If New Jersey Devils are done making moves, who are Jack Hughes's linemates?

The New Jersey Devils had big questions to answer this offseason. Their bottom six needed a major overhaul, and most of us can say that happened. They needed to secure their goalie tandem, and a smart yet surprising contract for Jake Allen did just that. There were some depth moves to help, especially at center. The Devils have the pieces to compete, especially in a weaker Metropolitan Division. 

Unfortunately, one addition, and subsequent subtraction, that didn’t happen was an upgrade in the top six. Not only were the signings and trades made this offseason at forward solely focused on the bottom six (at least on paper), but they also failed to drop most of their bad contracts, outside Erik Haula. 

The latest line predictions had Devils fans in stitches. It was one name in the top six who had them upset, but truly, two are stressing people out. 

Of course, a random Twitter/X post from the NHL doesn't come directly from Head Coach Sheldon Keefe or his thought process, but seeing the lines on paper does give guidance of what the Devil are facing going into this season. There are four players who are top-six players. The rest are the Devils hoping players can play above their heads.

The biggest gripe was with Ondrej Palat. Most Devils fans were hoping Palat and his $6 million salary was in another city next season. As we head into August, it seems more and more likely he will be on the roster. With his familiarity with Jack Hughes, is he the most likely player to spend time on the Devils' top line?

While Palat had some moments last year paired with Hughes and Jesper Bratt, his aggregate impact is a negative one. For every takeaway in the offensive zone that led to a goal, Palat had two or three bad passes or mistakes in the neutral zone that ended a possession in its tracks.

There has to be someone better than Ondrej Palat to pair with Jack Hughes

When looking at options to pair with Jack Hughes, the Devils can go in multiple directions. The first and most obvious non-Palat option is Dawson Mercer. For now, many expect Mercer to be the team’s third-line center, but he’s said he would rather play on the wing. 

Mercer played roughly 70 minutes of 5v5 with Hughes last season according to Natural Stat Trick. That’s not a ton, but it’s a decent enough sample size. They were great together. On the ice, Mercer and Hughes saw their offense score five goals, and the opposition only scored once in those 70 minutes.  

It wasn’t even just luck. The Devils had 18 high-danger chances with these two playing in tandem. It was just 11 HDCA when they were on the ice. 

Away from Hughes, Mercer was dreadful last season. He was on the ice for as many goals for as goals against (34). He was thoroughly average on every other line. Hughes was good with all linemates, but he was actually great with Mercer. Sometimes, the easiest decision is often the best.

There are a few other options the Devils can utilize. Evgenii Dadonov was an interesting signing this offseason, and he has a chance to be really good with the Devils. Many think he will be paired with Arseniy Gritsyuk to help him with his language barrier, but Keefe won’t specifically impact his top line just to help a rookie acclimate to the NHL. If Dadonov proves to be the right player on Hughes’s line, then he should be there.

Speaking on Gritsyuk, he has a chance to secure this spot, as well. He has incredible skating, and his shooting looks like it should be decent. He hasn’t scored that much in the KHL, but he might explode in the NHL. We’ve seen that happen before based on those rare players who better acclimate to the speed of the NHL.

Paul Cotter has an outside chance to play alongside Hughes. Cotter has all the physical tools, and he would be a great option to protect Hughes. He isn’t afraid to hit someone, and players would think twice when targeting Hughes with Cotter on the ice. 

Keefe tried the Cotter connection last season, and it wasn’t great, but there was an element of bad luck. Despite putting up 60 percent of the high-danger chances, Cotter and Hughes only saw two goals scored while they were on the ice. 

We haven’t mentioned Timo Meier, and there’s a reason for that. The Devils have tried this. A lot. It just doesn’t work. For whatever reason, Meier and Hughes don’t gel as linemates. 

For our money, we’re hoping it’s Dawson Mercer to start. They can figure out the third-line center position with other players. Mercer makes too much sense on the first line based on what he’s done in the past and because we think he will do much better in year two of Keefe’s system.