Vishnevski clears waivers; will play in Russia

Vitaly Vishnevski's Devils' career appears to be over.

Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said today that Vishevski has cleared waivers and that the 28-year-old defenseman will play in Russia in 2008-09.

"He expressed a desire to go back to Russia for personal reasons and I respect that," Lamoriello said. "We didn't want this to develop into a situation September, so we placed him on waivers now and this will allow him to go play there."

Lamoriello made it clear that this is not a situation like the one involving Alexander Radulov, who signed to play in Russia even though he is still under contract with the the Nashville Predators.

The Devils will not be buying out the remaining two years on the three-year, $5.4 million contract Vishnevski signed last summer and will maintain his contract rights in the NHL, but, now that he has cleared waivers, they are free to assign him to a team in Russia rather than put him in Lowell. The Rangers did something similar with Darius Kasparaitis last season.

Regardless of the reason for Vishnevski's departure, it was clear the Devils didn't have him in their plans for the upcoming season. They have seven other defensemen who played for them last season under contract and 2006 first-round pick Matt Corrente is expected to push to make the team in training camp.

Lamoriello said he believed that Vishnevski already has worked an arrangement with a team in Russia, but did not say which one.

Comments

[jules]

Best of luck to Vish. Seems the rumor was true. Luckily, it's working out for everyone. Vish gets to go to Russia, the Devils free up a spot.

[Kelly]

Vish was a pretty humble guy. He still had some pretty nice hits, though. Good luck in Russia, Vish.

[segundo]

TG: Do the Devils receive any additional salary cap relief b/c Vishnevski essentially wanted out to play abroad (or, so it seems)?

[Ali-P]

Oh well, his hits were fun to watch. It reminded me of the good ole days with Stevens up until the puck was in the back of our net. He just couldn't understand you can't run the ice and hit someone and not get back in position and play D. At least with Stevens when he made contact the play was over with the guy getting knocked out.

[njdevsfn95]

TG: with Vishnevski heading over to Russia and soon to be under contract, are the Devils on the hook at all for the remaining $4.0 M he is owed? I know his $1.8 M cap hit is no longer on the books, but from a financial p.o.v., it would really suck for the Devils to have to pay him for him to play and get also paid by someone else.

[Pat]

As long as they don't pay the remaining $4M, this will pull this pickup from the worst ever category into the not so bad category. He filled a need and he wasn't needed anymore so it's mutually beneficial at this point.

[bf]

Anyone want to start working the numbers out to get Gomer back when the rags get sundin?! (i duck as everyone throws balled up paper at me!)

[jersey jeff]

Very disappointing...I have been critical of Lou and my posts are being taken down by TG. I use no profanity just observations of very poor GMing over the last 4 years. I didn't know TG was in Lou's pocket.

[Falcone]

Vish brought zero to the table. Nothing personal, he was very humble, but brought nothing to the ice.

[MoonDragn]

Jeff, could it be cause you are wrong. Lou has been a very good GM, but even very good GMs have to make gambles and makes mistakes. Compare him to the GMs before him and we're 10 times better off. Don't criticize what you don't understand. We're pretty lucky to have LL as our GM.

Hind sight is 20/20. Try making those tough decisions when you don't know the outcome. Its not that easy. Lou has done a great job so far of it and I don't want anyone else as GM.

[TG]

Jersey Jeff: You are mistaken. I have never taken down any posts from anyone on this site. There are actually rules against that at my paper. I have to consult with The Record's legal department even if there is profanity before taking down a post -- and I've never done that either.

There have been plenty of posts from readers on this blog criticizing Lou Lamoriello. I'm not sure if you made a mistake on your end or what happened, but if there was something you wanted to say about Lamoriello or anyone else, please post again.

As for Vishnevski's salary, I'm not sure that the Devils will have to pay him. Lou Lamoriello would not discuss it today when I asked him that. His salary will come off their cap just before the season begins.

[TG]

Gomez wouldn't be going anywhere even if he didn't have a limited no-trade.

[TG]

Comments from Jersey Jeff on this site that were critical of Lou Lamoriello:

**"Somebody needs to take away Lou's check book. Is there a GM in the league who has wasted more money on bust signings then Lou. Constently overpaying then releasing. Lou must go...any truth Lou may sign Neil Broten to a 3 year 9 mil contract." posted 8/23/08 under "Vishnevski placed on waivers"

**"Brylin was an offensive promising player when he signed with the Devils and he was neutered by Lou, like Lou does with all offensive players. Sarge was as classy as they come a true Lou diciple who sacrificed and compromised his skill for the team. It got him 3 Cups and very little recognition beyond that.

No he won't get his jersey retired..it will be worn by a first year player in 08/09. It's too late for a stoppage in game to announce and recognize Sarges' contribution to the team and allow the fans to thank him...not allowed in Lou land.

