Johnny Oduya has a really cool name, but that doesn't get the New Jersey Devils defensemen all that much attention. After being selected in the 7th round by the Capitals way back in 2001, the Caps gave up on him fairly quickly and he headed back to Europe, probably thinking he'd never get a shot in the NHL.The New Jersey Devils, in search of a cheap defenseman to plug into their blue line, ala Brian Rafalski, signed Oduya away from the Swedish league, and the bullish defenseman has quietly become one of the better defensive defensemen in the NHL.
Oduya had 26 points and was +27 (eighth best in the league) in 75 games last season, suggesting he is a pretty solid piece of work. There is more, however, than meets the eye.
One of my favorite bloggers, the man who runs The Puck Stops Here, crunched some numbers to come up with an Adjusted +/- stat. Basically, how does a player affect the game while he is on the ice compared to when he is off the ice?
The top defenseman on the list? Johnny Oduya! That's right, he ranks even higher than pretty boy Nicklas Lidstrom.
Does this mean that Oduya is the NHL's best defensive defenseman? No. The stat does have flaws, but it does highlight the fact that Oduya's defensive play is excellent, and his effect on the New Jersey Devils is very much understated.
And for all of this, the New Jersey Devils had to pay a paltry $600,000 in salary to Oduya last season. Kinda makes that Jeff Finger contract look even worse than it already does.
Jason Blake is a player I have a lot of respect for and one that I enjoy watching. The dude plays like a border collie, bouncing around the ice with boundless energy. It's hard not to like a player that works so hard and seems to enjoy the game as much as he does. 
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