Pavel Zacha
GP:70 G:15 A:21 PTS:36
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:82 G:15 A:17 PTS: 32
Did Zacha get more points than predicted? Yes, he did.
Devils fans know that this doesn’t tell the story at all for the player. Fortunately, there seems to be a good chance he is out the door based on comments at the end of the season from the GM and organization. He has the big frame this team needs and has never thought to use it. He gets pushed off the puck constantly and the worst part about it is that he will always just quit on the play and puts almost no effort into backchecking. While he was credited with 80 hits on the season this is one of the many cases in which I have no idea who counts this stat or sometimes what even counts as a hit in a game-by-game basis. It is a stat, one of the few, in which the eye test is the way to go. He has no place in the top six and this team can’t afford a soft defensive liability in the bottom six so it is time to move on.
Rating: F
Andreas Johnsson
GP:71 G:13 A:22 PTS:35
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:65 G:7 A:8 PTS: 15
For a guy who had such a bad first season with the team, Andreas Johnsson did manage to turn it around at the start of the year. He looked more like the player he was in Toronto but in the back half of the season, he tailed off and got very little done, being not noticed for large chunks of games like a lot of this team. Mercer rejuvenated him early but he will have to find chemistry elsewhere because as it stands now he should be further up the lineup and won’t be paired with Johnsson. He will be playing for a third-line role next year and he could even be on the chopping block as the team tries to improve but he does have a leg up on some of the other options.
Rating: C
Jesper Boqvist
GP:56 G:10 A:13 PTS:23
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:25 G:3 A:4 PTS: 7
Jesper Boqvist looked like a man passed over but in the latter half of the season, he looked pretty good in a depth role. His skating was as strong as ever but he looked more willing to drive the net and try to push the play a lot more than in previous seasons. As it stands right now he would be my choice to center the third line if this roster does not add one.