Earlier in February, trade rumors swirled around the NHL that Minnesota Wild defenseman Marek Zidlicky had waived his no-trade clause and could be headed to the Devils. No information on the trade was released, but in the end it didn't matter because the two teams couldn't make it happen, or the rumor was nothing more than a rumor.
However, Zidlicky to the Devils rumors have surfaced again. According to Pro Hockey Talk's James O'Brien, a trade of Zidlicky to the Devils from the Wild is once again "imminent."
Regardless, it seemed inevitable that the coach-bashing defenseman would end up out of Minnesota, and now Nick Kypreos and Devils beat writer Tom Gulitti are indicating that it could happen for real this time. Kypreos even threw out everyone's favorite trade deadline buzzword of "imminent," so it's time for Devils fans to get excited/depressed depending upon how each one feels about the offensive blueliner.
Like last time, there is no clear cut player that the Devils would give up for Zidlicky, but O'Brien believes the front runner would be Kurtis Foster because Zidlicky would make him irrelevant and he didn't dress tonight. If the Zidlicky trade works out this time, the Devils would be getting an eighth year defenseman with a -6 plus/minus rating, 14 points and no goals.
Will the "imminent" trade go through this time or is it just another rumor? We'll have to wait and see.
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