New Jersey Devils: 3 Players On Chopping Block With Jesper Bratt’s Return
The New Jersey Devils say hello to a returning Jesper Bratt and have to say goodbye to one of the team’s young players.
New Jersey Devils fans got good news on Wednesday when the team announced winger Jesper Bratt would be returning to the lineup sooner rather than later. Bratt is going to be at the morning skate on Thursday, and he should be in the lineup any day now. It’s great news for the Devils, as the forward group could really use an injection of talent.
However, it’s bad news for some of the young players on the roster. Bratt is clearly better than most of the Devils’ forwards. He has struggled at times, but he still ranks in the top five in scoring on the Devils in two of the last three seasons. He was on an absolute tear towards the end of the season, scoring 16 points in the final 20 games.
Bratt’s return will provide more life to a Devils’ offense that, despite putting up seven points in six games, hasn’t been great. Jack Hughes has done a lot to drive offense all by himself. Ty Smith has added six points from the blue line, and Miles Wood leads the team with three goals. There’s little bits of offense coming from all over the team, with only Ryan Murray and Jesper Boqvist (who’s been missing the last two games) with zero points on the score sheet this season.
Still, the Devils have to make a decision on the lineup. There are plenty of young players on the chopping block. Head coach Lindy Ruff has to make a decision quickly. Bratt could be in the lineup as soon as Thursday night.
Michael McLeod
Michael McLeod finally scored the first goal of his career after on Tuesday night after 39 games in the NHL. It has been a rough start to a once-promising career. McLeod was supposed to be the future 1C before the Devils drafted Nico Hischier. Right now, McLeod has been a little up and down this season, but for the most part he’s looked better than he has in years before.
However, has he been better than any of the other Devils forwards? Sometimes, he’s definitely had chemistry with his fourth line. That has given them decent stats.
Of all the forwards who have played every night, McLeod has the lowest minute totals at 5v5. His CF% is even (50%), and his high-danger chance percent is right in the middle of the team.
The reason McLeod is on the chopping block is a lot of what he does can be done by Bratt himself. He’s one of the extras on the penalty kill, playing just over four minutes while shorthanded in the first five games. He doesn’t play on the power play (he has 22 seconds with a man advantage all season).
McLeod has looked better, and it would be upsetting to see him get taken out of the lineup just days after his first goal. Maybe he could be getting ready to go on a tear. Still, Ruff has a hard decision to make. McLeod is on the chopping block because he’s been average. Just because average is a lot better than how he’s been doesn’t mean the Devils should commit to keeping him in the lineup.
Nathan Bastian
McLeod’s partner since they both played for the Mississauga Steelheads is another player on the chopping block. Bastian is less likely to leave the lineup because he brings something different than Bratt. While McLeod is largely mimicked by Bratt’s skill set.
Bastian’s big body has worked for his advantage at times during this season but also didn’t help him stop pucks from going in the net. He’s been given some responsibility this season. He has a little bit of time on the power play, although he’s not a major component of it. His big body would work well sitting down low on the second unit now that P.K. Subban’s huge slap shot is there.
Bastian is also putting in some penalty kill time. Again, that could be simply replaced by Bratt taking his spot on the unit.
Bastian’s skill set likely keeps him in the lineup until Nico Hischier comes back. Then, Bastian’s spot is really in jeopardy. Pavel Zacha can slot into the fourth line at the center position, and McLeod and Bastian are the most likely players to fall out of the lineup. Bastian has a goal and an assist to start the season. It’s nice, but it’s not anything the Devils can rely on. He probably needs one more season in the AHL to hone his skills before he’s completely ready to make it in the NHL long term. The issue with Bastian is he is not waiver exempt. If the Devils want him to play for Binghamton/Newark, then other teams would have the opportunity to claim the former 2nd round pick. That could lead the Devils to keeping him on the roster for the foreseeable future.
Nick Merkley
Nick Merkley finally got himself in the lineup two games ago, and he’s looked decent in his two games on the ice. His first game against the New York Islanders, he was all over the ice. It seemed like he touched the puck a lot. In his second game, he played a lot of 5v5 minutes. Only Jack Hughes, Nikita Gusev, and Kyle Palmieri played more 5v5 minutes against the Flyers among the forwards. He even got an assist on Pavel Zacha’s goal at the end of the game for his first point of the season.
Still, Merkley’s spot is far from guaranteed. The Devils already put him through waivers, so they can send him to the taxi squad without having to put him through waivers again. This gives the Devils a little time without the risk they took at the beginning of the season.
Merkley has played well, so it would be a decision most fans wouldn’t like. His issue is he has seen a lot of high-danger chances against him. In the last game, he was on the ice for four high-danger chances against. It’s not like that was the worst on the team (Ty Smith saw eight high-danger chances against), but it’s not something to go home about.
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Bratt would slot right into Merkley’s spot in the lineup. He would play the same amount of minutes as Merkley has so far. It would be the move that makes the smallest impacts to the lineup. The Devils played well in the second half of the Flyers game despite some mistakes. It seems like some minor changes Ruff made are working. This might lead to Ruff taking Merkley out of the lineup for now as Bratt returns.