Fans of the New Jersey Devils received brutal news on Friday morning. Star defenseman Dougie Hamilton was placed on injured reserve following successful surgery. Former second-overall pick Simon Nemec is joining the NHL squad from AHL affiliate Utica. However, the loss of Hamilton will force head coach Lindy Ruff to shuffle his lineup.

Ruff spoke with the media on Friday following the news. He mentioned that he had not spoken with Hamilton prior to his media availability. With Hamilton out indefinitely, though, it's a next-man-up mentality for New Jersey.

“There will be a lot of things changed because our power play units change around a little bit,” Ruff said, via NHL.com. “We'll probably give Simon a chance to be on that second unit, so there'll be a change there.”

“Our pairs will change, obviously, with Doug going out. So, we're going to be looking to find some consistency between pairs and how we use people,” the Devils bench boss continued.

Hamilton is a big loss for New Jersey, especially offensively. The Toronto native has five goals and 16 points this season, ranking fourth on the team in scoring. He is also coming off his career best season where he scored 74 points in 82 games.

Meanwhile, the Devils drafted Nemec in 2022. The Slovakian defenseman spent last season with the Utica Comets in the AHL, scoring 12 goals and 34 points. This season, the 19-year-old has two goals and eight points in 12 games. In his NHL debut, he recorded two assists in a loss to the San Jose Sharks on Friday.

The Devils have already fallen behind some of their Metropolitan Division counterparts. Let's see how New Jersey handles the loss of Hamilton, and what kind of impact Nemec can make in his first taste of NHL action.