5 Reasons Matt Duchene Should Pick New Jersey Devils

Filling A Spot That’s Needed

The New Jersey Devils need a 2nd-line center. Pavel Zacha was supposed to fill that slot for years to come, but it’s just not working out. Zacha is doing his typical, play well down the stretch to make us believe routine, but we should not go into next season with him as the only option at the position like this season.

However, if Zacha becomes a bottom six center with Travis Zajac, and a legit center comes in to fill the second-line center spot, this weakness becomes a strength overnight. Think about this, Nico Hischier, Duchene, Zajac and Zacha down the middle. Then, you have players like Blake Coleman, Michael McLeod, Kevin Rooney and John Quenneville (barring who makes next year’s team) who can take faceoffs as good as most players. If you have that kind of depth at center, an injury never really hurts that much. Plus, if someone jumps on the faceoff, you still have a good chance to win.

Looking at that, Duchene learns he can come into this spot, make a ton of money, and play with much less pressure than if he were to re-sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He needs to play as well as he’s played currently. He doesn’t need to be a 100-point player with the Devils. He needs to be a 60-70 point player.

He could see this situation as a perfect fit. Imagine, if for the past two seasons, the Devils had Duchene between Jesper Bratt and Marcus Johansson. Maybe this season goes like it did because of how the goalies played in the first half and how the injuries killed them in the second, but last year probably goes differently. He probably gets the Devils two to three more wins. Two more win last seasons would have put the Devils in second in the Metropolitan Division. It was that close. Maybe they still lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, but maybe they take care of business like they did all last season. It’s a much better matchup than Tampa Bay was.