The New Jersey Devils lost their biggest star after trading Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes. Now, it’s time to focus on the young players for the future.
The New Jersey Devils traded Taylor Hall after days of crazy speculation. They weren’t able to get any NHL players in the deal, so for the 2019-20 season, they turned a former MVP winger into dust faster than Thanos when Thor didn’t go for the head.
It’s not the best situation for the Devils, who now have to trot out a lineup that lost its best scoring threat when they are already 30th in the league in scoring. That’s right, we all think that defense and goaltending issues are killing this team, but they can’t score either.
The Devils have been playing better since they sat Hall right before Friday night’s game, going 1-1 against Colorado and Arizona, two teams near the top of their division. They might have gone 2-0 if Mackenzie Blackwood played both games. Now, they have to see what they have in the minors.
Players like Joey Anderson, Michael McLeod, Nathan Bastian and Brett Seney need time with the big club. Maybe not right now, since there is still some good NHL players who could get the Devils nice pieces near the NHL Trade Deadline. Eventually, the Devils have to know what they have on these either or prospects.
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The Devils path to winning in the future is clearly down the middle. Having Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes and Pavel Zacha as the future 1-2-3 at the center position, and 22 years old and younger will give them a huge advantage when they mature into great players. What that should do for them right now is allow them to make their mistakes and learn from them.
With the Devils as currently constructed, here’s a lineup they should test on game one.
Nikita Gusev-Nico Hischier- Kyle Palmieri
Pavel Zacha -Jack Hughes-Jesper Boqvist
Blake Coleman–Travis Zajac–Jesper Bratt
Miles Wood-Michael McLeod-Wayne Simmonds
Michael McLeod looked really good at center in the last two games, and he will likely be the player the Devils call up to replace Taylor Hall. Nikita Gusev at least needs a chance to play on the first line, at least for a week or two. Let him show he’s over his issues from the first month.
We want to see Jack Hughes and Jesper Boqvist together now that they are both playing a lot better. The speed of the NHL isn’t passing them by like it was.
We took Gusev off the Zajac and Coleman line, but we think that’s actually a much better spot for Jesper Bratt. He’s been up and down since he was absolutely on fire in his rookie season. This could get him going.
Then, putting Wayne Simmonds with Wood and McLeod could give the Devils a kind of crash line that can also score. The penalties this line might provide would worry us, but they have a lot of upside together.
This trade wasn’t great for this season, but at least we can now look into what the future holds. Shero has been building this team for years, but if now it’s time for these young players to step up. With Hall out of the picture, there’s a massive hole that somebody has to fill.