The New Jersey Devils made moves to really solidify the depth they were missing last season. Thanks to injuries up and down the lineup, the Devils saw their offense dry up on multiple occasions. Of course, Jack Hughes’s hand injury had the biggest impact on the lineup, but losing him alone shouldn’t cause this team to tank completely.
Yet, that seems to happen every year. Nico Hischier is a top-20 center, but he is usually the only one contributing when Hughes isn’t at his best. Jesper Bratt has trouble getting the most out of his minutes when Hughes is not 100 percent or is out of the lineup completely.
They got some small moments of hope last season. One of those moments was the first run of Lenni Hameenaho. The former second-round pick and one of the few good draft decisions from Tom Fitzgerald, Hameenaho had two goals and two assists in his first six games.
From there, the offense pretty much dried up. He had four points, including zero goals, over the next 27 games. He clearly hit a rookie wall, but the Devils were playing with a shortened roster, and Sheldon Keefe still felt like he was the best option.
This season, Hameenaho’s spot in the lineup is hardly guaranteed. In fact, without an injury, it seems like he will be the odd man out on the depth chart. With Hameenaho, the Devils have 24 NHL players on the roster. Adding depth players like Jesper Boqvist, Evan Rodrigues, Declan Chisholm, and David Ritiich puts the Devils' roster over the top in terms of bodies.
Of course, a trade might still be on the horizon. Sunny Mehta’s Devils have not released rumors, with the Jacob Markstrom trade and Anthony Mantha signing coming out of nowhere. With so many distracted by the Quinn Hughes conversation, they could make a big forward trade without anyone seeing it coming. That could open the door for Hameenaho to enter the lineup.
As the roster is currently constructed, where would Hameenaho fit? For one, it would take a bold move by Sunny Mehta, like sending Stefan Noesen or Boqvist down to the AHL to start the season.
Even so, the most likely place for Lenni Hameenaho is where he was playing last season: the third line.
Of every line the Devils trotted out last season, Hameenaho, Cody Glass, and Arseny Gritsyuk had the fifth-most minutes. In 123 minutes together, they had about 60% of the chances on the ice. They scored seven goals and only allowed three. If Mantha plays in the top six over Gritsyuk, then it might make sense for the Devils to keep Hameenaho in the lineup. That line worked so well, it’s worth running back.
It was when Gritsyuk moved up in the lineup that ruined Hameenaho’s performance. He was terrible when the Devils replaced Grits with Nick Bjugstad. Even with Jesper Bratt on that line, the Devils did not play well. There was a chemistry with Gritsyuk on that line, and they couldn’t replicate it.
If the Devils can’t commit to Grits-Glass-Lenni, then they should let him dominate the AHL a little more. The Utica Comets could use a stacked deck to start the season, especially with how badly last season started. However, Hameenaho can definitely prove himself to be an NHL player in the right situation.
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