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On Thursday the New Jersey Devils announced their top center, Travis Zajac, will miss the next four-to-six months recovering from surgery to repair a torn pec.
In a perfect world Zajac could return in late December but, realistically, it will probably take longer than that for him to a) recover and; b) get up to playing speed again.
I have many thoughts:
1) The playoffs were always a longshot but the Devils' chances have perhaps gone from slim to none with Zajac expected to miss a big chunk of games.
He probably doesn't get the credit he deserves because of his contract but he's an extremely important piece for the Devils.
He has been handed the toughest assignments possible for years now and has handled himself quite nicely.
Zajac may not be a game-breaker or big-time point producer, but he's the best defensive forward on the roster and is capable of chipping in offensively. He'll be missed.
2) Taylor Hall should be pretty disappointed with this news as he was at his best last season when centered by Zajac. In fact, they garnered results comparable to those of some of the better duos in the NHL.
Here is how Hall fared with Henrique, who he'll probably end up with now.
3) The Devils added some quality forwards capable of creating offense for teammates (Nico Hischier, Marcus Johansson, etc.) but, in Zajac, the Devils are losing one of the best playmakers on the team.
4) On one hand, you could argue Zajac's absence will provide more opportunity for guys like Hischier, Michael McLeod, and Pavel Zacha to showcase themselves. That may be true but, without Zajac, they'll be thrown to the wolves more than they otherwise would be.
Zajac always handles the toughest assignments, which allows John Hynes and co. to protect developing players and/or players with defensive deficiencies and put them in more favorable situations. Hynes doesn't have that luxury anymore.
Who will handle the tough assignments with Zajac out? Adam Henrique's defensive game -- at least at 5v5 -- isn't as good as many make it out to be and you don't want Brian Boyle playing 18-20 minutes a night while shadowing the league's top players. He's strong defensively, but that role is far too big for him.
Those two don't make for ideal options and, obviously, you don't want Hischier, McLeod or Zacha being asked to do more than they're capable of.
My guess is Henrique takes over as the top 'two-way' center. He'll give everything he has, but it probably won't be good enough.
5) It's never fun to essentially write off a season in August, but it may not be such a bad thing if the Devils are, well, bad.
The 2018 draft -- headlined by defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and center Andrei Svechnikov, who I'll get to watch play in my hometown (Barrie) all year -- looks very promising, especially at the top.
If the Devils struggle again and get to add a player like Dahlin, for example, to a core already featuring Hall, Hischier, McLeod, Pavel Zacha and Damon Severson, among others, suddenly the future will look pretty good.
The Zajac news is devastating for those who want the Devils to be (somewhat) competitive this year but, in the long run, it could end up being a positive.
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