Some movement came about on the blueline earlier today as veteran defenseman Brian Strait was re-signed to a two-year, two-way contract by New Jersey while fellow D-man Yaroslav Dyblenko was waived. Binghamton Devils also got into the act when they announced the signing of defenseman Tariq Hammond.
This was quite surprising as Strait wasn’t all that good while his play deteriorated as the season moved along. It was so bad for the 30-year-old I had him retiring as there was not a chance of him coming back. Boy was I wrong.
I suppose he’s needed for a leadership role as he wore the A for the majority of the 2017-’18 campaign, but all eyes will be on him beginning in the fall and I hope he shows an improvement in consistency which was an overall problem last season for the BDevils.