It hasn’t been a banner offseason for the New Jersey Devils. Many are happy with the moves they made, like signing Connor Brown or retaining Cody Glass. However, the moves are small in scope. The Devils haven’t added someone who should be in the top six this season.
It’s very likely that many of the players they added this season end up with at least a few games with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, even if they aren’t there at first. Brown, Evgenii Dadonov, Arseniy Gristyuk, and maybe even a surprise like Angus Crookshank could get time in the top six. That shouldn’t be the case, but it is what it is.
Also is what it is would be the role of Stefan Noesen. Right now, he’s penciled in as a linemate of Timo Meier and the Devils’ captain. They played together last season, so it makes sense.
And they played well together. At least, that’s the perception. Nico Hischier had a career year. Timo Meier finally hit his stride in March. Noesen hit a career high in goals (22). After Jack Hughes went down with a shoulder injury, Hischier’s line with Meier and Noesen became the team’s top line.
This is a no-brainer, then. The Devils will pair Noesen with Meier and Hischier again, right?
There’s one major problem with that plan. Noesen is one of the slowest players in the NHL. Almost all of his goals came from inches in front of the net. He was elite at scoring from that area, but he was a one-trick pony for the most part. A very important pony, but a pony nonetheless.
If the Devils want to create more offense in a system like Sheldon Keefe’s, they need to turn defense into offense, and that leads to their need for speed. Especially in the top six, and especially with Timo Meier, the Devils need more speed.
Noesen-Hischier-Meier played 317 5v5 minutes together last season. Only Palat-Hughes-Bratt played more together according to Natural Stat Trick. Together, they dominated in high-danger chances, putting up 87 and only seeing 57 against, but the results are much worse. The trio only saw 12 goals scored and had 11 scored against them. If that’s going to be the result, Keefe needs to find a better combination.
If Noesen isn’t with Hischier, where does he fit? It might make even less sense to pair Noesen with Gritsyuk, who needs someone who can play alongside him to build his confidence. They could make it work with Dadonov, but then Gritsyuk is stuck without a proper linemate, and he is once again dealing with a language barrier.
That leaves the fourth line. Right now, the fourth line isn’t where the Devils might have hoped. Let’s say Dawson Mercer can play third-line center. Then, the fourth line would likely be Paul Cotter/Connor Brown-Cody Glass-Noesen.
That line is pretty good. However, it leaves a major hole in the top six. The Devils would likely be playing Ondrej Palat with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. We’ve been here. We don’t want to go there again. So, if Mercer takes Palat’s spot, that forces the Devils to make a hard decision about the lineup. Do they make the third line Gristyuk-Glass-Dadonov? Then, the Devils would have to find a spot in the lineup for Brown, Cotter, Noesen, and Palat. None of those players are centers.
So, on top of finding spots for them, they might have to play Juho Lammikko as their 4C.
Noesen will be in the lineup next season. The Devils can’t afford to lose a guy who just netted 22 goals. However, finding the right spot is harder than it seems. We guess the Devils will start with Noesen on the second line and then go from there.