A New Jersey Devils Fan’s Guide To The Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Final is set and there are plenty of reasons for New Jersey Devils fans to watch and be interested in the final series of the year.
There has been a lot of excitement and anticipation about the 2019-20 season and beyond in New Jersey Devils land. They had the third worst record and as a result the third best odds in the NHL Draft Lottery.
They went on to win the lottery and will make the first-overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft. They are projected to take one of two players who would make a significant impact on their franchise for a long time.
Despite all this anticipation for the future, the 2018-19 season is still going on. A very interesting playoffs that saw some crazy upsets and interesting matchups is down to its final series. The Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues begins on Monday and there is some New Jersey Devils flavor in this series on both sides.
The St. Louis Blues have a player on their team that in a very short time made a positive impact on the Devils organization. Patrick Maroon was a trade deadline acquisition from the Edmonton Oilers in 2018. He played very well in his short time, and had a serious impact on the Devils getting into the playoffs after a five season drought.
In Maroon’s 17 games with the Devils, he had three goals and ten assists for 13 points. That is very good production for a guy who is relied on for his size and strength in a depth role. If the Devils don’t trade for Maroon, they might not make the playoffs that year since they only got in by one point. Seeing him hoist the Stanley Cup a year later would be very cool to see.
On the other side is the Boston Bruins. The team that the Devils traded Marcus Johansson to are now the Eastern Conference Champions. Johansson was a trade deadline move that the Bruins felt they needed to make and it has paid off for them.
Johansson’s Devils tenure is always going to feel like a “what could have been” because it was largely filled with injuries. In two seasons with the Devils, he only played in 77 games. In those 77 games he had 17 goals and 24 assists. He also never really played his best hockey for a long stretch of time due to those injuries, and once he was healthy in 2018-19 he did start to get hot.
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That hot streak got him traded to Boston where he was underwhelming in the regular season for them, but has been some great depth for them in this postseason. In the Bruins 15 playoff games, he has three goals and six assists. This includes the game-winning goal in game seven of their round-one series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It would, just like Maroon, be cool to see Johansson hoist the Stanley Cup after all he has been through. Especially after seeing the team that traded him, the Washington Capitals, win the Cup the year after he was gone. That on top of the injuries has made the last two seasons difficult for him, but now he is four wins away from the ultimate goal.
No matter who you decide to cheer for out of these two teams, there is one thing for sure. You should watch the Stanley Cup Final. This is the last bit of meaningful hockey for a few months and it promises to be a very good series.