Where Nikolaj Ehlers Fits In New Jersey Devils Lines
The New Jersey Devils are rumored to be in on the young Winnipeg forward, and if they were to get him he would make them instantly better.
The Winnipeg Jets are rumored to be listening to offers on forward Nikolaj Ehlers. This would be something that could really bolster the New Jersey Devils top six into a really formidable group. The New Jersey Devils are almost certainly going to draft Jack Hughes first overall this Friday so Hughes along with Nico Hischier are going to be the two center punch that they need.
The question isn’t whether or not trading for him would be a good idea. Let’s say the Devils only trade a draft pick or two along with a prospect or two, this would be a great addition to this team. In 2018-19 he had sort of a down year, but still a good season for a 23-year-old forward. In only 62 games he had 21 goals and 16 assists for 37 points. That was also on a very deep offensive Winnipeg lineup. The Devils would certainly give him every opportunity to succeed.
There are a bunch of different options for how the top two lines could look and they are all exciting to think about if the Devils were able to get Ehlers. Obviously, some form of Hischier and Hughes will be the top centers, and you would think that unless there was a trade or major free agent signing, that the four wingers would be some form of Taylor Hall, Jesper Bratt, Kyle Palmieri, and of course Ehlers.
An awesome look would be:
Hall-Hischier-Bratt
Ehlers-Hughes-Palmieri
Some people would like to see this, and there might also be people who would like to see Palmieri and Bratt switched. This would give the top line from last season a chance to get back to where they left off before Hall got injured.
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Hall-Hischier-Palmieri
Ehlers-Hughes-Bratt
That would also be a really fun look, but it might be smarter to have a veteran on a line with Hughes in his rookie year. Either way, guys who can score 20-30 goals on each side of both Nico and Jack would be awesome.
Another great idea would be to put Hall with Hughes in year one since Nico proved he can run his own line in 2018-19. Nico would also get some better matchups 5-on-5 if this were to be the case. We are all waiting for his breakout year offensively because we know about his two-way game.
Hall-Hughes-Bratt
Ehlers-Hischier-Palmieri
This might give Jack the looks he needs in year one. Playing with the guy who is a former Hart Trophy winner and elite playmaker and shooter would go a long way for the number-one overall pick. It would also take some pressure off of Hughes if he had Hall to carry the line for a while and show him the ropes.
This transaction would also really help this group out on the power play as well. It would be just another offensive-minded player to add to the team and try to produce more with the man advantage. He might go on the top unit, but in all likelihood, he would be a perfect fit on the second unit. That group would be expected to come out and be effective at a decent clip when the top unit doesn’t get it done. He would provide just another option for coach John Hynes to consider.
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Ehlers would make a great impact on this team offensively and at 23 years ago there is still a chance that he gets even better. In his rookie year, he had 15 goals and then in the next three he eclipsed 20 goals every time, including a 29 goal year in 2017-18. With the right playmakers around him, he could score a boatload of goals. This player might be just the right fit for the Devils.