50 Greatest New Jersey Devils Players of All Time: Numbers 50-41
By Nick Villano
Greatest New Jersey Devils player of all time: 47. Grant Marshall
Grant Marshall is an interesting case. He’s someone who is still around the Devils all the time. He’s what you think about when you think of a “fan favorite”. Fans still get excited when they see Grant Marshall at the Prudential Center.
Marshall is a massive success story. When in juniors, he suffered a horrific injury and was even temporarily paralyzed. Despite this, he made a full recovery and made it all the way to the NHL. He spent six years with the Dallas Stars before going to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He never scored more than 15 goals in a season.
He was traded midseason from the Blue Jackets to the Devils in 2003. At that point, he only had eight goals in 66 games. He only scored one more in 10 games with the Devils. Then, something miraculous happened.
He ended up scoring six goals during the 2003 playoffs on the way to the Stanley Cup. He scored a series-winning goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round. It came in triple overtime. Those games tend to have the wildest heroes. He scored more big goals throughout the run, including crucial goals in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Ottawa Senators. He also scored a big goal in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Ducks. His playoff heroics will always hold more water than others. It was a great run, but he could never repeat that success. Luckily, he will always have that Stanley Cup ring to fall back on.