New Jersey Devils: Devils win the Draft lottery again, here are three initial thoughts

What happens to the current roster?

I suppose a “good” problem is actually no problem at all, but I digress. If the Devils have Hughes come in and play right away, which most number one overall picks do, then what are the Devils going to do with Hughes, should they pick him?

Well, this is going to get really complicated to explain and again, this entire article is a lot of speculation, but if he does player center, which he is listed as a center, then where would the Devils play him? Would they keep Nico on the second line, or would they keep Travis Zajc on the first line and put Hughes on the second and Nico on the third? We have to remember that Nico Hischier is still a young, developing player so they can’t destroy his development to start Hughes’.

What they could do about this all is have Hughes come up and play on the wing. He has a lefty shot, but he could also start on the wing for his development. What if he plays a line with the experienced Zajac? What if they put him opposite side of Taylor Hall who is a prolific offensive player?

Of course, the Devs would still have Pavel Zacha and Kevin Rooney, who are also listed as centers. The Devils will also have players returning from injuries and more players developing right now who could be ready to come up too.

As great as it must be to be Ray Shero, it might be difficult to be John Hynes right now. There are so many options the Devils have, but with mostly young players. Hall, Palmieri, Nico are all locks to be top six forwards, but what else do they have and what else should they do?

The Devils might still need more time to get better to be ready for an actual run at the playoffs, but they are going to be able to stockpile major young and proven talent. Would it be wise to let all this center depth make the Devils think they should with dubbed number two prospect Kaapo Kakko instead so he can be an addition on the wing? No, but is something to consider, and when it comes to this offseason in the Garden State, all things must be considered with the opportunities in front of them.

Until then, just enjoy the highlight video above.