The New Jersey Devils have a pretty interesting problem heading into the final stretch of training camp. They have too many forwards fighting for spots in the bottom six, and there simply aren't enough jobs for everyone.
Evan Rodrigues, Dawson Mercer, Arseny Gritsyuk, Cody Glass, Connor Brown, Amadeus Lombardi, Jesper Boqvist, Stefan Noesen and Colin White are all still in the mix. That's a lot of players fighting for what is really only a handful of spots.
Nick Bjugstad would also normally be part of this conversation, but he is out with a long-term injury. Because of that, he isn't really a factor in the current battle, and the Devils have to make these decisions without him.
Who stays, who goes?
The biggest part of this is figuring out what happens with Boqvist, White, and Noesen. All three are experienced NHL forwards, but it looks like the Devils could end up putting all three on waivers as they try to get their roster down to size. White was placed on waivers on Sunday, but he will be in the mix throughout the season.
Noesen is obviously the most interesting name of the three. If he does hit waivers, he should be one of the more appealing players available because of his NHL experience and what he can bring to a bottom-six role. There is no guarantee another team claims him, but he would probably be the player New Jersey has to worry about losing the most.
If the Devils do get all three through waivers, though, the bottom six starts to look pretty easy to figure out. Gritsyuk, Rodrigues and Mercer could make up the third line, while Lombardi, Glass and Brown would make up the fourth line.
There are some pretty interesting combinations there. Mercer has already established himself as an NHL player, while Rodrigues gives the Devils another experienced forward who can play in different spots. Gritsyuk is the younger player in that group but can also be seen as the scoring focus on the line.
The fourth line would look a little different. Lombardi is still young and needs to continue gaining experience, while Glass and Brown give the Devils NHL experience around him. It would give New Jersey a mix of younger players and veterans without having to make the lineup too old.
Do the Devils choose experience over youth?
The other option is where things get interesting. The Devils could decide that Lombardi would be better off starting the season in the American Hockey League (AHL). There, he can play bigger minutes and keep one of Noesen or Boqvist around as another veteran option. However, my colleague Nate Duffett wrote recently that it could be a mistake for the Devils to cut Lombardi.
That could make more sense if New Jersey doesn't want to put too much pressure on Lombardi right away. There is nothing wrong with sending a young player to the AHL if the team believes regular minutes will help him more than playing limited minutes in the NHL.
At the same time, the Devils have to figure out what they actually want from that fourth line. If they want more experience, keeping Noesen or Boqvist around makes sense. If they want to get younger and give Lombardi a chance, then the current group of him, Glass, and Brown could be the way to go.
That's really what this comes down to. New Jersey has more forwards than it has spots, and some players are going to end up being left out. The good news is, we should know within the next day or two what the Devils decide to do, with final rosters needing to be submitted on Monday, September 28th.
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