Just about everyone hated when the New Jersey Devils traded a solid prospect in Zakhar Bardakov away for a sluggish career enforcer in Kurtis MacDermid, but the team appears to have finally rectified their mistake with a smart pivot.
The Devils traded MacDermid, 31, to the Travis Green-coached Ottawa Senators in exchange for another tough guy in Zack MacEwen, and, while nobody will confuse MacEwen for Jack Hughes on the ice, the new guy has looked legit in limited action so far.
The 29-year-old was, by the analytics, the Devils' most efficient player in Monday night's 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Islanders.
Despite playing just 9:35 across 14 shifts, MacEwen's 0.53 expected goals in all situations ranked fourth on the Devils, according to Moneypuck, trailing only the likes of Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, and Timo Meier.
Overall, MacEwen finished the narrow loss with a 5-on-5 expected goals percentage of 79.39%, having generated 0.36 expected goals and allowing an extremely meager 0.09 expected goals against.
Zack MacEwen continues to show he fits well with the New Jersey Devils
The lackluster performances from the fourth line often kept them off the ice, and for good reason, but the Devils may have stumbled upon a building block in that regard with MacEwen.
The journeyman is quick, physical, energetic, and possesses a hard shot, and he's not bleeding scoring chances, either. Again, not a superstar, but has his strengths and plays to them well enough to play a role.
This game was only the Devils' second real look at their most recent trade acquisition, as MacEwen went nearly a month between appearances with an upper-body injury.
Now that he's back and healthy, though, the burly 6-foot-4 forward has a clear path to regular playing time so long as he can continue to be dependable for Sheldon Keefe and Co. It helps, too, that assistant coach Brad Shaw already knows what MacEwen can bring; the two were together for 46 games in Philadelphia during the 2022-23 season.
Things can become complicated if and when Evgenii Dadonov returns from injury, but until then, a spot in the lineup is firmly within MacEwen's grasp.