When the Devils stopped being able to roll 4 lines

There's been a lot of noise lately about the 4th line. The 3rd line has gotten the most attention and will continue to, even after the Ponikarovsky trade.

The difference between the teams in the East above the Devils is their offensive depth (I am punting on the D in this post). Right now, the Devils, after 2 lines, can't match most teams ahead of them. After the All-Star break with Zajac back and Poni now on the team, the Devils should have 3 deep lines and be able to better compete and improve their abysmal record against these teams.

However, after the 3rd Bruins game and noting how the B's 4th line was the catalyst in their win, I wanted to look back at the Devils' history.

To many old timers like myself, we kind of got used to listening to so many announcers saying "New Jersey's strength is that they can roll 4 lines."

When did this stop?

Not surprisingly , we start to see a deterioration after the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, and they won the Cup in the latter. In 2002, the Devils had Madden, Pandolfo, and the young upstart Brian Gionta, but also veterans like Nieuwendyk, Nemchinov and Kamensky. In the last Cup year, the Devils still had Madden, Pandolfo, Brylin, T. Stevenson, with rotating guys, notably catalysts like Marshall and Rupp.

Then, the next year, in 2003-04, the 4th line seems to disappear. Marshall's magic is gone. Rupp is traded. Eric Rasmussen, Jan Hrdina and Viktor Kozlov appear. While the latter two had decent NHL careers, they were not with the Devils.

After the strike, in 2005-06 the rotating fourth liners included Cam Janssen, Jason Weimer, Rasmussen, Kozlov and Marshall.

2006-07 - Rupp & Dowd returned, Rasmussen & Clarkson now, while 2007-08 had Rupp, Asham, Pelley & Clarkson.

Then, a lifeline and uptick. In 2008-09, I think this team had the most potential. If the Devils got past Carolina, I think they would've really done something. NJ was pretty deep and if memory serves well - they were healthy. The 3rd & 4th lines included: Clarkson, Rolston, Madden, Shanahan, Pandolfo, Holik & Rupp. Many veterans who weren't at the top of their game, but who knew their rolls well enough.

Then disaster. The 2009-10 lower forwards: McAmmond, Pelley, PL3, Zharkov, and an aging Pandolfo (how could I forget Ilkka Pikkarainen?)

The lost season of 2010 - 11 had a lot of younger players rotating. And now we have Boulton, Carter & B. Mills with a rotating Albany bunch again.

The Devils depth woes were due to the aging and inability to replace what Pandolfo, Madden & Brylin did for the team. Then, when Gomez & (more importantly) Gionta left and the Devils received nothing for them, it affected depth even more.

So I see two falls from being able to roll 4 lines effectively, in 2003 and 2009. The Devils upgraded in 2009, but fell again notably with Gionta and Madden's departure with Pandolfo's aging.

So what can the team do from here?

If I were Lou, I would try to play a NHL version of Moneyball in February. If the Devils stay healthy on offense, Lou may have locked up the top 3 lines with the Poni trade. Nice job.

But I now look at the fourth line and see the need to add a veteran or two, like a Nemchinov or T. Stevenson type of player. A guy who will help the locker room and know their role. If arguments could be made to pay spark plugs/ locker room personalities more, this one by Adrian Dater is one of his best. This article is excellent and worth your time . . . but how do you measure a locker room personality? If it can be figured out, it seems that skill can be bought cheaply. But what veteran out there can be obtained cheaply?

How about a guy like George Parros? He grew up in New Jersey and went to Princeton. He has brains, would be a great locker room addition and could be that 4th line catalyst we're looking for from a team who will undoubtedly be sellers. Don't let the Canucks get him. Maybe we can even give the Ducks Kurtis Foster back?