Vitaly Vishnevski Is Swimming with the Vish

Sorry about the title. I couldn't help myself. Vitaly Vishnevski had been placed on waivers recently, and now he's free! He apparently wanted to play in Russia, and Lou was more than happy to let him go. Vish was not awful per se, but he was no better than a third-line defenseman, and the Devils have about 7,000 of those. Vishnevski's contract, though, outweighs the likes of Sheldon Brookstank (that's my nickname for him) and rookies like Matt Corrente. If we had to shed one of these guys, Vish was the one that made sense. Nearly $2 million comes off the cap now, as Vish has indeed cleared waivers and is headed off to Russia. Lou has insisted he planned on making an upgrade on defense, and with a little extended cap room now, he has the freedom to do so, probably via trade. The Devils have parted ways with a slow, mediocre (at best) defenseman, clearing up a bit of a logjam, and opening up some cap room. Sounds like a great day to be Devils fan! (link)