5 Things We Learned From New Jersey Devils Final Press Conferences
By Nick Villano
Andreas Johnsson on his first season with #NJDevils : “I feel like I could play good from time to time, but there was just a little too much up and down”
— neal (@nealmchale) May 12, 2021
Said COVID hit him hard. Said “probably a month” of dealing with it and impacted his conditioning. Johnsson also has asthma.
Andreas Johnsson and P.K. Subban both mentioned that they have asthma and that made them worried about the impacts of their COVID-19 diagnosis. Johnsson especially talked about its impacts on his conditioning and he thinks it had a lot to do with his issues this season. Johnsson was obviously one of the biggest disappointments on the ice, but it’s hard to explain exactly what COVID could do to an athlete, especially one with asthma.
Luckily for Subban, he didn’t seem to get a strong case of the virus. He says he feels fine now.
Blackwood wasn’t as lucky. He was the first player on the team to go on the COVID-19 protocol list, and at the time we didn’t know if he actually had the virus or if he was a close contact. Despite being one of the first to get sick, Blackwood said he didn’t feel right until like three or four weeks ago. He was going out there every night despite playing with a motor that wasn’t close to 100 percent.
The COVID outbreak was the biggest storyline for this season. The Devils had the most people to get the virus of any team in the league. It was a huge disadvantage. It also could change our expectations for next season. Will a player like Johnsson be able to bounce back, and should we expect a much better statistical season from Blackwood since they will no longer have a virus to deal with?