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Former Devils' No. 1 draft pick Mattias Tedenby (right), chasing the puck in a Dec. 23 game against Chicago, was placed on non-roster waivers Friday.

(Mike DiNovo/USA TODAY Sports)

NEWARK – Perhaps now is the time we can finally and unequivocally classify Mattias Tedenby as a first-round bust.

The Devils gave the little Swede with the gap-toothed smile chance after chance after chance to produce at the NHL level, and every time they received mostly goose eggs in the points column and negatives in plus-minus.

Picked 24th overall in the 2008 NHL draft, the 23-year-old left wing was given a non-roster release after his latest run of no production on Friday.

Non-roster waivers is a first step an organization must take to release a player from its roster. If Tedenby clears waivers, which is likely, he'll become an unrestricted free agent.

Meantime, the move created space on the active roster for fourth-line forward Ryan Carter, who will return from a knee injury Friday night against Chicago to replace center Patrik Elias, who will miss the Blackhawks game as well as Saturday night's game in Buffalo due to a lower-body injury suffered last Tuesday.

As for Tedenby, the 5-foot-9 forward has speed and offensive skill, yet they translated into just 10 goals and 30 points over 120 NHL games with the Devils over the last 4 seasons.

This season, Tedenby’s only point in 15 games was a goal with 44 seconds remaining in a 5-0 Devils win over Nashville on Nov. 10.

Tedenby began 2013-14 sitting out 6 games with a groin injury, then turned in a poor season debut, as he was scoreless with a minus-3 in a Devils’ loss in Ottawa on Oct. 17.

After playing 3 games, he was a healthy scratch for 3, then played 6 more before being benched 11 times in a stretch of 14 games.

That led to Tedenby being sent to AHL Albany for a short conditioning stint, then after 2 goals in 2 weekend games for the A-Devils, he returned with confidence … which led to more of the same.

Tedenby sat out the next 2 games, but rejoined the Devils’ lineup for a Dec. 21 game in Washington and proceeded to go scoreless with a minus-5 in 3 games.

Now, after sitting out the last 2 games of the 2013 calendar year, Tedenby is on waivers needs another other team to take a chance on him for another NHL opportunity. It's possible he'll return to Sweden to resume his pro career close to home.

DEVILS NOTES

• The Devils are 9-0 with 3 shootout victories at home against Chicago since the 1999-2000 season, 9-0-1 since 1998-99. Their last home loss to the Blackhawks was a 6-2 defeat on Dec. 30, 1997, a game in which Devils goalie Mike Dunham was replaced by Peter Sidorkiewicz after allowing 5 goals.

• D Andy Greene has no points and is a minus-2 in his last 4 games after a stretch in which he scored 5 goals, 17 points and was a plus-10 in 22 games.

• The Devils' 6 fights are the third-lowest total in the league.

• C Andrei Loktionov has no points in 8 games since scoring a goal and assist against Montreal on Dec. 4.

• D Eric Gelinas has no points in 6 games after racking up 4 goals and 15 points in his first 26.

• Jaromir Jagr still is a goal away from passing Mark Messier for 7th all-time. He scored No. 694 for his career on Dec. 21 in Washington, then was held to 1 assist over his next 4 games.

BLACKHAWKS NOTES

• RW Patrick Kane has gone scoreless in consecutive games after having a 14-game scoring streak in which he had 25 points.

• Kane’s 53 points is second in the league to Sidney Crosby’s 59.

• Second-line C Michal Handzus has just 1 goal in his last 9 games.

• LW Patrick Sharp has 6 goals and 8 points over his last 5 games.

• D Duncan Keith’s 36 assists are 3rd in the league.

• The Blackhawks are 10-1-3 against the Eastern Conference, the only regulation loss a 7-3 setback in Toronto on Dec. 14.