Travis Zajac Should Stay On New Jersey Devils’ Top Line

The New Jersey Devils have deep center depth coming in. Despite that, Travis Zajac should continue to center its top line.

Travis Zajac has become one of the most talked about New Jersey Devils over the past few years. He was the first person to sign a long-term deal after the latest lockout. He’s had stretches where he was great, and others where he was beyond forgettable. Devils fans have talked about trading him in year’s past, but a good season seems to have quelled those demands.

Zajac was no doubt the Devils top-line center for a majority of the time for the past five years. Last year, his line was especially good.

It obviously helps that he had Kyle Palmieri and Taylor Hall on his wing for the majority of the season. Zajac also helped them both become the go-to forwards when the team needed a goal.

Zajac was third on the team with 45 points. His linemates Hall and Palmieri were one and two on the team.

With all that said, there are some very good centers coming up in the Devils system.

Adam Henrique was once upon a time a top-line center. He was in the middle of Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2012. He knows what it takes to be a center on a winning team. Henrique, however, might need to make a permanent change to his position.

Pavel Zacha spent last season centering the team’s third line. The 20 year old former first-round pick was somewhat of a disappointment, but he showed signs he could one day become a top player. His inconsistency will probably force the Devils to keep him on a lower line for another year, so his mistakes don’t hurt the progress of Hall and Palmieri.

Michael McLeod could be a wild card in this scenario. He has been nothing short of great with the Mississauga Steelheads this season. At just 19 years old, the 2016 first-round pick captained the team to the OHL Championship series. While the Steelheads eventually lost to the Erie Otters, McLeod did score a goal in the final game. He is very fast, and can make his own shot. However, the Devils shouldn’t fast track him to the first line just yet. He needs to gain some bulk on his young body before he can play 82 games of first-line ice time. He also needs to prove he can make the team before thinking about which line he will fall on.

The final choice for top-line center is the first-overall pick in this year’s draft. The two no-doubt players at the top this year are Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier, both centers. They both have the skills to make the NHL roster, and the Devils may look to pair whichever one they take with the best skill on the team.

Even with all these options, Zajac is still the best to lead the top line.

Zajac’s experience is one of the reasons why he’s the best choice to play between Hall and Palmieri. He’s played for a decade, and has 779 games under his belt. He hasn’t sustained a major injury since the 2011-12 season, playing all but two games last year. Zajac brings plenty of intangibles besides goals and assists.

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Zajac is also the best Devils faceoff man by far. He finished in the top twenty in faceoff percentage, winning just under 55 percent of his draws. Henrique won just 48 percent of his faceoffs. Getting the puck off the faceoff is crucial for the Devils, especially in the offensive zone. The team can’t waste opportunities to score just because of a lost faceoff.

The Devils have a very bright future down the middle, but the present still belongs to Zajac. He’s a true two-way players who will continue to help the team grow. He still has four years left on his contract, which will take him to 36 years old. He may not be the number one center throughout the rest of his contract, but he will definitely be the top guy next season.