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The addition of Brendan Shanahan is going to cause one of the Devils’ forwards to have to sit. Thankfully the fans do not have a say in the matter, because if they did, players like John Madden, Jay Pandolfo, Mike Rupp and David Clarkson would be benched.

I can see where the arguments come from for those players, but the truth is, there’s only player who deserves to learn where the press box is, and that’s Dainius Zubrus. It seems that everyone on the Devils, with the exception of Zubrus, plays an important role on the team, or at least HAS a role.

Madden and Pandolfo are two of the best defensive forwards in the game. They may not score very often, but they’re not relied on to. They’re exceptional penalty killers, and sometimes are matched up against an opponent’s top line. Removing either of these two from your lineup is hockey suicide.

David Clarkson and Mike Rupp make up another integral part of a hockey team, the enforcers. Every team needs at least two enforcers for the simple reason that if they only had one, and he went off for fighting, a team could then take liberties without having to pay the consequence. Clarkson and Rupp also do not score, but they protect their teammates by any means necessary, and for that, they cannot be benched.

Bobby Holik may seem like a favorable choice, but he is also valuable. Holik is a veteran presence in the locker room who has seen it all. He gets under the opponent’s skin, while his shockingly honest personality allows him to help his teammates make improvements to their game. He’s not afraid to tell you what you’re doing wrong, and is probably easier to listen to than a screaming coach.

You certainly cannot remove any of your top scorers, so who is left? Zubrus.

Not only is Zubrus nursing a hand injury which has already cost him several scoring opportunities, he also seems rather lost on the ice recently. I’m not sure what his job is, but I can say from watching him that he isn’t doing it. I believe he was supposed to park himself in front of the net and use his size to screen the goalie, but I have rarely seen him in such a position. He can often be found mishandling the puck in the corners, or making errant passes that result in turnovers.

With that in mind, here are my propsed forward lines, which I will also explain:

1. Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner
2. Elias-Rolston-Gionta
3. Pandolfo-Madden-Shanahan
4. Rupp-Holik-Clarkson

The reason I have Shanahan on the 3rd line is because I’ve seen first hand what fourth line minutes have done for Holik’s play. Shanahan would recieve significant time on the powerplay as one of the two point shots, so he would recieve plenty of ice time. But Rolston deserves a spot on a scoring line, and Madden’s line—who skates very well—would keep Shanahan in top form, and his offensive punch would nicely compliment their ability to generate turnovers.