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.
—- Check out the 8th annual DobberHockey Fantasy Guide right here! —-
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
Related Posts
UPCOMING GAMES
EDM
Starting Goalies
Top Skater Views
| Players | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| GRACYN SAWCHYN |
 FLA | |
| JJ PETERKA |
 BUF | |
| MATEJ BLUMEL |
 DAL | |
| MARCO ROSSI |
 MIN | |
| JUSTIN HRYCKOWIAN |
DAL
| |
Top Goalie Profile Views
| Players | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| MICHAEL HRABAL |
 UTA | |
| JUUSE SAROS |
 NSH | |
| THATCHER DEMKO |
 VAN | |
| LINUS ULLMARK |
 OTT | |
| SAMUEL ERSSON |
 PHI
| |
LINE COMBOS
| Frequency |
 T.B Players
| |
|---|---|---|
| 13.9 | BRAYDEN POINT NIKITA KUCHEROV JAKE GUENTZEL | |
| 10.5 | NICK PAUL YANNI GOURDE CONOR GEEKIE | |
| 9.4 | LUKE GLENDENING ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS MITCHELL CHAFFEE | |
DobberHockey Podcasts
Fantasy Hockey Life: Pittsburgh Penguins with Josh Yohe
Josh Yohe is here to report on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jesse and Victor interview Josh about returning pros Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Evgeni Malkin, Tommy Novak, Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Erik Karlsson, Matt Grzelcyk, Kris Letang, Owen Pickering, Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic. In Cat’s Instincts, Cat Silverman of InGoal mag breaks down […]
Fantasy Hockey Life: Seattle Kraken with RJ Eskanos
RJ Eskanos of Emerald City Hockey is here to report on the Seattle Kraken. Jesse and Victor interview RJ about returning pros Jared McCann, Chandler Stephenson, Jaden Schwartz, Jordan Eberle, Kaapo Kakko, Shane Wright, Matty Beniers, Andre Burakovsky, Eeli Tolvanen, Jani Nyman, Vince Dunn, Brandon Montour, Ryker Evans, Joey Daccord, and Philipp Grubauer. In Cat’s […]
Keeping Karlsson: KK Leagues Report – 2025 Champs!
Derrick talks to the big winners of the various Keeping Karlsson leagues from this past season. He’s first joined by the new KKUPFL Ultimate Champion Ian and the reigning fast-track winner Alec. Then Derrick is joined by the year 1 KK Dynasty League champions Ian (different Ian), Saqib, and Brett, aka the “Good ol’ Ottawa Boys”.
Fantasy Hockey Life: Anaheim Ducks with Derek Lee
Derek Lee of the Hockey News is here to report on the Anaheim Ducks. Jesse and Victor interview him about returning pros Troy Terry, Mason McTavish, Trevor Zegras, Frank Vatrano, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Sam Colangelo, Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, Radko Gudas, Jacob Trouba, Lukas Dostal, and John Gibson. In Cat’s Instincts, Cat […]
Fantasy Hockey Life: Fluto Shinzawa Boston Bruins Preview
Fluto Shinzawa of the New York Times joins the show to break down the Boston Bruins. Jesse and Victor ask him about David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha, Elias Lindholm, Casey Mittelstadt, Matthew Poitras, Fraser Minten, Charlie McAvoy, Mason Lohrei, Hampus Lindholm, Jeremy Swayman, and Joonas Korpisalo. Cat’s instincts covers prospect goalies Brandon Bussi and […]