New Jersey Devils: Three Players Who Should Not Be In The Lineup
85. . Forward. New Jersey Devils. Kevin Rooney. 3. player
The New Jersey Devils already have Hayden taking up a spot, but it is even worse when he and Kevin Rooney are both in the lineup. Neither of them impacts the game in ways that some of the guys in the minors would be able to. Rooney, like Hayden, also has one goal and one assist on the season so far. It was a bit of a surprise when he made the team out of camp and he has stuck ever since. It is sort of weird to see because he really doesn’t belong in the lineup every game.
Another big problem with Rooney is he and Hayden play a good amount on the fourth line with Jesper Boqvist. Boqvist is a skill guy who projects to be a very good top-six forward yet he is stuck with the fourth liners. If the Devils turned their fourth line into a speed line then they would certainly be able to get more out of Boqvist. You really don’t want to stunt a young guy’s growth by putting him out there with the grinders so Rooney would be better off as the 13th forward or in the AHL.
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This wasn’t meant to be rude to any of the players mentioned. However, in the National Hockey League, you need to dress your best players in order to win and it doesn’t appear that the New Jersey Devils have been doing that. They need to bring in a coach that sees the issues and puts in the lineup that gives them the best chance to win.