A look back and a man broken

A look back.

With the locker room cleaned out and the players no where to be found, an empty area filled with disappointment and a feeling of what if, is all that remains now that the playoffs are coming to a close.

After a strong season that saw the New Jersey Devils lay claim to the Division title for the 2^nd year in a row, expectations were high going into the playoffs.  A back and forth battle with the Boston Bruins saw the Devils fall short 12 min into the 2^nd overtime of game 7.

“It was devastating, watching that puck cross the goal line… I couldn’t win that faceoff against Seguin, they just flew down the ice and scored… there was nothing I could do to stop it”

Words spoken by a very down trodden Mark Arcobello who lost the final face off of the game and had to watch as he was outworked down the ice and the puck crossed the goal line. Visibly shaken team doctors and councillors were all over him post game trying to make sure he would be ok.  He would announce his retirement from the game of hockey less than a month later.

“It was a disappointing end to a great season. Of course I wanted to see us  go a lot farther but hey, we set ourselves up overall better for next season with a few moves and I honestly think we will be right back in the dace and moving on farther next year” – GM Muchowski

The biggest and most impacting of those moves GM Muchowski was refereeing to would be the acquisition of Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Patrick Marleau.

“We are very happy with the play we received from Marleau this season, playing 19 games he put up 21 points for us down the stretch. It sucks we didn’t get more time to see what he could do for us in the playoffs but we wish him the best of luck in the future”

The Devils would happily resign the Veteran forward, but with him hitting the open market, it is anyone’s guess as to where he will end up.

“Vlasic played fantastic for us as well. He will be a major cornerstone of our defence for the next few years. We could not be happier to have him with us going forward”

With the disappointing end to another great season the question remains, can this team compete when the stakes are higher and the intensity level is raised for playoff hockey.

“I 100% believe we have what it takes to make it all the way, watch for us to bring it next year”

Rumours are flying out of Jersey that head coach Mike Johnston may have seen his last game as bench boss  in Hell. More to come on that when the information is made available.