With Brett Pesce possibly set to return Thursday night vs TOR, the Devils are going to be forced to make a tough decision: who comes out of the lineup? IMO, the only locks on the backend right now are Dillon and Hamilton. They are the team’s most veteran defenders and have looked good as a top pairing thus far. Siegenthaler-Kovacevic and Casey-Nemec have looked good as well through 2 games. Despite Casey’s strong play, I think he is the obvious choice to come out of the lineup. With Toronto’s high powered offense, the Devils will likely opt to include more shutdown dmen including Dillon, Pesce, Siegenthaler, and Kovacevic. At this point, Nemec is also a more sound defensive player than Casey. Obviously, Pesce will play a majority of this year as the 2RD, but there’s no reason to split the top 2 pairings at this time especially considering Pesce has experience playing the left side in CAR. Don’t be surprised to see Casey sent to Utica at some point this week as well. He’s better served playing in Utica as opposed to sitting jn NJ. Once Hughes and Hatakka are healthy, Kovacevic and Hatakka will likely be the extra dmen anyway
by Devsfan25
9 Comments
Agreed
[Foote actually just got put on waivers.](https://www.threads.net/@njdevils/post/DAysDBvyhFC/?xmt=AQGzaTsAvLffje1Bl9rn5nL7ZzYlCF3YmmlkHXbhMqShEg)
Pesce can sit until someone screws up. Dont bench players that are playing good
Feels more than doubtful that Pesce would play under Kovacevic
You misspelled Casey….
Pesce likely does not return on Thursday. Needs to get full practice under his belt and a few ones at that. I’d say after he he healthy, it’s likely another week before he plays
The Foote expirement is finally done. If we lose Foote oh well, easily replaceable, will understand the overhype on him.
Seamus Casey is the best transition defenseman on the hockey club
What website do you use for this?