Coming off a nice preseason win against the New York Islanders, the New Jersey Devils seem to be giving previews of what we would see on the ice once the regular season is here. One of those previews is newly acquired winger Evgenii Dadonov playing on the top line alongside Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt.
Dadonov looked great, scoring a goal while also drawing a penalty in the win. The top line trio produced a total of five points as Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt each had two assists.
If this line remains the same for the first game of the season, it would be a very interesting move. It makes you think if this was what Tom Fitzgerald and Sheldon Keefe envisioned when they signed Dadonov, probably thinking that Ondrej Palat up top just wasn't sustainable if he's still on the team.
Evgenii Dadonov might be the top-line forward the New Jersey Devils have been looking for
Dadonov finished last season with 40 points in 80 games, which is 12 more points than Palat, who had 28 points in 77 games. Dadonov also averaged 2.2 points per 60 minutes, while Palat averaged an underwhelming 1.35 points per 60 minutes, a huge difference between the veteran wingers. Not only that, but Dadonov's shooting percentage was far better than Palat's. Evgenii finished the season with a 16.3% while Ondrej ended around 10%. With the playmaking abilities of Hughes and Bratt, this would open a ton of scoring chances for the newly acquired winger.
With Ondrej Palat possibly off the top line for the beginning of the regular season, this move would drop him down to the third line alongside Cody Glass and Connor Brown. The Devils desperately need Palat to play up to what he's getting paid, something that probably won't happen, but a line change may show small signs of it.