Today's team relocated twice in their first nine years but they've found a home in the Garden State. Here's the all-time roster for the New Jersey Devils:
The Devils made the playoffs just twice in their first 15 NHL seasons. In the next 20 seasons New Jersey made 19 trips to the postseason, winning the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000, and 2003. They lost the 2012 final to Los Angeles.
1st Line
Left Wing - Patrik Elias The only player to score 1,000 points for New Jersey, Patrik Elias is the Devils' career leader in goals, assists, points, power play goals, and even-strength goals. A two-time Stanley Cup champion, Elias set career highs with 96 points and a league-leading +45 plus/minus rating in 2000-01. He represented Czech Republic in four winter Olympics.
Center - Scott Gomez The 2000 Calder trophy winner as NHL rookie of the year, Scott Gomez is third in Devils history with 361 assists - including a league-leading 56 helpers in 2003-04. The Alaska native is fifth in New Jersey annals with 484 points, the second-highest total among Devils centers.
Right Wing - John MacLean The sixth overall pick in 1983, John MacLean is second to Elias on the Devils' all-time list with 347 goals and 701 points. "Johnny Mac" scored the game-winning goal in overtime on the final day of the 1987-88 season to clinch the Devils' first postseason berth. The three-time 40-goal scorer won a Stanley Cup with Jersey's team in 1995.
2nd Line
Left Wing - Kirk Muller The second overall pick in the 1984 draft (after some guy named Lemieux) Kirk Muller played the first seven seasons of his career in New Jersey, where he ranks fourth in team history with 520 points. The six-time All-Star is sixth in Devils' annals with 185 goals and only MacLean and Elias potted more power play markers than Muller. Currently a coach with the Canadiens, "Captain Kirk" was traded to Montreal in 1991. He won a Stanley Cup with the Habs in 1993.
Center - Jason Arnott Forever remembered in New Jersey for his Cup-clinching goal in the 2000 final, Jason Arnott played for six teams over his stellar 18-year career. The Oilers' first round pick in 1993, "Arnie" was considered for the Predators' all-time roster for his four highly productive seasons in Nashville. However only one player in Devils history scored more goals in fewer games and his name is...
Right Wing - Stephane Richer Acquired from Montreal in the Muller trade, Stephane Richer has the fourth-highest goals per game average in Devils history. A two-time Stanley Cup winner, Stephane posted two 50-goal seasons in Montreal and 421 total goals over his 17-year career. His 147 tallies for New Jersey (in 360 games) are the 13th-highest total in team annals, and no player scored 100 or more goals in fewer games with the Devils.
3rd Line
Left Wing - Aaron Broten The only player on this all-time roster who represented the Rockies, Aaron Broten ranks ninth in franchise history with 162 goals and 307 assists, and his 469 points for the Rockies/Devils are the eighth-highest total in team annals. Broten's 128 power play assists are the team's fifth-highest total. His brother Neal was named to the Stars' all-time team.
Center - Bobby Holik A first round pick of the Whalers in 1989, Holik was traded to New Jersey in a 1992 trade involving Sean Burke. The Czech forward won two Stanley Cups with the Devils, centering the "Crash Line" with Mike Peluso and Randy McKay. Holik is third in Devils history with 202 goals, fourth in plus/minus with a career +134 rating, and his 43 game-winning goals are third in team history behind only Elias and MacLean.
Right Wing - Petr Sykora New Jersey's first-round pick in 1995, Petr Sykora is eighth in Devils history with 166 goals and tied for eighth with 144 even-strength tallies. The two-time 30-goal scorer played in six Stanley Cup finals, including three with the Devils and one against the Devils as a member of the Mighty Ducks in 2003.
4th Line
Left Wing - Sergei Brylin
A valuable defensive forward, Sergei Brylin played his entire 13-year NHL career with the Devils. Only five forwards suited up for New Jersey more times than "Sarge" who is the only Devils forward who contributed to all three Stanley Cup titles. Brylin set career highs with 23 goals and 52 points for the Stanley Cup-finalist Devils in 2000-01.
Center - Travis Zajac The only active member of the Devils on this all-time roster, Travis Zajac is approaching his 1,000th NHL game and 200th goal. The Devils' 1st round pick in 2004 ranks fourth in team annals with 195 goals, third with 532 points, and he's tied with Scott Stevens for the fifth-most assists in franchise history. Zajac is fifth among Devils with 130 even-strength goals and ranks fourth in team annals in both power play goals and short-handed goals.
