There are few Devils more enigmatic and polarizing than Travis Zajac. He has experienced highs and lows greater than a penny stock would. He has been labeled a top-20 center and a top-10 overpaid player. He has been looked to as the Devils’ top-line center for more than eight years and he has taken on the reputation of a third-line talent most recently.
Early in his career, the 2004 first round pick looked like a top-notch prospect. After centering the famous ZZ Pops line of the mid-2000s (where he lined up with Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner), Zajac was ready to break out of his shell even more and become the Devils’ first bona fide first-line center (really in franchise history).