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BY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
The first step in the rebuilding process of the New Jersey Devils has just taken place. The team has traded veteran captain Jamie Langenbrunner to the Dallas Stars for a conditional draft pick, expected to become a second-rounder.
Langenbrunner can become an unrestricted free agent in July, and with a salary of $2.8 million, was a very attractive rental for a team with Cup aspirations such as Dallas.
The trade to the Stars, where Langenbrunner's friend Joe Nieuwendyk is GM, has been in the works since September, when the 35-year-old two-time Stanley Cup winner was first asked to waive his no-trade contract provision, sources indicated to The New York Post.
We are very excited to add Jamie to our team," said Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk to dallasnews.com in a statement. "He fits the mold of the type of players we want on this roster - strong work ethic, tough, passionate, and hard to play against. All of our fans got to see first-hand what kind of a player Jamie is when he broke into the league in the nineties and was part of our Stanley Cup team in 1999. We are thrilled to be able to bring him back to Dallas."The Devils will receive a third-round pick if the Stars fail to win the first round of the playoffs or fail to re-sign Langenbrunner. Otherwise, the Devils will receive a second-round pick this summer or next.
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Langenbrunner's scoring totals are 232-388-620 in 996 career games, with a plus-57, but he fared even better in the playoffs, where his four career overtime winners are tied with Chris Drury for the lead among active players. He shares the franchise record for playoff game-winners at six.
Langenbrunner was Dallas' second round draft pick in 1993, and is playing his 14th NHL season. He won a Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999, lost in the finals to the Devils in 2000, and was traded to New Jersey with Nieuwendyk for Jason Arnott, Randy McKay and a first-rounder March 19, 2002.
The trade closes out Langenbrunner's outstanding run of eight-plus seasons in New Jersey that included the club's third Stanley Cup championship in 2003. He was an integral part of the team's success that spring, posting a League-best 11 goals and 18 points in 24 games.
He succeeded Patrik Elias to become the Devils' eighth captain on Dec. 5, 2007.
"We have all gone through some situations here that none of us are accustomed to," Devils' President/CEO/GM Lou Lamoriello said, according to devilsnhl.com. "I start with myself. Right now, we all have to become part of the solution and not part of the problem."
Tougher decisions figure to follow.
