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New Jersey Devils: What To Expect From Marcus Johansson

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 16: New Jersey Devils left wing Marcus Johansson (90) skates during the third period of the First Round Stanley Cup Playoff Game 3 between the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 16, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 16: New Jersey Devils left wing Marcus Johansson (90) skates during the third period of the First Round Stanley Cup Playoff Game 3 between the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 16, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The New Jersey Devils made a big move to add Marcus Johansson to the roster last offseason. Now that he is healthy, what can the team expect from him next year?

It’s as close to a lost year as one player can have. That’s what happened during Marcus Johansson’s first season with the New Jersey Devils. He was knocked out twice with concussions, one that was a very deliberate elbow from Brad Marchand.

Johansson was able to return in the middle of the Tampa Bay Lightning series, but at that point he was not able to provide much. For a player whose been out for close to three months, it’s hard to expect anything from them on the biggest stage in hockey. Johansson played in three games, and recorded zero points in that series.

Before he was injured last season, Johansson was doing alright. If you play out his 14 points over an 82 game season, that gives you about 40 points. It’s not spectacular, but it’s the floor of what you expect from Johansson. In an ideal world, Johansson would score 20 goals and record 30 assists. He did that in his last year in Washington, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

If we can get a healthy Johansson, what should we expect from him this season?

There are a lot of factors going into this. For one, will he change his game after his concussions? Johansson isn’t the most hard-nosed skater, but still having your head knocked loopy twice in one season may make him a little more skittish.

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Another factor is his contract. Johansson is on the final year of a $13.75 million three year deal. Will he step up to make big money next season, or will his contract always be in the back of his mind?

Finally, it depends on who is on a line with Johansson. Pavel Zacha is in a make-or-break season where he will either break out completely, or the Devils have some hard decisions to make. As of right now, Zacha is still the Devils second-line center. Johansson will play to his left, but who’s playing to their right is still a question. It could be someone on the roster like Jesper Bratt or Miles Wood. There’s also a chance that’s where they put one of the players that could get promoted from Binghamton, like John Quenneville, Nick Lappin or Michael McLeod. Heck, Joey Anderson could even take that spot.

Either way, expecting 45 points with 20 goals I think is a safe place to slot Johansson. That is, of course, if he can play a full season. In three of the last five seasons, Johansson played at least 80 games. One season he played 74. Clearly, last year was the outlier. Hopefully, that remains a fact.

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