We have finally made it.
Welcome to game week! The New Jersey Devils begin their 2026-27 season in a few days, opening in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Thursday night. It was a long offseason that featured no playoff hockey, a change at general manager, and a plethora of moves among both the players and the coaching staff. We all have our concerns about this team, and I have no doubt there will be plenty of moments throughout the season when the Devils make me question if they’re the worst team ever.
But right now, I am just excited to see my favorite team play meaningful games once more.
Along with the concerns, I am also optimistic about a lot of things this team has to offer. In particular, the forward depth that Sunny Mehta has amassed has me envisioning grand plans for this group. Out are players who brought a whole lot of nothing, such as Ondrej Palat, Paul Cotter, Luke Glendening, and Juho Lammikko among others. In their place come Luke Evangelista, Anthony Mantha, Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and Amadeus Lombardi. All of those players have various question marks attached to them, but even the most pessimistic of Devils fans can probably agree that this new crop of forwards should be LEAGUES better than the ones who were jettisoned this offseason.
Just take a look at this group, which is how the Devils lined up in their preseason finale over the weekend and will almost certainly be what New Jersey ices on Opening Night:
The biggest question remaining at forward is who grabs the 12th forward spot between Lombardi, Stefan Noesen, and Jesper Boqvist. The other big question was going to be if the Devils keep three goaltenders on their roster and have only one extra forward, but David Rittich was placed on waivers yesterday, giving us our answer…except Mehta also claimed goaltender Remi Poirier off of waivers from the Dallas Stars. So it looks like the Devils will be rolling with three goaltenders after all. But whether they go with 13 or 14 forwards on the NHL roster, the lines are set, and this is arguably the deepest forward group the Devils have put together in years.
But as we all know, injuries will inevitably strike this team. That’s not even me being a doomer, as every team in the league suffers through varying waves of injuries. In New Jersey’s case, it’s been a horrorcore nightmare of an injury report over the last few seasons, but perhaps this year is finally the year that the big guns stay mostly healthy. Still, when players do miss (hopefully brief) time, it’s good to have some backup plans at the ready, and the added forward depth gives New Jersey some terrific options if needed. What would those backup plans be if I were in charge? Let’s go through them and see how this lineup could look if any of the regulars hit the IR.
The Hischier Line
If Hischier misses time
Top backup: Evan Rodrigues
If the captain goes down, I don’t think the solution is as simple as slotting Jack Hughes in between Timo Meier and Luke Evangelista. My preference would be to keep the Hughes line intact and move one of the bottom six centers up. In this case, my top choice would be Evan Rodrigues. A big factor to me is that Rodrigues spent a ton of time on the Florida Panthers’ top line during their Stanley Cup runs. He might not have been the perfect running mate for Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart, but he got the job done. As someone who has proven to be a valuable piece on a championship team’s top unit, I trust Rodrigues to keep the seat warm until Hischier gets back, complementing Meier and Evangelista in just the right way to keep that line afloat.
If Meier misses time
Top backups: Arseni Gritsyuk, Dawson Mercer
I am of the opinion that Arseni Gritsyuk is going to have a big year. Maybe not point-per-game big, but big enough to where we’re talking about him being one of the best third liners in the NHL. If Meier misses time, I think Gritsyuk could fill those shoes extremely well with Hischier and Evangelista. Like Meier, Gritsyuk is a shooter. He is also a strong play-driver, so it’s not like that element would be missed either. I think Gritsyuk could absolutely feast on a line with two players in Hischier and Evangelista who can make plays and drive possession incredibly well. If not Gritsyuk, I think the Devils can go back to the well with Dawson Mercer on Hischier’s line. I think he’s a more limited player than Gritsyuk, but we have years of sample size at this point that tells us that Mercer can perform admirably with Hischier as his center.
If Evangelista misses time
Top backups: Dawson Mercer, Arseni Gritsyuk
Basically the same thing, except in this case, Mercer would be my top choice. As stated, Mercer has a wealth of experience playing with Hischier, and especially on a line with Hischier and Meier. This line can work, we’ve seen it before. Slotting Mercer in would keep this line chugging while minimizing the disruption to the rest of the lineup. If not Mercer, Gritsyuk would be my next choice for all the reasons already mentioned.
The Hughes Line
If Hughes misses time
Top backup: Cody Glass
Much like with the Hischier line, I’d rather not shift the other top six center to the other top six line. My preference would be to keep the other scoring line intact and dip into the bottom six to fill the center position. And in this case, instead of Rodrigues stepping up, I’d rather have Glass slot in for Hughes. The reason is because I think trying to take full advantage of Jesper Bratt’s playmaking ability would be the way to go. I view Glass as more of a shooter/goal-scorer than Rodrigues. Glass almost certainly won’t shoot 18.1% this season, but his penchant for generating deflections and other shots from in tight are real. With Glass and Anthony Mantha on the same line, I think Glass can drive play defensively, Bratt can drive play offensively, and Bratt can absolutely load up on apples with Glass and Mantha crashing the net and slot at will in the offensive zone.
