Ken Daneyko talks Stanley Cup, Henrik Lundqvist and Devils 5k

If you're going to talk about the Stanley Cup who better to do it with than a man who's won three of them. New Jersey Devils great Ken Daneyko came on my show to talk to me and my producer Sam Doyle about the "Running With The Devils 5k run/walk." It's a virtual race that offers multiple participation options for how to run or walk from October 1-25. 100% of the proceeds will go to RWJBarnabas Health's Emergency Response Fund.

The current player team consists of Travis Zajac (5K Captain), Cory Schneider, Will Butcher, Kyle Palmieri, Connor Carrick, Mirco Mueller and Damon Severson. The Devils Alumni team includes Ken Daneyko (5K Captain) Bruce Driver, Grant Marshall, Bryce Salvador and Colin White. The She Devils team features Nikki Zajac (5K Captain), Jill Schneider, Tayler Butcher, Ashlee Palmieri, Lexi Carrick, Kristin Mueller and Drey Severson.

Fans and members of the community can register and join one of the New Jersey Devils based teams as they compete “virtually” to capture bragging rights to the fundraising crown. Go to rwjbh.org/runningwiththedevils and click on New Jersey Devils, Devils Alumni or She Devils.

Daneyko, who provides color commentary for Devils games, talked about how different it was to play hockey in this year of the pandemic and how the Tampa Lightning pulled it off by winning the Stanley Cup.

"Absolutely, any team that goes through four grueling rounds, I know how hard it is to win...and obviously these were unprecedented times. I give the National Hockey League all the credit in the world and the players for actually pulling this off and staying safe and healthy, which was first and foremost...they just did a great job. The way these players competed, the sacrifice they made, it was terrific and we saw some terrific hockey."

The parting of ways between Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers

"I think any time you part ways with a, you know, your franchise-type player, your icon it's difficult and there's no way around it. But it is a business, we understand that. They have a real good young goaltender, a couple of good young goaltenders so, I don't think anytime you're in the category of a Henrik Lundqvist or Marty Brodeur, anytime they leave, even when Marty went to St. Louis for a brief stint, it's difficult."

And what he sees in store for the New Jersey Devils next year.

"I'm very optimistic from that stand point [of all the young defensive prospects on the way], they may be a year or two away, or one of them may make it we'll see. We were ranked the 2nd best prospect pool in the National Hockey League, 22 and under for players playing now, as well as the prospects. And that's a real good sign for the organization."

To register for the "Running With The Devils" click here.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise. Any opinions expressed are Steve's own. Steve Trevelise is on New Jersey 101.5 Monday-Thursday from 7pm-11pm. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.

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