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| Bryce Salvador is the new captain of the New Jersey Devils. (Getty Images) |
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Along with having to replace the offensive production of Zach Parise after he signed with the Minnesota Wild in free agency, the New Jersey Devils also had to find someone to take over the role as captain.
Would it be Patrik Elias, a staple in the Devils lineup since the 1995 season? Or perhaps the recently re-signed Travis Zajac, who will now be a cornerstone of the franchise for the next eight years?
Nope. The Devils choice: Veteran defenseman Bryce Salvador.
Ilya Kovalchuk and Elias will remain assistant captains, as they were last season.
Salvador, 36, has been with the Devils since the middle of the 2007-08 season when he was acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Blues.
He missed the entire 2010-11 season due to a concussion but returned last year and played in all 82 regular season games and was surprisingly productive offensively during their playoff run to the Stanley Cup Final, scoring four goals to go with 10 assists in 24 playoff games. This after he scored zero goals during the season.
Salvador signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the Devils back in July after briefly hitting the unrestricted free agent market.
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