If Bratt misses time
Top backups: Luke Evangelista, Dawson Mercer
Here is the one exception to my “don’t disrupt the other top six line” rule. Bratt has been an iron man for the Devils since the two pandemic-shortened seasons, missing a grand total of seven games since the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign. If this just so happens to be the year he finally misses time again, I think Evangelista would be the perfect replacement. Both are playmakers through and through. Both drive play extremely well, though in Evangelista’s case he brings a little less offensive juice but much more defensive juice. Mantha and Hughes can fill the net at will, so I would love to keep the dynamic of that line mostly the same by slotting one playmaker in for another. As for the Hischier line, the big reason I would be ok with breaking that line up is because I can fill Evangelista’s spot with Mercer, who as we’ve discussed, has a long track record with Hischier and Meier. Mercer would also be my second choice after Evangelista to replace Bratt, as he has shown over the years that he can complement Hughes well.
If Mantha misses time
Top backups: Arseni Gritsyuk, Connor Brown
If Mantha is out, which is a very real possibility given his track record, I think Gritsyuk is the logical choice. His play-driving and shooting ability would be a great complement to Hughes and Bratt. After Gritsyuk I’d go with Brown to see if the Bratt-Hughes-Brown trio can rekindle some of the magic they showed together post-Olympics a season ago.
The Rodrigues Line
If Rodrigues misses time
Top backup: Cody Glass
This one is pretty straightforward. Bumping Glass up to the third line would be pretty easy considering Glass held down the 3C role last year, and he showed some real chemistry with Gritsyuk a season ago (their line with Lenni Hameenaho played together for about 123 minutes at 5-on-5, generating an Expected Goals% of 55.74 according to Natural Stat Trick). I sort of view Mercer as the fully developed version of Hameenaho at this point, so I think the fit would work well between the three of them.
If Gritsyuk misses time
Top backups: Jesper Boqvist, Stefan Noesen
If Gritsyuk goes down, the question would be how to fill his scoring shoes on the third line. After thinking about it for a bit, I think the unconventional answer might be…to not even try. I considered bumping Mantha down to the third line, but like I’ve said, I really don’t want to disturb the top six lines if I don’t need to. So I think instead of trying to replace Gritsyuk’s scoring, the better way to go would be to alter the third line’s identity in general. Jesper Boqvist and Stefan Noesen bring varying degrees of defensive strength to the lineup. I think putting them on a line with a genuinely excellent defensive center in Glass and a solid defensive winger in Mercer would help make this unit a great pure shutdown trio that opposing teams would hate to skate against.
If Mercer misses time
Top backups: Connor Brown, Stefan Noesen
Perish the thought of one of the NHL’s ultimate iron men missing time! But if this, at long last, is the year Mercer has to miss a game, then this one is pretty straightforward to me. Simply promote one of New Jersey’s depth righties to the Glass line and call it a day.
The Glass Line
If Glass misses time
Top backup: Jesper Boqvist
I was tempted to put Amadeus Lombardi here, but I think it would be better to ease Lombardi into the NHL at wing first. That way he can develop some confidence with less responsibility on his plate, then slide into a center role in the future when his development warrants it. For now, I’ll take Boqvist as the fourth line center for Glass. He almost certainly won’t bring as much defensive utility as Glass, but Boqvist isn’t exactly a slouch in this regard. His speed and tenacity would fill a fourth line role extremely well.
If Lombardi misses time
Top backups: Jesper Boqvist, Stefan Noesen
Very straightforward here. If one of the newest Devils (and a player Sunny Mehta has high hopes for) misses time, simply sub in one of the presumed extras in Boqvist or Noesen. No need to overthink this.
If Brown misses time
Top backups: Stefan Noesen, Jesper Boqvist
Rise and repeat. Aside from maybe flipping the preferred order due to handedness, treat this the same as Lombardi: swap in one of the extras and call it a day.
Final Thoughts And Your Take
Obviously players missing time due to injury isn’t ideal, but I hope going through this exercise has illuminated the point that the forward depth is in a MUCH better spot than it has been since arguably 2022-23. I believe that the Devils’ presumed extras, Boqvist and Noesen, would be regulars in a lot of teams’ lineups, which speaks to how stacked this forward group is top to bottom. And if anyone misses time, then as everything we’ve discussed today tells us, the backup plans are strong.
What do you make of these alternatives to the planned Opening Night lineup? Which injury replacements do you disagree with? How confident are you in the forward depth in general? As always, thanks for reading!
