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A Look at the New Jersey Devils Ratings in NHL 13

August 18, 2012, 11:15 AM ET [128 Comments]
Todd Cordell
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
I'm not one to get all up tight about ratings in a video game, but since some people are and there isn't much else to talk about at this point in the off-season I'll take a look at how the New Jersey Devils players rate in NHL 13.

Below is the depth chart of how NHL 13 uses and rates the Devils team and lineup as well as some notes on my 'concerns'.

Devils team ratings: Offense (3.5), Defense (4), Goaltending (4).

Just so you can get a comparable of how the Devils rate, here's the Jets team ratings: Offense (4), Defense (4.5), Goaltending (4.5).

So a team that missed the playoffs that didn't make any dramatic changes has better offense, defense and goaltending than the team that just lost in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup? Okay then. To the player ratings we go...

Ilya Kovalchuk (90) - Travis Zajac (84) - Patrik Elias (82)
David Clarkson (81) - Adam Henrique (81) - Steve Bernier (74)
Ryan Carter (73) - Dainius Zubrus (79) - Cam Janssen (66)
Eric Boulton (66) - Jacob Josefson (75) - Stephen Gionta (64)

Adam Larsson (84)
Henrik Tallinder (83)
Anton Volchenkov (82)
Andy Greene, Marek Zidlicky (8)
Bryce Salvador, Mark Fayne (79)

Martin Brodeur (82)
Johan Hedberg (73)

Here are some of my concerns:

- Ilya Kovalchuk played all season at right wing, but is listed at left wing.
- Patrik Elias is listed as a right winger for who knows why. He's also only an 82 overall, despite finishing 10th in scoring last season.
- Brandon Dubinsky, who is coming off a terrible year for his standards, is rated 83 overall. Dubinsky is better than Elias? Okay then...
- David Clarkson is not a left winger. Period.
- Since when did Steve Bernier play top-6?
- The Devils would never, ever put Ryan Carter and Cam Janssen on their third line.
- Cam Janssen has better rates than Stephen Gionta, who is also listed at the wrong position.
- Eric Boulton is not on the team.
- I love Adam Larsson and he's the most talented Devils defenseman, but he only played in a handful of the Devils playoff games. Somehow he's five overall better than arguably the Devils two best defenseman in the playoffs.
- Martin Brodeur is an 82. Steve Mason is an 81. Enough said.
- Johan Hedberg is 73 overall. Michael Leighton is 75 overall.

That's a lot of concerns, and sadly the Devils aren't the only team that was poorly done. Here are a few other things that stood out to me when I looked at a couple other teams:

- Tyler Ennis is a 77 overall yet Ville Leino is rated 81 and is listed as the Sabres number one center.
- Christian Ehrhoff's name was spelled incorrect.
- Zybnek Michalek is 86 overall. Keith Yandle is 83 and Oliver Ekman-Larsson is 82. Coming off a bad season, I can see how Michalek is so much better.
- Luca Sbisa, who I really like, is 84 overall yet Cam Fowler is only a 77. That's a problem.

For people who care about NHL 13, and there are a lot of you, expect to be disappointed when looking at your favorite team's ratings.

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