The Florida Panthers dominated the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night. They did this not on the backs of Matthew Tkachuk or Sam Reinhart, but they got goals from Eetu Luostarinen, Carter Verhaeghe, and A.J. Greer.
If that last name sounds familiar, it's because he is a former New Jersey Devils player. He was thrown into the Kyle Palmieri-Travis Zajac trade of 2021. That was a strange year as the Devils were dealing with the impacts of COVID and it was still in the middle of its rebuild. Jack Hughes wasn't a star yet, and the rest of the core (Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt) hadn't come close to their ceiling yet. The defense was dreadful, and Corey Crawford's surprise retirement put the Devils in a bad spot.
Still, many are seeing the impact Greer is having on the Panthers and wondering why the Devils dropped the ball there. He's been a fixture on the Panthers' bottom six all season. While his counting stats aren't great (six goals, 11 assists), he played an impactful role.
Another bottom-six contributor is Tomas Nosek. Yup, another former Devils' player. Devils fans couldn't wait to show Nosek the door after his performance last season. This year, he played a role on a team at the top of the standings. Be honest with yourself, did you remember Nosek was on the Devils last season? Even if you did, did you expect him to be half as good in the playoffs as he has been?
Why are former Devils playing big roles in Panthers playoff run?
Nosek added two assists on Tuesday night. He has been in the lineup as a contributor this postseason.
Then there's Dmitry Kulikov, who was on the Devils during that 2021 season when Greer was there. He was actually pretty good that season, and the Devils traded him to the Edmonton Oilers for a draft pick. After stops in Pittsburgh and Anaheim, he returned to Florida where he started his career. Now, he's playing 19 minutes a game for one of the top teams in the NHL.
Then there's Jesper Boqvist. The former second-round pick found a niche in Boston after leaving the Devils, and now he's doing the same in Florida. Devils fans really want to pretend that Boqvist was this huge ball drop by the Devils. He might be a decent player, but he's been a healthy scratch for most of these playoffs. The reality is he's not an everyday player.
And that brings us to the true reason Devils fans are upset. These players aren't actually better. They just have better opportunities. Nosek actually scored more goals last year with the Devils than he did this year with the Panthers. Greer is a fourth-line player who can be replaced by a hundred players currently playing in the AHL. Boqvist, again, is a replacement player.
We only care about them because they are on the Panthers and once again in the final four. If they were doing this for the Winnipeg Jets or Calgary Flames, it wouldn't matter. Kulikov is the only player doing well, and he wasn't really a loss. The Devils chose to get something before he left in free agency. It was a smart move at the time, and he likely wouldn't have re-signed here.
Perception isn't necessarily reality here, but let's at least celebrate the moments where our former Devils can take out a rival when it matters most.