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When the New Jersey Devils traded Adam Larsson for Taylor Hall they created a big hole on defense.

Making the move was absolutely the right decision but the Devils' blue line wasn't exactly loaded with quality to begin with and that now holds even more true.

In an effort to patch up the back end the Devils signed veteran defenseman Ben Lovejoy.

It seems like Lovejoy playing on a shutdown pairing with Andy Greene is a realistic possibility but, after looking into the numbers, I think Damon Severson would be best served eating up top pairing minutes at even-strength.

Should Severson fill Larsson's spot on the top unit then Lovejoy will find himself playing on the second pairing.

Obviously training camp/preseason will help sort things out but, as it stands, I think John Moore would be the best option to play by his side.

Lovejoy is good positionally and can do some things on the defensive side of the puck. Skating nor puck moving are strong suits, though, so he'll need some help there.

With Moore there is definite room for improvement on the defensive side of the puck but skating and moving it up ice are his best attributes.

I think they would complement each other nicely. Lovejoy can help recover the puck in the defensive zone - or prevent the opposition from entering - and once he does that he can slide it over to Moore and let him skate it out of trouble.

Obviously it won't be that simple all the time but I think the two would be a good match given one player's weakness is the other's strength.

We'll find out in a couple months if the coaching staff is on the same page.

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