The New Jersey Devils have now lost Jack Hughes to Covid-19 protocols. Despite certain precautions we’ve seen this season, the Devils are now without their best player after the All-Star break. For the game against the Senators, the team’s lineups currently look like they will be as follows.
Shara-Hischier-Bratt
Boqvist-Zacha-Vesey
Johnsson-Mercer-Tatar
Kuok-McLeod-Bastian
Siegenthaler-Severson
Smith-Subban
White-Graves
Looking at this lineup, it is a good thing the team is playing another awful team. Even against the Senators, this lineup is going to have to fight hard to win. When it comes down to it, and while it might be unpopular with some people, it would be better for this team to drop the next two games in the long run for a few reasons.
1. The Devils need to address the coaching staff, and losses might for Tom Fitzgerald to make a move.
2. The NHL Draft. We don’t want to be in this spot, but the Devils really could use a top 3 or top 5 picks over being in that 6-10 range again because they need top-end talent.
Right now with the missing players the team is running a second line, at best, as their top line, have a third line and two fourth lines at forward. Goals are probably going to be few and far between and it is really up to Bratt to carry the workload as the only guy who can drive the play in the lineup. On defense, the team is back to the last few years with Hamilton gone for the time being. Pair this with two current AHL goalies and it is #PainforShane(Wright) time.
As for the current rumors circulating around the hockey world, the Vancouver Canucks have been linked to the Devils a few times now. This should probably get fans excited. The first player that keeps coming up is Connor Garland, who is generally called an analytics darling and we all know how much the Devils care about that.
This season in Vancouver, Garland has 10 goals and 14 assists in 41 games. That is pretty good and he would be tied for third on the Devils in points with Nico Hischier. He does have a short history but in the two previous seasons, he got 39 points in 49 and 68 games respectively.
Offensively, he would be a great addition and the team needs some sure things in the middle of the lineup but he would need to play a feisty game because while height/60 is not a big deal, the more we watch this team play soft the more grit becomes an issue. Garland does play bigger than his size for sure, but his frame is a little concerning. This has had steam for a few weeks now so expect him moved at the deadline either to the Devils or elsewhere, but this should probably be a no for Tom Fitzgerald.
The other player who may be moved is Brock Boeser. Boeser is a legit goal-scorer and just hitting his prime at 24 years old, which makes him perfect for quite literally any team in the league. He doesn’t have the same steam as a Garland trade, but the rumors are out there.
This one comes down to price for teams, and the Canucks have so many bad deals in their history that their cap situation is in bad shape. Boeser’s contract is up this season and he is currently making 5.5 million so like everyone he will be expecting a raise. The Devils have room and with Subban off the books, the team can afford to spend a little so if they do acquire him a contract of 7million would hopefully satisfy both sides.
The last rumor is that Pavel Zacha is finally being shopped and teams are interested, as per Hockey Buzz. Though he is by no means a great source compared to the insiders at TSN or Sportsnet up in Canada, this does give some hope the Devils could move on from Zacha. Hopefully, Vancouver is one of the interested teams, and while a 1 for 1 is out of the question if the Devils lower the price by throwing him in they should take it and run. Zacha has 11 goals which is one less than Boeser and one more than Garland which could easily fool someone who does not watch him and should play to the Devil’s advantage.