Jacob Josefson
Once upon a time, Jacob Josefson formed, with Mattias Tedenby and Adam Larsson, what was supposed to be the future of the New Jersey Devils. That future never arrived in Newark, New Jersey.
The 20th overall pick by the New Jersey Devils in the 2010 NHL Draft, Jacob Josefson never played first-rounder minutes, and would earn playing time in stretches. Josefson made the Devils full-time starting in the 2012-13 season but only played 40 or more NHL games in a season twice (2014-15 and 2015-16). Josefson’s best season, offensively, came in 2015-16 when he scored four goals and 10 assists in 58 games.
Jacob Josefson’s only NHL playoff experience was six games in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he had one assist in those six games. The New Jersey Devils won in all three of Josefson’s appearances against the New York Rangers but lost in all three of Josefson’s appearances against the Los Angeles Kings.
Jacob Josefson never developed offensively, but he was a strong defensive player and tidy in the faceoff circle. His niche in the NHL was the shootout; Josefson has the 13th-best shootout conversion rate in NHL history (13/24, 54.17 percent), and five of his 13 shootout goals were game-winners.
Josefson’s place in New Jersey Devils infamy lies in his 2014 shootout-winning goal, which broke an 18-game losing streak across shootout competitions. Josefson would join the Buffalo Sabres in 2017-18 and lasted 39 games there before heading home to Sweden. Josefson served as captain of Djurgårdens IF from 2018-19 to 2021-22.
Injuries significantly limited Jacob Josefson’s ability to get on and stay on the ice, and it appears said injuries have prematurely ended Josefson’s playing career. Josefson has not played since the 2020-21 season, reportedly due to post-concussion syndrome.
Jacob Josefson has spent some of his past free time writing a series of memoirs.