The New Jersey Devils are set to play the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday night at the Prudential Center. These two teams first met on October 13th, with the Devils coming away victorious 3-2. The Devils will once again play against a couple of familiar faces: Damon Severson and Miles Wood. Pucks and Pitchforks recently had the chance to catch up with Severson and briefly talked about his career after his lengthy tenure with the Devils ended in 2023.
Question: What can you say about the Blue Jackets team so far this season?
Severson: We're playing pretty good hockey overall. We put ourselves in good spots most nights to give ourselves a chance to win a lot of close games. It would be nice to get a few more convincing wins, but obviously, we'll get there...We just have to continue to try to keep getting better every day.
Q: You're a couple of seasons removed from Jersey, signing a big contract with the Blue Jackets. How has everything been going from that sort of perspective?
Severson: It's definitely an easy transition off the ice. There's been some ups and downs on the ice, just with some personal changes, and things have happened in the past. But I enjoy it here; they're a good group of guys. We've got a good thing going. We also have a good group of trainers. It's fun to come to the rink every day and do your job. So definitely no complaints.
Severson has eight points (one goal and seven assists) in 25 games played so far this season. Once this season ends, he'll still have five years remaining on his original eight-year, $50 million contract ($6.25 million cap hit).
After the interview concluded, Severson shared why he decided to don #78 with the Blue Jackets. Sidney Crosby wears #87 because his birthday is August 7th. Coincidentally, that's Severson's birthday too. Out of respect to Crosby, since 87 is synonymous with him throughout hockey history, Severson decided to flip the two numbers.