom Gulitti.
• Marcus Nilson will attend Devils training camp as an unsigned free-agent, per Gulitti.
• In Lou We Trust continues to look at the soft goals allowed by Martin Brodeur in 2009-10 and the effect they had on the team.

While the hockey world waits for the NHL’s verdict on the re-submitted contract for LW Ilya Kovalchuk, the New York Post wonders who goes if Kovalchuk stays. The Dallas Stars are thought to be a possible destination for D Bryce Salvador, with Dainius Zubrus – a target we looked at a little Friday – also mentioned. Other possibilities are far more complicated given no-trade-clauses in their contracts, but one name may cause the faithful to groan at the continually rising cost to keep the Russian sniper.

According to a new blog post from the Post early this morning, C Travis Zajac is rumored to be on the trading block should Kovalchulk’s deal be approved. The center makes $3.89 million per season, which would help solve the Devils’ salary cap concerns, but he also put up 67 points last year as the team’s top pivot.

On one hand, trading Zajac would be a serious hit to this team, as newly acquired C Jason Arnottwould inherit top-line duties and the Devils would likely have to promote their second-line center from within the organization. On the other, the trade market for Zajac would be far more lucrative than for either Salvador or Zubrus, meaning GM Lou Lamoriello could earn some decent low-salary pieces for the future (prospects, draft picks) in return. The Washington Capitals have been searching for a second-line center all summer and would almost certainly be interested in Zajac. The Caps also have one of the deepest farm systems in hockey and could send the Devs some solid value.

But even then it's far from an ideal solution. There is a thought that centers and defensemen are the building blocks of Stanley Cup champions in today’s NHL, with the elite blue line of the Detroit Red Wings (2008 champions) and Chicago Blackhawks (’10), and the three-deep center corps of the Pittsburgh Penguins (’09) often used as examples.

Should the Devils move Zajac, his most likely replacement is Swedish C Jacob Josefson (drafted 20th overall in 2009), ranked as the second-best prospect in New Jersey’s system (behind Mattias Tedenby).

Josefson spent last season playing in his native country (20 points in 43 regular-season games for Djurgardens), but inked an entry-level deal with the Devils in May. Thought to be a heady, two-way player capable of reaching the NHL this season, he may now play a far more pivotal role than expected.

Trading the 25-year-old Zajac just as he enters his prime is certainly not an appealing avenue for the Devils to pursue, but the team will have to do something to clear the necessary space, thought to be at least $3.07M.

The Post's speculation on Zajac is only attributed to rumors, and it's doubtful he's the team's top trade option. But with so many players enjoying no-trade clauses in their contracts (Patrik Elias, Colin White, Brian Rolston, Jamie Langenbrunner and Johan Hedbergamong them), Zajac may not be as far from the top of the list as you might think.

Morning Links

• Lamoriello told Fire and Ice he feels confident about the contract and that it will be approved by the NHL. We could hear as early as today. Wednesday is deadline day. Also, one small detail has emerged: The first year of Kovalchuk’s contract pays $6M.
• In Lou We Trust wonders when Mike Mottau will be signed.

On-again-off-again Devil Ilya Kovalchuk remains a free agent, but for how much longer?

Sources confirmed to ESPN’s E.J. Hradek that Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek, GM Lou Lamoriello and Kovalchuk agent Jay Grossman convened at the NHL offices in New York today.

Does that mean a contract is imminent? Not necessarily. Last week in Toronto, Commissioner Gary Bettman was asked by the media if the league would advise teams on what an acceptable structure for Kovalchuk’s contract might be. He said that the NHL would provide such a service, but would not confirm if any team had approached the league. Perhaps that’s what the Devils were doing today. Or perhaps Kovalbucks is about to cash in a new deal in a matter of minutes and hours.

Since the Devils’ original deal was voided there’s been the lingering sentiment that Kovalchuk and New Jersey will reach another accord. But the salary cap is proving a serious complication.

The Devils only have a little under $3.7 million remaining in available cap space (according to CapGeek.com). And even if they dumped a contract -- say, Dainius Zubrus and his $3.4M hit -- they’d still only free up a total of around $7M.

If they restructured the deal so Kovalchuk was playing until 40 instead of 44 -- probably the longest term the Devils could get away with -- the average cap hit spikes from $6M to $7.8M per year. Now, even if they moved Zubrus and reduced the term to a more reasonable length, the most they could offer Kovalchuk is $91M total -- which gets the deal in at $7M per. But that would mean the Russian wing would leave $11M on the table from his voided deal. The Los Angeles Kings, thought to be another serious suitor, could offer a deal to top that quite easily, if they’re so inclined. So could the spendthrift Islanders for that matter … well, if their name wasn’t always prefaced by “spendthrift.”

But even if Kovalchuk takes less money and the Devils do a deal at $7M per, the team puts itself in a bind next year when Zach Parise’s deal comes up. Based on my English major math skills, add a Parise cap hit on par with Patrick Kane’s $6.3M on top of Kovalchuk’s $7M to the team’s existing contracts and you’re looking at about $7M (give or take a few $100K) to fill half a roster in 2011-12. It’s not impossible, but it’s quite a squeeze for future years.

So could the Devils dump a contract bigger than that of Zubrus?

As tweeted by Dmitry Chesnokov, in order to afford Kovalchuk, a former Devils trainer told a Russian paper he believes the team will deal Patrik Elias. File that one under: “Bold Moves.”