“Keep an eye on #Devils Uncle Lou. Apparently he got his 1st round pick to dangle and he wants a scoring winger …”

Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger suggests Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is hoping to add a top six forward before the trade deadline. And Greene may be the top candidate to move, as other squads look to bolster their defensive ranks.

“I don’t have a no-trade, no-movement or any of those, so I know it can happen,” said Greene. “I know Lou is going to do whatever is best for the team that he sees fit. It that’s it, that’s it. I can’t argue with him about that. It’s not something I put a lot of energy or focus into.”

Earning an average annual salary of $3 million, the 30-year-old has two years left on his current contract. Second only to Bryce Salvador in ice-time for Devils defensemen, Greene (plus-five) has eight points through 19 games. There’s also word that scouts from other clubs are keeping watch of Henrik Tallinder.

Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said the Devils had previous discussions with Zajac about locking up the 27-year-old center, but could not complete the final details until the lockout ended.

“He’s one of our core leaders and he has been since day one,” Lamoriello said.

Lamoriello announced the deal shortly after Wednesday’s scrimmage against Albany of the AHL.

“I want to be here,” Zajac said. “I believe in this organization. I think it is a first-class organization. It’s the environment I want to surround myself on and off the ice, and my family loves New Jersey. We like the people here. We like living here. With all that and the players and coaching staff, I think we have a great chance here to always be successful.”

Zajac’s deal, which includes a no-trade clause, is a reflection of the new rules on contract limits brokered in the collective bargaining agreement, agreed to by the NHL and NHLPA earlier this month. Those rules allow teams to re-sign their own players to eight-year deals, while limiting all other long-term deals to a maximum of seven years.

Zajac will receive $3.5 million in the first year of the deal and $5 million in the second, with a $1 million bonus in each. He will make $6.5 million in seasons three through six and $5.75 million in each of the last two seasons.

Zajac, who missed the majority of last season recovering from an Achilles injury, was limited to two goals and four assists in 15 regular-season games for the Devils but turned it on during the playoffs.

The former first-round pick (20th overall in 2004) had seven goals and seven assists in 24 playoff games en route to the team’s Stanley Cup finals appearance.

• As expected, Cody Franson has a new deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. According to Jonas Siegal of TSN Radio 1050, the 25-year old defenseman has agreed to a one-year contract with the club.
  
• According to Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette, Scott Gomez is being sent home. From there, he can be bought out at the end of the season.
• P.K. Subban remains unsigned as training camps open up. A deal to keep the gifted young defender in Montreal is still the way this saga likely wraps up but, as Pierre LeBrun points out, the two sides are still fairly far apart.
• A clearer timetable for the exact return date of Adam Henrique should come into focus on Monday. According to Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger, the former Calder Trophy finalist will be examined tomorrow. Beyond that, New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello is hopeful the 22-year old forward could be back in two weeks.

Joining Modano in the three-member class are New Jersey Devils president Lou Lamoriello and Eddie Olczyk, a 16-year NHL veteran who won a Stanley Cup title with the New York Rangers.

Murray Costello will be honored as the recipient of the Wayne Gretzky Award. Bob Chase-Wallenstein and Dick Patrick will receive the Lester Patrick Trophy.

Here are snapshots of each inductee:

Mike Modano:

Played 21 seasons in the NHL. He is the league’s all-time goal-scoring and points leader among American-born players with 561 goals and 1,374 points. The eight-time All-Star played 20 seasons with the Minnesota/Dallas franchise, 16 in Dallas, and holds Stars franchise records for most games played (1,459), goals (557), assists (802) and points (1,359). Won the 1999 Stanley Cup title with Dallas. First overall pick by the Minnesota North Stars in 1988.

Eddie Olczyk:

Played 16 seasons in the NHL with six teams, including a 1994 Stanley Cup title with the New York Rangers. Also played with Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto, Winnipeg, Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh. Finished career with 342 goals and 452 assists for 794 points in 1,031 games. He was a member of Team USA at the 1984 Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, where he skated on the famed “Diaper Line.”

Lou Lamoriello:

As president, general manager and CEO, he helped guide the New Jersey Devils to five appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals, including titles in 1995, 2000 and 2003. Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009. Helped establish the first college hockey television package.

The Devils already have 12 forwards under contract for next season, but Sykora’s experience could be useful. At age 35, he’s played in 133 playoff games even being a part of two Stanley Cup winners along the way. Last year, he proved he can still produce by knocking in 21 goals and 44 assists during the regular season. And he even chipped in with five points over 18 postseason contests as New Jersey made a run all the way to the Cup Final.

“We’re really pleased to bring the induction event to Dallas,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. “The Class of 2012 is extraordinary and we anticipate a record crowd for what will be a spectacular evening.”

It marks the first time that Texas will host the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Dinner, which will be held on the ice at the Plaza of the Americas in Dallas.

Modano, the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history, spent 20 of his 21 seasons with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise before announcing his retirement September 23, 2011.

The first pick of the 1988 NHL Draft and native of Livonia, Mich., closed out his career as the Stars’ all-time leader in games played (1,459), goals (557), assists (802) and points (1,359). He also holds franchise records with 145 playoff points in a club-high 174 games. He remains the all-time leader among U.S.-born players in goals (561) and points (1,374).

Olczyk was selected in the first round (No. 3) by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1984 and embarked on a 16-year NHL career starting as an 18-year old rookie with the Hawks in 1984-85.

In his first three seasons with the Blackhawks, Olczyk recorded 180 points in 225 games. He’d produce 342 goals and 794 points in 1,031 games with the Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Chicago native played his final two years with the Blackhawks before calling it a career in 2000. He then made a smooth transition into broadcasting.

Lamoriello, who will be honored as a builder, is only three years removed from his enshrinement into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in 2009.

His resume includes three Stanley Cup championships in 24 seasons as CEO/president/general manager with the New Jersey Devils, a U.S. World Cup gold medal with Modano in 1996, a role as a founder of Hockey East, and a distinguished 22-year career as a player, coach and athletic director at Providence College. He was inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame in 1982. Lamoriello was recruited from Providence in 1987 by former Devils owner John McMullen, and was a visionary in his role in bringing Russian players to the NHL.

• Scott Stevens, one of the most revered defenseman ever to don a New Jersey Devils jersey, will be behind the bench as an assistant coach to Peter DeBoer in 2012-13. Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello made the announcement Tuesday following the conclusion of the second day of the team’s development camp at AmeriHealth Pavilion.
• The Nashville Predators would be “very interested” in Shane Doan should he decide to leave the Phoenix Coyotes, general manager David Poile told The Tennessean on Tuesday.
• Mike Modano who retired following the 2010-11 season, didn’t completely dismiss the notion when playing again was brought up during a press conference Monday to announce his induction this past week into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
• The Chicago Blackhawks have hired Jamie Kompon as an assistant coach, according to TSN. Kompon spent the past six seasons as an assistant with the Los Angeles Kings, helping the Kings capture the Stanley Cup this year. He previously worked under Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville in St. Louis, where he served as a video coach and then assistant over nine years.