Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Arseny Gritsyuk, Luke Hughes, and Nico Hischier are the only players on the New Jersey Devils roster with more points than Evan Rodrigues. Only Jack Hughes, Hischier, and Gritsyuk have more goals. Rodrigues has six goals and five assists this season.
The Devils have been an xG wagon, and Rodrigues is one of the few players not living up in the analytics department. But this is what makes Sunny Mehta so special as a GM. Rodrigues has always lived a little beyond those underlying numbers. He can make an impact in so many different ways.
When the Devils added Rodrigues this offseason, the situation fell under the radar because of what was going the other way. The Devils sent Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers, unloading a $6 million per year contract and getting something in return.
The Devils also got Jesper Boqvist, who has been incredible since getting into the lineup early in the season. Boqvist has six goals and four assists in 19 games. Sheldon Keefe has put Boqvist on a line with Rodrigues, but the Devils' best lineup has Boqvist next to Cody Glass and either Lenni Hameenaho or Amadeus Lombardi.
That leaves Rodrigues to center the third line. This is an interesting position that the Devils have been trying to fill for years.
Evan Rodrigues fills a role the Devils needed, which makes him their most important acquisition
The same can be said about the winger position next to Jack Hughes, but the Devils found an internal candidate in Arseny Gritsyuk. It can also be said about Connor Hellebuyck, but it's too early to judge that move, even with him going 7-0-0 to start his Devils career.
Luke Evangelista looked like a slam dunk for this honor, but he's really slowed down as of late. He has 11 points in 18 games, which is still good based on what they paid to get him. Anthony Mantha had looked better, but he got hurt.
Amadeus Lombardi and Declan Chisholm have both been great, especially for what the Devils paid to get them, but Rodrigues has been better.
The scoring streak will probably die down. Rodrigues came to the Devils to play with an edge and dominate on the third line. He’s been doing that, but he’s added a scoring touch to boot. Rodrigues would be a surprise if he’s the best addition at the end of the season, but after a two-goal performance on Saturday in an important win for the Devils against the Washington Capitals, the Devils clearly made the right decision getting Rodrigues in the Markstrom deal.
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