The New Jersey Devils had a serious issue last season. They were devastatingly low on center depth. So, when Jack Hughes got hurt, they had no choice but to play a struggling Erik Haula and Dawson Mercer in the top six. Then, they traded for Cody Glass, but he wasn’t the right player to put in that position, either. And with a matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes on the horizon, the Devils were not in a good place at the position.
The Devils did extra work to get themselves center depth this offseason. They re-signed Glass despite rumors to the contrary. They also signed Angus Crookshank and Juho Lammikko, traded for Thomas Bordeleau, and added Kevin Rooney and Luke Glendening to professional tryouts.
Tom Fitzgerald added serious competition to training camp, but some had a leg up on others. With Stefan Noesen’s injury, it opened the door for another one to make the roster. Many thought Juho Lammikko might be the player to take advantage of said opportunity.
This offseason, the Devils signed Lammikko to a one-way contract, which usually indicates that a team expects the player to make the NHL roster. Lammikko came into camp with that as an advantage, but it wasn’t going to hand him the job.
Lammikko hasn’t been in the NHL in three years, so there might have been some rust to his game. Maybe it wasn’t fair to expect him to immediately make an impact, but we had to expect more than we got.
He has been on the ice for some decent offensive possessions, especially when he’s playing alongside Arseny Gritsyuk, but Lammikko needed to be better in certain areas to earn his spot.
The 29-year-old center has won just 12 of his 29 faceoffs. With Jack Hughes already set to lose too many faceoffs, the Devils need the bottom sit to get possession as much as possible.
Meanwhile, Lammikko’s direct competition Luke Glendening has won 21 of his 43 faceoffs. Kevin Rooney is even better. Glendening is also doing a lot more while on the ice. Lammikko has him beat in individual high-danger chances (four to three), but Glendening is winning in individual chances (12 to six), shots (six to four), and he’s scored a goal.
There are still two preseason games to prove their worth, but the Devils probably know that Lammikko needs to restart his career in the AHL before coing back to the Devils. Hopefully, he makes it through waivers.