Pucks and Pitchforks
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5 Players New Jersey Devils Coaches Must Focus On This Season

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 27: New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes works his 200th NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Prudential Center on December 27, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Red WIngs 3-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 27: New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes works his 200th NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Prudential Center on December 27, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Red WIngs 3-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jim McIsaac/NHLI via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/NHLI via Getty Images) /

1. Pavel Zacha

What do we do with Pavel Zacha? That’s one of the biggest question marks coming into this season. The sixth-overall pick in the 2015 draft has not lived up to his expectations. Zacha was supposed to be a big bodied center who could score at will. It hasn’t worked out that way.

Zacha only scored eight goals last season. He scored eight goals in the season before. This, despite playing most of his time on the second line.

The Devils coaches need to spend as much time this offseason with Zacha to get him to where he needs to be. The team needs to figure out if they have a legit second-line center behind Nico Hischier. The coaches will be tasked with turning Zacha from a player who struggles mightily with his offense to a player who can set up his linemates Marcus Johansson and whoever ends on playing on the right. If the coaches can’t fix him this year, then something might need to change.

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