FILE-This Dec.1, 1998 file photo shows New Jersey Devils right wing Jason Arnott celebrating a first period goal against the Washington Capitals in Washington. The Devils have reacquired forward Jason Arnott. He is best remembered for scoring the Stanley Cup-clinching goal for the Devils against the Dallas Stars in 2000. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh,File)
AP
In New Jersey, \it’s time to break out the Peaches and Herb song, “Reunited” for the kind of nostalgic thing going on with Patrick Elias and Jason Arnott. The pairing clicked together amazingly well ten seasons ago in New Jersey, even teaming up together on the Devils Stanley Cup-winning goal in 2000. In those playoffs, the two of them lead New Jersey in scoring with 20 points a piece.
Now with Arnott back in New Jersey, the two are looking to rekindle that chemistry they had so many seasons ago and they couldn’t be happier to get another go-round as Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice finds out.
“It felt great,” Arnott said. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. It doesn’t feel like it’s been eight years since we’ve played together. So, it felt good. It felt comfortable. We’re still having fun and it’s still the first day. We’ll see what happens during the games.”
At Elias’ request, Arnott’s stall is next to his in the practice locker room. [Petr] Sykora is out of the league right now. Elias said he texted Sykora “a couple of times” recently when there were rumors the Devils might invite him to camp as tryout. Although he had some offers from teams in Russia, Sykora is still back in the Czech Republic, working out there.
If Arnott and Elias can rekindle that old spirit and light a fire under potential linemate Jamie Langenbrunner, the Devils could end up with two offensive units that can fill the net in a big way. With Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, and Ilya Kovalchuk working together to start training camp, it’s OK to start dreaming big in New Jersey.