From the bolded, there are only 11 proven, true NHL forwards on the roster. Now, I have no doubt that Arseni Gritsyuk is ready to jump onto the second or third line, but he is not necessarily guaranteed a lineup spot. But he has an advantage there, given that one of their possible planned fourth line centers, Juho Lammikko, has not been in the NHL for a couple years. Gritsyuk making an impact in preseason would likely push Lammikko to the 13th forward role, with Mercer having to play third-line center to make things work. In any case, the Devils should not consider their roster a final product as of this moment.<\/p>\n
Safe 7D Options in Kovacevic\u2019s Absence<\/p>\n
Jon Merrill \u2014 <\/strong>33 years old, 70 games played (14:06 ATOI) for Minnesota Wild, 6 points, 46.04 xGF%<\/p>\n While Merrill played a lot of games for Minnesota last season, he should probably be taking more of a depth role at this point of his career. Devils fans have not seen him since the 2016-17 season, when he was just coming into his own as a pretty decent third pairing defenseman. Vegas, of course, would have Merrill for most of his best years after New Jersey did not protect him in the expansion draft. Still unsigned in August after four years with Minnesota, the he would be a good fit as a defensive fill-in if someone like Brenden Dillon or Jonas Siegenthaler had to miss a game. If there\u2019s one thing Jon Merrill can do, it\u2019s get the puck out of the defensive zone.<\/p>\n TJ Brodie<\/strong> \u2014 35 years old, 54 games played (15:38 ATOI) for Chicago Blackhawks, 10 points, 45.35 xGF%<\/p>\n Brodie played for head coach Sheldon Keefe for four seasons in Toronto, contributing 26 points with a 49.50 xGF% in both of their final seasons for the Leafs. Brodie may be a few years past his prime years, but he nears the 1000-game mark with a career average ice time of 21:52 per game. If nothing else, Brodie can provide more of a veteran factor in the locker room while possibly having more in the tank that he wasn\u2019t showing for a bottom-feeding team like Chicago. Brodie was bought out by Chicago this offseason, and a more appropriate place would certainly be filling in for a playoff hopeful.<\/p>\n Max Pacioretty \u2014 <\/strong> 36 years old, 37 games played (13:30 ATOI) for Toronto Maple Leafs, 13 points, 49.26 xGF%<\/p>\n Pacioretty might not be the 60-point two-way forward he once was, but he may be able to contribute in a bottom six role. Perhaps knowing he is not the scoring threat he once was, Pacioretty increasingly plays with an edge befitting a third or fourth-liner. With Toronto, Pacioretty was credited with 105 hits, just 14 short of the career-high that he set in Vegas in 2019 in 29 more games played that season. Maybe Toronto overcounts hits a little bit, but Pacioretty was seventh on the team and fourth among forwards (just above Ryan Reaves) in terms of hit count. If he can bring that to the Devils while maintaining his 11-goal, 29-point pace that he played to in Toronto last season, he would at least make the bottom six tougher to play against than last season. Per the tracking data from All Three Zones<\/a>, Pacioretty still has a great defensive impact with very proactive play for an older winger. He may be an ideal match for a line that features Paul Cotter, as Pacioretty needs someone to carry the puck into the offensive zone for him so he can help begin the cycle.<\/p>\n Kevin Labanc \u2014 <\/strong>29 years old, 34 games played (10:30 ATOI) for Columbus Blue Jackets, 12 points, 54.57 xGF%<\/p>\n While an injury slowed Labanc down, culminating in a season-ending shoulder surgery<\/a>, Labanc actually played pretty well for Columbus in a fourth-line role. With him on the ice, Columbus outscored opponents 13-12, and Labanc did the most important thing a fourth-liner can do: he did not do anything stupid on the ice. HockeyViz\u2019s sG metric still rates Labanc as a middle-six option based off of his performance in Columbus. The only question is whether Labanc can stay healthy enough to play his support-role game successfully.<\/p>\n HockeyViz<\/p>\n If you were looking for a bottom six burner or big hitter, Labanc might not be the guy. But he does play a responsible two-way game, and he might even be able to eat up third-line minutes if there are injuries up the lineup. Plus, Labanc would be at least somewhat familiar with his teammates, having played on a PTO with the Devils last year before he signed with Columbus.<\/p>\n Craig Smith \u2014 <\/strong>36 years old (as of September 5), 59 games played for Chicago and Detroit (11:20 ATOI), 18 points, 42.95 xGF%<\/p>\n Smith is not the player he once was, but he still does a lot of things on the ice that may make him useful to a competitive team. Per All Three Zones<\/a>, Smith still creates a ton of offense from the wing, shooting low to create rebounds far above the average player, while looking for players in front of the net who can deflect pucks past the goaltender. See his full tracking card from All Three Zones below:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/playerIsolate-labanke95-2425.png\"\/)
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