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Dom1422

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Canadiens de Montréal
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<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Dom1422</b></div><div>That said he is going to be on the 3rd pairing behind Hamilton and Marino. So not as important as he once was to them.</div></div>
First part of your comment I think is correct, but it seems to me you're not fully aware of why Severson has been on the 3rd pair on the Devils for a lot of this season...

There was always gonna be a top 4 RHD playing on the third pair for the Devils, either Marino or Severson.
To decide which one should play 2nd pair and which to play 3rd pair two questions need answering...
1. Which of Marino or Severson has the best chemistry with Graves, the Devils 2nd pair LHD, and...
2. which of Marino or Severson has the best skillset to offset Brendan Smith's shortcomings?

The answer to question 1 is Marino.
The answer to question 2 is Severson.

Severson didn't find much success with Graves (and vice versa) in 21-22 therefore it was always gonna be Marino winning the 2nd RHD job over Severson.
However Marino wouldn't be able to help the Devils tilt the ice as well as they do playing with Brendan Smith, but Severson can do that (and he's doing it really well).
The result is that the Devils have three pairs that are all heavily contributing in creating very favorable playing conditions for the team as a whole, at all times.

It's not down to any shortcomings of Severson that he's seeing less ice-time, a sharp decrease in box score production and getting more oz starts.
It's because Severson is busy keeping Smith's head above water while still driving play.
There are not many third pairs in the league that play contribute as much as the Smith - Severson pairing, and that's all down to the very important role Severson is playing here.

This is not to say that Smith is a terrible NHLer, in my view he's been playing to the level of an above-average bottom-pair guy (which is a big step up from what Ty Smith contributed as 3LHD last year).
Smith is pretty good at rush defense, winning puck battles and in-zone coverage.
But he is not very good with the puck, whether it be carrying it, passing it or shooting it.
That's exactly how Severson complements Smith, and he does it to such a degree that the 3rd pair is overall a significant net positive.