Nothing about this New Jersey Devils season has been good. However, there are some aspects that are worse than others. Jacob Markstrom being a major issue, then Tom Fitzgerald signing for two more years of this disaster, is at the top of the list of long-term problems. Their lack of offense is not far behind, with Timo Meier going cold, again, Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes losing their scoring touches, and the secondary scoring going ghost.
An underrated issue was something we could all see coming into the preseason. The Devils are missing a center in the bottom six. Technically speaking, they have four centers. Jack Hughes is back to playing on the top line after spending a little time with Nico Hischier. Cody Glass has been really good for his role this season, but he’d be best suited as a shutdown line leader with offensive upside.
Going into the preseason, the Devils had those three centers signed, and then a bunch of question marks. They signed Juho Lammikko out of Finland’s National League, but he should be a 14th forward who jumps in during extreme situations. The fact that he was just put on waivers shows his impact this season.
Paul Cotter and Dawson Mercer have played center before, but they are much better suited on the wing.
So, the Devils ended up signing Luke Glendening to a professional tryout. He was decent enough in the preseason to get an NHL deal. In five preseason games, he had a goal and an assist. Most of his statistics were slightly positive (including CF%, high-danger chance percentage, and goals scored vs. goals against). Glendening was more impactful than not, but looking back, was that good enough when half of the game was played against prospects and AHL players?
This season, Glendening has been terrible. He has zero goals and just four assists in 48 games played. His line has been on the ice for just six goals but 18 goals against at 5v5, according to Natural Stat Trick. Of players who have played at least 10 games, Glendening has the worst goals scored per 60 of anyone on the team. His line is scoring fewer than one goal per 60 minutes of ice time.
The Devils cannot keep him on the ice on a nightly basis when his offensive output is nonexistent. They need to find a better solution.
And that solution is already on the roster. Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe has to think extra hard when looking at this situation, but he should easily make this work with double shifts and an all-in effort.
The New Jersey Devils need to get creative to solve their center problem
Keefe has been resistant in the past to lineups with 11 forwards and seven defensemen in the past, but the 11-7 format has never made more sense. He’s talked about Dougie Hamilton’s recent play making it impossible for him to be a healthy scratch, causing him to have a hard decision between Simon Nemec and Johnny Kovacevic every night. Nemec and Kovacevic couldn’t be more different as defensemen. Nemec is a high-energy offensive star with serious defensive deficiencies. Kovacevic thrives when the game slows down and becomes low event.
Putting them both on the ice has an overall positive effect on the team.
So, if the Devils go 11-7, someone has to sit, and the most obvious option is Glendening. The only reason it wouldn’t be him is that he can take faceoffs. That’s a terrible reason to make lineup decisions. Gledening is hurting this team way more than he’s helping, so it’s time for him to sit.
The Devils should take a rotating approach to fourth-line center. Everyone who can play center should play center in this scenario.
Right now, the Devils have Lammikko and Paul Cotter playing wing on the fourth line, but the Devils could put Lenni Hameenaho in there to have their most talented lineup. Glendening is currently playing around 10-13 shifts per game. Let’s break the average down to 12 and see how we can make this work.
If Jack Hughes plays two extra shifts per game, Nico Hischier three, Dawson Mercer three, Cody Glass two, Connor Brown two (with Cotter playing center), and Timo Meier two, that only adds about a minute or two of ice time for each player, and it gives the defense a different look every time.
The Devils have been way too predictable this season, and the issue stems from the system being easy to predict. Playing Jack Hughes twice a game with Cotter and Hameenaho would really help throw teams off. Then, coming off that with Timo Meier on the fourth line would give it a completely different feel.
The Devils have to do something about Glendening. They have to have a hard look at the entire roster and understand where things aren’t working. Glendening isn’t working, and if they want to make a realistic run back into playoff contention, he can’t stay in the lineup.