Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Adding Andre


It's been slow, and I did a post about the Brendan Bell signing so here is a quick note about yesterday's addition: Andre Deveaux.

Where I wasn't too pleased about bringing in Bell, this signing makes more sense. Deveaux brings experience and a little bit of ability to a young Whale and replaces the toughness lost when Justin Soryal signed with Carolina. At 6'3, 240 he is solid enough to take on all comers and has tussled with some big names over the course of his career - Krys Barch, Shawn Thornton, Riley Cote, Brandon Prust, Ben Eager and Steve MacIntyre. He even beat up Ruslan Fedotenko once! Haha.

The former Maple Leaf will feel at home in Hartford alongside former teammates Kris Newbury and John Mitchell - you have to wonder why Sather is pulling a Burke and favouring truculence over winning experience but whatever. Deveaux should help teach the kids the professional ropes while making it a safer workplace for them, which is valuable as well.