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General Manager Ray Shero made one of the first contracts to be announced on the day of the NHL trade deadline in 2019. Shero made it one of many announced after the deadline of 15 hours. According to rumors, striker Marcus Johansson would be involved in business last week and this was finally done on schedule. As announced by the team, the New Jersey Devils sent Johansson to the Boston Bruins for their second-round pick in 2019 and their fourth-round pick in 2020. The Devils will retain 40% of Johansson's salary.
Before I get into the agreement itself, I do not think it's a big problem that the Devils are keeping a salary. The Devils have a wealthy owner and therefore retain $ 1,833 million, according to CapFriendly, only represents the cost of doing business. This will no longer be a problem for what should be more expensive in 2019 outside of the season.
On one side, I would be lying if I said that this return did not disappoint me a bit. After watching Brian Boyle swap for a second-round pick and Ben Lovejoy swapping for a third-round pick and an NHL player, I was expecting more for a second-row forward striker who is now in good shape. health, recently productive and can play the three attackers positions. Technically, it's a bit more than these agreements since the Devils got a fourth round pick in 2020, but a fourth-round pick is not worth much, no matter how fast. I would have been really happy if Johansson had brought back a first round choice, conditional or otherwise. Or maybe even a second and third round in 2019 – similar to what Shero spent to bring Johansson to New Jersey there are two Summers.
By the way, I understand why the devils received what they did. Although Johansson is still relatively young, he has just gone through a difficult time as a devil. He has suffered multiple injuries, including two concussions, which should affect anyone who wants to keep Johansson for a long time. Although his production since the All-Star Weekend has been very good, it seems to be a series of successes rather than a sign that he is producing for real. And although he was at the height of talented players, he was not a great player this season (I threw his bullet shortened by injury last season) given his 47.75% CF and -0.27% relative CF%, this suggests he is somehow a complementary player. Nothing wrong with that in itself, but it undermines some of its value. Look at this: Johansson is two years older, he has been added to his injury history and has provided pretty good production in his day with New Jersey. I can understand why it's worth a little less than it was two years ago. While the third player will have to wait a year, the Devils now have three other players, which should give Shero some options for the 2019 NHL Draft later in June.
Especially, according to Darren Dreger, Shero was looking for a second-round pick for Johansson. He had one and a little more. He achieved his goal. And the choice is for this year. Corey Masisak said on Twitter tonight that Shero had received bids for Johansson from teams that had no second round pick in 2019. He listed the teams without second starting this year, so you can guess who he was. Nevertheless, a choice that can be used this year is usually worth more than a choice between two (or four) years, if only because you must also wait for the player to grow and wait for the choice actually take place. . I can understand that Shero managed to get a second round 2019 instead of another.
I will point out that I feel a little bad for Johansson. Yes, he will play in the playoffs this season unless Boston knows the most spectacular failure next month. However, he is now a teammate with Brad Marchand. Marchand was the reason for one of his two concussions as a devil and it was certainly not an accident. Towards the end of what would be a victory in Boston on January 23, 2018, Marchand was looking for, jumping and blinding Johansson with a bend in his head. This is one of the worst hits I've seen in recent memory. Johansson had a lot to say about it about two months later. As reported by Joe Haggerty at NBC Sports Boston:
"It was stupid. There is nothing else to say about it. It was not worth it, "Johansson told reporters in New Jersey, who have played only 29 games this season while suffering two injuries. "There was no hockey game there. I think it's sad to see that there are still guys trying to hurt others. I think there is nothing else to say about it. It's sad, it's stupid.
"I hope it will not happen to end someone else 's career before it' s enough – that 's not why we play the game. I think there are always situations in which you try to hit someone and you try to play hockey, and things can go wrong, then there are games like this, [a play] it has nothing to do with hockey. So it's sad to see and I think I'm unhappy to be the recipient.
I would not forget such a comment if I were a merchant. And I would not forget a useless and reckless nudge at the dome if I were Johansson. I'm sure there will be some discomfort at the beginning when Johansson will join the B. But only the initial clumsiness. These are professionals and this article by Nick Goss on NBC Sports Boston by Nick Goss suggests that Johansson has moved on. I still think it will take some work to bury the hatchet, but this will be done behind the scenes.
It will not be long to see how Johansson gets along with Boston as the Devils play them this Saturday. As excited as I was when Shero brought Johansson into the group, it definitely was a failure in New Jersey, even considering issues beyond the control of the team and the player. I would not expect him to come back to New Jersey. According to Corey Masisak on Twitter, a contract extension was not even a possibility for Johansson. That does not bode well for a return, but we will see July 1st.
This was the last agreement the Devils reached today. I'm going to have a summary of all the offers from 2019 a little later tonight. In the meantime, what is your opinion on the Johansson trade? Are you satisfied with the return? Do you think Shero could have received more for Johansson or should have demanded more than a second round? Would you even have exchanged Johansson if that was the return – knowing that there would be no contract extension? Please leave your answers and other thoughts on Johansson, his time with New Jersey and this trade in comments. Thanks for the reading.
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