Devils add veteran defenseman who can get physcial

see also

Devils have the money to keep momentum going in free agency

The rebuilding process for the Devils was accelerated a little…

Like most teams not in Toronto, the Devils didn’t make much of a splash once free agency opened at noon Sunday.

Their biggest signing was veteran defenseman Eric Gryba, who inked a one-year, two-way deal worth $700,000 at the NHL level and $300,000 in the AHL — with $350,000 guaranteed. The 30-year-old split time this past season between Edmonton and its AHL affiliate, and he has 279 career regular-season NHL games under his belt, the first three years with the Senators. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, he also brings a physical element.

General manager Ray Shero also added minor league defenseman John Ramage on another one-year, two-way deal. It is worth $650,000 in the NHL and $125,000 in the AHL, with $150,000 guaranteed. Ramage, 27, has 310 games of AHL experience after being a fourth-round pick of the Flames in 2010.

The Devils did lose free-agent defenseman John Moore, the former Ranger signing a surprisingly expensive five-year, $13.75 million ($2.75 million per) deal with the Bruins.