June 2, 2010
Richard Chere The Star Ledger
Even before the Devils lost defenseman Paul Martin to the Pittsburgh Penguins today, general manager Lou Lamoriello had targeted Anton Volchenkov.
Whether or not the Devils had been able to keep Martin, they would’ve signed Volchenkov.
“Yes. I don’t think that is a question,” Lamoriello said. “Tallinder came into our thought process after (losing) Paul Martin. No disrespect to Tallinder. They have similar styles.”
Volchenkov, 28, was the Devils’ top target, along with the hope of re-signing Martin.
“We certainly had a priority list,” Lamoriello said. “The first thing we do is look at our own defenseman and when Paul Martin didn’t sign prior to July 1, we still thought there was an opportunity. But we weren’t sure, so we had in our mind what we would do.