New Jersey signs Damien Brunner
Michael Amato
2013-09-25
The fantasy impact of the New Jersey Devils inking Damien Brunner to a contract.
Fantasy Impact – Although Brunner is already 27-years-old, he has only played one shortened NHL season in his career. He posted a respectable 26 points in 44 games in 2013, and after receiving a tryout from the Devils during preseason, they made it official Monday inking him to a two-year $5M deal.
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Brunner had the luxury of playing with established veterans Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg last year for the majority of the time, but that might not be the case this year. The Devils are fairly deep at center with Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac, Andrei Loktionov, and Dainius Zubrus, so Brunner may end up on the wing.
The Devils get – a player with a tremendous skill set, but still unproven at the NHL level. With the departures of wingers David Clarkson, Ilya Kovalchuk, and going even further back Zach Parise, there will be opportunities for Brunner to fill in the gap and take advantage of plenty of favourable offensive opportunities.
Fantasy Players Impacted – Brunner may have a legitimate shot of ending up in New Jersey's top six at some point this season if he exceeds expectations or simply because of injuries, but to start he will probably be headed for the third unit. Having a player like Brunner around could help centers Loktionov or Zubrus by adding some skill to their line.
On the flipside, Brunner's presence may hurt the minutes of guys like Jacob Josefson, Steve Bernier, and Mattias Tedenby, among others.
Potential Line Combos:
Elias-Zajac-Ryder
Clowe-Henrique-Jagr
Josefson-Zubrus-Brunner
Olesz-Loktionov-Bernier
Extras: Tedenby, Gionta, Carter, Barch
Keep in mind New Jersey has a lot of forwards under contract and there are several that could play center if needed, this is just an estimate.
Fantasy Players this helps, in order:
Brunner
Zubrus
Loktionov
Fantasy Players this hurts, in order:
Josefson
Tedenby
Carter
Gionta
Michael Amato is an Associate Editor for DobberHockey and a News Editor for theScore. You can follow him on Twitter at @amato_mike
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