Jesper Boqvist’s New Jersey Devils Future Now In Question
By Nick Villano
Jesper Boqvist signed a new one-year deal with his Swedish League team. That makes his future with the New Jersey Devils extremely questionable.
This was terrible news for the New Jersey Devils on a Thursday in a lost season. Brynas IF with the Swedish Hockey League announced the 20-year-old talented forward announced they signed him for another year. Ian Pulz announced that there is an an out for Boqvist to play in the NHL, but there are some issues with that.
For one, in an interview with the team, Boqvist says that there is “no other place I want to be.” Don’t know if fans know this, but New Jersey is a place. Obviously, there might be a million factors as to why Boqvist said that, but it is not good news for the Devils.
Boqvist has broken out in a major way this season. After a series of injuries forced him to lose his first season after getting drafted by the Devils in the second round, he showed exactly what he brings to the table all season long. He has 28 points in 42 games while playing against men. He’s getting better as the games go on. He’s playing on the team’s first line, and he’s helping them win games. The team hasn’t been great this season, but Boqvist has stepped up to the plate.
It’s also interesting to think back to the preseason when Boqvist decided not to play with the Devils in training camp. That decision felt like he just wanted to gain chemistry with his teammates and stick to the doctors who were in control of his rehab. It didn’t feel like it would impact his future with the Devils, but now it raises questions.
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Boqvist was one player that gave Devils fans hope for next season. Things are going terribly this season, but this team has so many young players that we think could change the face of this team next season. Joey Anderson should be even better next season. Brett Seney is starting to find his scoring touch. Ty Smith is going to change the face of this defense forever. Mackenzie Blackwood looks poised to take over the number one goalie position. Aarne Talvitie, Reilly Walsh or Jeremy Davies could leave college early to play in the NHL. However, Boqvist might be the one with the highest ceiling (it’s either him or Smith).
This might be a massive overreaction. However, this contract was going to be there in the offseason if Boqvist wanted it. This could be insurance in case he gets injured again.
It also could be someone in Sweden getting in his ear and telling him things Ray Shero might not approve of him hearing. This could be Boqvist really loving his life as a superstar in Sweden, knowing he will be just another really good player in the NHL. He knows he will be the big fish in a little pond in the SHL. He has a high ceiling, but nothing in the NHL is guaranteed.
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Eventually, he will likely play for the New Jersey Devils. It is just a one-year contract, and he wasn’t guaranteed a spot next season. Still, it looked like he was ready to make the jump across the Atlantic Ocean. He did say that the “goal” is to play for the Devils and that could be next season. However, he could feel like he needs another year until he’s ready, even though that might not be true.
Does this impact the Devils decision making? Will they aggressively try to re-sign Marcus Johansson instead of trading him since his possible replacement may not be available? Shero probably doesn’t make any rash decisions because of this, but no doubt he’s aware of it.