New Jersey Devils Q&A - July 27, 2022

I answered questions re: optimal linemates for Holtz, what to do with Wood/Severson, and more.

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I haven’t done a Q&A post since before the heart of the off-season storm. Now that things have mostly settled league wide, I figured now was a good time to rectify that.

Let’s dive right in.

Q: How do you think the team ends up fitting Bratt/Wood under le cap?

I think they will try and trade Andreas Johnsson. The Devils have a lot of NHL caliber forwards on their roster and it simply doesn’t make sense to allocate that kind of cap space on someone playing such a limited role.

He only makes $750K in cash so he’d be attractive to teams around the cap floor who don’t want to spend much real money in the midst of a rebuild. The big question is whether there are any interested parties not on his 10-team no-trade list.

I don’t think moving Tatar is as much of a preference but, if necessary, he could be moved.

Q: What linemate combination would be optimal on opening night for Alex Holtz?

Holtz needs somebody on his line who can a) do the heavy lifting in terms of driving the puck through the neutral zone and; b) create shooting opportunities.

Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt are the team’s best forwards in those areas – by a mile – but there isn’t really a vacancy in the top-6.

Holtz would have to flat-out take a spot and force Lindy Ruff to go with a more balanced approach in order to have any of those guys on his line. I’m a little skeptical.

If that doesn’t happen, I think Tomas Tatar and Jesper Boqvist would probably be the optimal linemates in the bottom-6.

Tatar didn’t have the best season but he’s a hard-working player who will get pucks back and he’s a quality in-zone passer.

Boqvist has the skating – and growing confidence – required to rush the puck up ice for the line. He is also a pass-first player. In the games I tracked, Nico Hischier was the only Devils forward who posted a higher shot assist percentage than Boqvist at 5v5; 56.25% of Bo’s shot contributions were assists. He likes to distribute the puck, which could make him a match.

Q: Who is your favorite worst player of all time and favorite worst current active player?