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New Jersey Devils: Marcus Johansson Point Prediction For 2018-19 Season

By Nick Villano

MONTREAL, QC - SEPTEMBER 17: Look on New Jersey Devils left wing Marcus Johansson (90) during the New Jersey Devils versus the Montreal Canadiens preseason game on September 17, 2018, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - SEPTEMBER 17: Look on New Jersey Devils left wing Marcus Johansson (90) during the New Jersey Devils versus the Montreal Canadiens preseason game on September 17, 2018, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Over the next few weeks, Pucks and Pitchforks will release their points predictions for every starting player on the New Jersey Devils main roster. Today, we predict what Marcus Johansson will do in his contract year.

The New Jersey Devils basically stole Marcus Johansson from the Washington Capitals. They sent two draft picks that weren’t even their own to get the very skilled winger. It looked like the kind of move that could put the Devils over the top, and be true playoff contenders.

Well, the Devils did become playoff contenders, but it had nothing to do with Johansson. He was knocked out with a concussion twice during the season, causing him to miss all but 29 games.

Even in the games Johansson played in, he was having trouble finding his place in the lineup. He’s definitely the second line left wing, but it seemed he never really got great chemistry with Pavel Zacha or any other winger. It seems like he struggled, and even got benched against the New York Rangers in October.

He was decent enough, scoring 14 points in those 29 games. That correlates to 40 points over an 82 game season. We’re not cheering about that number, but realistically it would have really helped the Devils last season. 40 points would have been good for fifth on the entire team in points.

So, what can we expect from Johansson this upcoming season? There are so many variables to make a correct prediction, but that’s never stopped us before.

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One can’t bet on Johansson playing a whole season. He was injured three different times last season, twice for concussions and once for a minor ankle injury. Let’s say he plays 70 games this season. I see him upping his production to more than half a point per game. He’s used to playing in New Jersey. The shock of being traded by the only franchise you know has worn off. And, he’s in a contract year.

Goals: 20
Assists: 25
Points: 45

Johansson is 27 years old. He is in the middle of his prime, but with the thought he is going to miss 12 games, one must take off five to seven points from his perceived total. Still, 20 goals will be amazing in helping the Devils in secondary scoring. He’s only scored more than 20 goals once in his career, so predicting that is unwise. This is a good number to expect from the Devils second-line left winger.

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