Pucks and Pitchforks
Fansided

New Jersey Devils: Seattle Selects A Good Fourth Liner

By Vincent Parise

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 06: Nathan Bastian #14 and Travis Zajac #19 of the New Jersey Devils talk during a stop in play in the third period against the New York Rangers at Prudential Center on March 06, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey.A limited number of fans are in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions.The New York Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-3. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 06: Nathan Bastian #14 and Travis Zajac #19 of the New Jersey Devils talk during a stop in play in the third period against the New York Rangers at Prudential Center on March 06, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey.A limited number of fans are in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions.The New York Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-3. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The New Jersey Devils left the Seattle Kraken a nice list of players to select from. Of course, players like P.K. Subban, Will Butcher, Nathan Bastian, and Andreas Johnsson led the pack of realistic players for them to choose from. Well, we have our answer.

The Kraken has selected Nathan Bastian as their pick from the New Jersey Devils in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. It is a pretty good pick for them and it will give him another opportunity in a new system.

The Kraken could have taken P.K. Subban for a few reasons but eating his cap might be the biggest reason that they stayed away. Others like Butcher and Johnsson are decently young players that could become something but they opted to go with the young fourth-line player.

Building a solid fourth line is clearly in the mind of General Manager Ron Francis. He has selected a lot of players that are big, mean, and tough to play against. Bastian can fit that bill. he played some really nice minutes for the Devils in his short stint as an NHL player. He should be able to carve out a really nice career in that role.

The New Jersey Devils will miss having Nathan Bastian in the organization.

The fact that he could have a bit of a scoring touch could really help him as well. In 41 New Jersey Devils games this season, he had three goals and seven assists for 10 points. That all came while averaging just under 13:00 a game. He is never going to have much more than 25-30 points per season but that would be great from a fourth-line guy.

As for the Devils, it is tough to lose Bastian because building a good fourth line is important. However, he is just that at the end of the day; a fourth-liner. He is someone that they can replace by pushing others down the lineup. There are some good young forwards that are going to be inserted over the next few years so you never know how it all pans out in terms of a lineup.

Five defensemen to consider drafting at 29. light. Related Story

If the Devils play this right, all of their young guys can reach their prime around the same time. With studs like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier leading the way down the middle, the future has a chance to be very bright. Letting Seattle have Bastian in the expansion draft isn’t something to worry too much about. It is fine to wish him well but there will be other good fourth-liners to choose from.

Home/Editorials