Al Bello/Getty Images Martin Havlat gets a scoring chance against the Boston Bruins.
Zidlicky had obvious value to certain playoff contenders, so seeing him go so cheaply was disheartening. The cases of Michael Ryder and Martin Havlat, however, were the total opposite. Their value was certainly in question, so anything the Devils could have gotten for either player would have been acceptable.
Both Ryder and Havlat have a history of scoring goals in the NHL but simply have not worked out in New Jersey. Whether the fault for their failures should fall on management for misusing them or on the players for not doing enough personally to succeed is at this point irrelevant. Ryder and Havlat's contracts expire at the end of the season, and now the Devils will likely have them watching the majority of the team's games from the press box.
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