He goes by the way of all the others who helped Lou gain his genius reputation .. used up and gone without any acknowlegement....Neil Broten....Randy Mckay...Jeff Friesen...Pat Burns... Neider....there are no lengendary Devils unless you play your last game for him...there is only Lou!"

--Posted 7/28/2008 under "Sergei Brylin speaks"

**"Nice to see there are some observant Devil fans on this post (mike) not just the Lou kool aid drinkers. This Fedorov signing is more bottom fishing for Lou. More interchangeable parts that mixed with the genius of Lou will win the Cup as Lou's Legend grows. Problem is Lou is a legend now in is own mind.

Probably the worst GM in the league since the Cap. The worst signings..most wasted money....weakest farm system...among the lowest scoring....boring teams in the league...not to mention his lack of celebration of Devil cup winning players. I lost it for Lou when he gave Neider's # to a rookie. That tells you and every UFA how much recognition a player is allowed to hava as a Devil.

Just look at the players that get discussed on this post. Its a joke everyone of them is replaceable( except Marty). If you pay "The Rock" prices to see this team your nuts. With top young stars dotting the East..this could be the year the Dev's don't make the playoffs...last year they made it by Marty standing on his head.

Devils Bankrupt within 2 years....that will be Lou's stuffed shirt..nobody's bigger then the team or me..play the checkers over the scorers...keep the fans at arms length...legacy."

--Posted 7/21/08 under "Development Camp underway; Fedorov signed"

**Stop the presses........Lou continues to insult the fan base...don't be surprised to see some of these slugs with the big club. Last year we had a half dozen AHL ers and other team cast offs.

Lou must go...The Devils will file for Bankruptcy within 2 years. No reason to pay "The Rock" prices to see this team.

No one with the stature to sell seats will ever come here to sit for the checking lines. And the youg skilled guys will continue to leave as UFA's as long as "interchangeable Lou" continues to run not only the team but the company.

Any truth that Lou is talking to Peluso and Mackay.

Lou will cause us to loose the Devils because it's all about him and his genius."

--Posted 07/17/08 under "Devils sign Leach, DiSalvatore, Wiseman"

[TG]

I forgot earlier to post that Lou Lamoriello said restricted free agent center Rod Pelley remains unsigned, but was confident the "it will get done."

[Matty Bucks]

Thanks for defending yourself, TG. Jeff, if TG is leaving anything out, please do repost. This web-blog is the same as any publication: held to freedom of speech standards. It appears TG is running an upstanding blog here, but if he's hiding something from the public, I'd like to know.

[Jeff O.]

TG, do you expect Pelley's contract to be a one-way or two-way deal?

[Ali-P]

jeff why don't you tell us how you really feel about Lou?

[modnarm]

pelley isn't worth our cash.. unless we're gonna trade him. Madden won't be done for another 3 seasons.. I really don't see Pelley emerging as the top checking center of the Devils. If hes signed.. trade bait. idk. maybe we'd find a spot on the 4th line.. but i feel like theres so much better players that would be fighting for the spots as they open up.

[Falcone]

As someone who works for a large website I know about deleting posts. Its a necessity all blogs have to do. You'll get over it.

[mikeP]

most likely the holdup with Pelley is over whether it's a 1-way or 2-way contract. The $$$ was probably already resolved. Lou probably wants to give Pelley a 2-way contract so that he doesn't have to clear waivers to be assigned to Lowell, but of course that means Pelley would make a lot less $$$ in the AHL. Pelley doesn't have any offensive upside, I think of him as another Eric Rasmussen, no big deal if he goes unsigned through all of camp for all I care

[YEAHw/e]

i agree with trading away Pelley if he's signed. the only player that will have a real good chance at replacing madden is halischuk, who should be ready around the same time madden's career ends

[NJSwampdragon]

I think TG has the right to delete all the posts he wants. This is not a message board, go rant on that.

[JJ]

TG once again you show you are truly a class act in reposting his comments and not letting an accusation like that slide. His comments are actually quite hilarious in hindsight have continually sparked some fierce debate. It's just one more reason why this blog rocks and we keep coming back for more.

[JerseyJeff]

My apologies to TG...could of been a snafu on my end. Thanks for the reply...
Lou must still go. I paid over $800 to take my family to see 2 dev vs pens games. The Devs scored one goal the first time and was shutout the second time while we all drooled over Malkin/Crosby etc. Not this year. Not for Roston/Holik II.....2 goals or less 60% of the time is not gonna get me this year and I doubt hard working family people who could care less about a cigar bar Luxury suites are gonna pony up big for marginal seats.

Sarge's unceremonial departure from the Devs is more classless Lou treatment of players who should have a place in Dev history and be celebrated non worse then the "don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out" attitude towards Neider...disgraceful

[Morgan]

The one thing about Vishnevski that I never got was that he was such a good open ice hitter, but he was very bad at clearing the net. He always seemed to be out manned down low and I never understood why such a strong guy couldn't move forwards out of the crease.