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I'm still in the belief that some alterations to the forward core will be made before the season, but that's speculation more than anything else at this point.

I recently guessed what the Devils' defense will look like come October, so now I'm going to take a stab at projecting the forward combinations if they keep what they have.

With 14 forwards on one-way deals and Reid Boucher as well as Stefan Matteau expected to compete for roster spots, it's tough to predict exactly how everything will shake up.

My best guess:

Line One: Mike Cammalleri - Travis Zajac - Jaromir Jagr

Travis Zajac and Jarmomir Jagr were one of the best duos in hockey last year in terms of driving play, controlling the shot attempts, and generating goals, but there's still room for improvement.

Dainius Zubrus was the most regular winger to ride their coattails, and because of his mediocre finishing ability, a lot of good chances went to waste. In Mike Cammalleri the Devils added a very legitimate goal scoring threat, and he should compliment Zajac and Jagr quite well. If they can continually create more chances than their opposition (they did last year) than Cammalleri should be able to fill the net with regularity.

Line Two: Patrik Elias - Adam Henrique - Martin Havlat

Pete DeBoer has said long-term he sees Adam Henrique as a center, so I think he gets back to that early this season. Flanking Henrique will be Patrik Elias, who is still a very good top-6 forward, as well as his good friend and national teammate Martin Havlat. DeBoer has said he'd like to test Elias and Havlat out together, so I could see him going with this combination as the team's 2nd unit. Havlat's best days are behind him, but he's still capable of producing when healthy.

Line Three: Ryane Clowe - Dainius Zubrus - Michael Ryder

This is where things start to get dicey. If Ryane Clowe is healthy, and all indications are he currently is, I don't see a way where he's not playing in the top-9. I think DeBoer would rather a proven top-9 player like Zubrus centering this instead of Jacob Josefson, and Michael Ryder may be the best goal scoring right wing on the team, so I have him on the right side.

Despite Ryder's dreadful run of 30 games (?) without a goal he was still only a hair shy of 20, which isn't bad value for a guy making $3.5 million.

Ryder was actually good with Zubrus last season, too, so I could see them starting on a line together.



Line Four: Tuomo Ruutu - Stephen Gionta - Damien Brunner

There is just no way I can see the Devils playing two top-9 talents on the 4th line and paying them almost $6 million to do so, but with the current core in place they may just have to.

In this line, you get a mixed bag of talents. Ruutu is a versatile two-way winger who can help out on both ends, Gionta is an OK 4th line center who brings some speed, and Brunner is an inconsistent offensive talent who brings a nice speed dimension as well.

Extras: *** - Jacob Josefson - Steve Bernier

I figure Bernier will get a good chunk of games on the 4th line whenever a forward or two are moved out, but in the meantime I have him as an extra. Given his play last year, that may not be such a bad thing. Jacob Josefson is an interchangeable piece who will go into the lineup whenever there's an injury, and likely play on the 4th line while someone else moves up.

I still think the team will re-sign Ryan Carter, and I believe with a good camp Reid Boucher could make the team, so it'll be interesting to see how things shakeup here.

If the current roster remains intact, what line combinations would you go with?

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