Right Wing - Claude Lemieux A legendary playoff performer, Claude Lemieux won four Stanley Cups in his brilliant career, including two in New Jersey. The 1995 Conn Smythe winner led the league in playoff goals that season, and in 1997 for a Colorado team that didn't even reach the Final. "Pepe" played on the edge (and often over it) throughout his career which often overshadowed his offensive prowess. The five-time 30-goal scorer is ninth in Devils' annals with 49 power play goals.
spares - Brian Rolston, Brian Gionta
Rolston, the Devils 1st round pick in 1991, had more productive seasons in Minnesota but didn't qualify for the Wild roster. Gionta is 11th in Devils history with 152 goals and holds the team's single-season record with 48 goals in 2005-06. John Madden(not that one), Jamie Langenbrunner, and Wilf Paiement were also considered. I really tried to get at least one Scouts/Rockies player on here, but the Devils have too much depth.
Defense Pair 1
Scott Stevens - Scott Niedermayer
Awarded to the Devils as compensation/punishment for the Blues tampering with Brendan Shanahan, Scott Stevens became an icon in New Jersey for his bruising bodychecks and near-flawless play in his own end. The Hall of Famer served as Devils' captain for 12 seasons, including all three Stanley Cup wins, and leads the franchise with a career +282 plus/minus rating and 70.5 DPS. Niedermayer was a faster, flashier defenseman, posting 46 more points than Stevens over 64 fewer games for the Devils. The Hall of Famer won three Stanley Cups and a Norris trophy with New Jersey, then left for Anaheim and won a fourth Cup as a Duck.
Defense Pair 2
An undrafted free agent, Brian Rafalski began his 11-year NHL career with the Devils, winning the first of his three Stanley Cups as a rookie in 2000. He posted four seasons of 50+ points and seven seasons of 40+ assists. Bruce Driver is 11th in Devils history with 399 points, and his 316 assists are eighth in franchise annals. He was drafted by the Rockies in 1981.
Defense Pair 3
Viacheslav Fetisov - Ken Daneyko
A legendary defenseman for the former Soviet Union, Slava Fetisov was the first Russian superstar to defect to the NHL. The Hall of Famer was traded to Detroit in 1995, where he would lose to his former team in that year's Stanley Cup final before winning back-to-back titles with the "Russian Five" in 1997 and 1998. Daneyko is the Devils' all-time leader in games played with 1,283 and penalty minutes with 2,516. "Mr. Devil" was a first round pick of the Devils in 1982 and won three Stanley Cups in Jersey. His jersey #3 was retired by the team.
Spare - Andy Greene
Goalies
Starter - Martin Brodeur
Backup - Cory Schneider
Head Coach: Jacques Lemaire Captain: Scott Stevens
Three different coaches won Stanley Cups for the Devils, and only three men have coached the team to more than 100 wins. Hall of Famer Jacques Lemaire is the only one on both lists. Lemaire is first in games coached, wins, and winning percentage among bench bosses who served more than two seasons with the team.
I hope you'll join us tomorrow for our next All-Time Team, the New York Islanders.
Thanks for reading!
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I bet you had fun putting this one together! Also, no John Madden, unsubscribing!
ReplyDeleteWhat set is that Brylin from, can't place it in my head.
ReplyDeleteDevils team issue from 1999-00.
DeleteCan't say I'm a fan, even if Claude Lemieux and I share the exact same birth date (down to the same year). In fact I'm a bit embarrassed about it. But I do root for them anytime they play the Flyers or Bruins.
ReplyDeleteHa, that makes you both one day older than my sister!
DeleteNow these are guys I know, living in Devils country and given how often they clashed with my Rangers. Of course Brodeur is the man when it comes to this team (I once dated a big Devils fan who dreamed of marrying him). But a lot of very good players around this team.
ReplyDeleteBack when I was into hockey cards... I enjoyed collecting Brodeur. As for Stevens... I remember him checking someone (I think it was Jeff Friesen) and thinking how can anyone survive that. It was one of those hope the player is okay.. but dang... that hit was awesome moments.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember a big hit on Friesen, but there are so many that I may have missed or forgotten some.
DeleteBeing local enough that I get their broadcasts, I'm familiar with every one of these names. They rarely mention the pre-Devils days. Fun fact, just last week I was going through the box of 2004-05 In the Game Franchises, and I got both the Rockies and Scouts cards of Wilf Paiement in the same pack. Scott Niedermayer was the first NHL player I had an autograph from.
ReplyDeleteWould have loved to see Madden or Pandolfo make the cut, but as you mentioned, it speaks to the depth of the team. Great to see Brylin get some recognition. Same with Holik. He was one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThe Devils always make me think of a pretty girl I knew in college. She was a big fan of the team, and whenever the Sabres and Devils played, we'd have these fun little back-and-forths...
ReplyDeleteHow Miroslav Satan never played for this team is one of those missed marketing opportunities I'll never understand...
That would have been awesome. It's not like Satan was a scrub, either. Oh well :/
DeleteNot surprisingly, you nailed the Devils. This is the gritty team I enjoyed so much throughout the early to mid '90s. I would not want to be on the ice shooting at Marty Brodeur with Scott Stevens and Claude Lemieux harassing me!
ReplyDelete