With the David Backes rumor to New Jersey floating around on the Twitter-sphere. I am not completely against Backes but I would rather at this point rely on the possibilities of the New Jersey Devils’ prospects making the team. Two that stood out at this week’s camp were Nikita Popugaev and Mikhail Maltsev. Some reasons for this include:
A) Maltsev and Popaugaev are both big bodied wingers.
B) They play with speed.
C) They have skill.
D) They are still better skaters than Backes.
E) The short and long-term projection of their potential is very promising,
F) Ray Shero will have lots of Cap Space to re-sign Taylor Hall
With that being said, Shero shouldn’t make a move for the sake of pleasing the fan base.