3 Changes New Jersey Devils Could Make When Nico Hischier/Jesper Bratt Return

Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian leave lineup

This is the aforementioned obvious move. McLeod and Bastian were the two surprise players who made the opening night lineup. They are a 1st and 2nd-round pick from 2016 NHL Draft. They both have shown some promise, but overall they weren’t considered to be core pieces of the Devils’ future. Bastian ranks 15th and McLeod ranks 9th on our preseason prospect rankings. That was before Sharangovich flew off the handle and Arseny Gritsyuk had a huge World Juniors tournament, so they might be even lower.

However, the Devils have seen both play very well in the first two games of the season. Bastian brings some size and grit to the lineup that Ruff seems to like. McLeod has been playing on the penalty kill and McLeod has the 6th-best Corsi For % on the team through two games.

The easy decision here isn’t so easy. There’s not many Devils fans who would name McLeod and Bastian as the two worst-performing forwards in the game. However, they are on the bottom of the lineup for a reason.

Ruff also has to think about how the team looks at a move benching two young players who have clearly gotten better because it is easy. Ruff hasn’t had a chance to establish himself in the locker room with such a short training camp. He’s also almost 40 years older than some of the players on the team. Making this type of move has to be made delicately. It’s still the most likely move, but it’s far from a guarantee.