The New Jersey Devils
are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The club was founded in Kansas City, Missouri as the Kansas City Scouts in 1974, moved to Denver, Colorado as the Colorado Rockies after only two seasons, and then settled in New Jersey in 1982.
The franchise was poor to mediocre for most of its first 13 seasons, only making the playoffs once. However, under current president and general manager Lou Lamoriello, the Devils have made the playoffs in 19 out of the last 21 seasons, including each of the last 12. They won the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003. [1] For their first 24 seasons in New Jersey, the Devils were based in East Rutherford and played their home games at Brendan Byrne Arena/Continental Airlines Arena. Prior to the 2007–08 season, the Devils relocated to Newark to play their home games at the newly-constructed Prudential Center. [2]
The Devils are known for their defensive-oriented style of play, referred to as the neutral zone trap, which came to prominence during the team's Stanley Cup-winning season in 1994–95. The Devils have a rivalry with their trans-Hudson River neighbor, the New York Rangers, [3] as well as a rivalry with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils or Flyers have won the Atlantic Division title every season since 1995 all but once. [4] [5]
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Franchise history
Kansas City and Colorado
In 1974, the NHL ended its first
expansion period by adding teams in
Kansas City, Missouri and
Washington, D.C. [6] The Kansas City franchise was to be called the Mohawks, since the Kansas City metropolitan area includes portions of Missouri and
Kansas. However, the
Chicago Black Hawks objected to the similarity. The team was renamed the
Scouts after a statue in the city.
[7]
On October 9, 1974, the Scouts hit the ice for the first time at
Maple Leaf Gardens in
Toronto and lost 4-2 to the
Maple Leafs. Due to a
rodeo being held in Kansas City's brand-new
Kemper Arena, the Scouts were forced to wait nine games before making their home debut. Although they lost that game to the Black Hawks 4–3, the next night they beat their expansion brethren, the
Washington Capitals, 5-4. Like most expansion teams, the Scouts were terrible, garnering only 41 points in their inaugural season. The next season, they won only 12 games—still the worst in franchise history. The Scouts failed to make the playoffs in either season in Kansas City and won only 27 of 160 games.
Although they were better than the Capitals (who won only eight games in their inaugural season), the Scouts began to suffer from an economic downturn in the Midwest. For their second season, the Scouts sold just 2,000 of 8,000
season tickets and were almost $1 million in debt. Due to their various on- and off-ice disappointments, the franchise moved to
Denver and was renamed the
Colorado Rockies.
The team made a fresh start in Colorado, winning its first game 4-2 over Toronto. They picked up momentum and looked like a possible playoff contender, but things collapsed in February, and the Rockies finished the
1976–77 season with a record of 20-46-14; good for 54 points. The next season, despite finishing with fewer wins (they finished 21 games under .500), they managed to edge the
Vancouver Canucks out of the last playoff spot by two points, but were quickly eliminated by the
Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs.
A lack of stability continually dogged the team. In their first eight years, the Scouts/Rockies went through ten coaches (including eight in their first seven years), none lasting more than one full season. While in Denver, the team changed owners twice.
Prior to the
1978–79 season, owner Jack Vickers sold the team to Arthur Imperatore, who announced that he wished to move the team to the
New Jersey Meadowlands. The NHL vetoed the move since the
Brendan Byrne Arena was still being built, and there was no suitable temporary facility in the area. In 1979, the team hired
Don Cherry as head coach and traded for Maple Leafs star
Lanny McDonald. Despite these moves, the Rockies still posted the worst record in the NHL. They played the next two seasons with the possibility of moving until May 27, 1982, when New Jersey shipping tycoon
John McMullen purchased the team and announced that the long-expected move to New Jersey would finally come to pass.
[8]
The team would now be playing right in the middle of the
New York–New Jersey–
Connecticut tri-state area, home to the three-time defending
Stanley Cup champion
New York Islanders, as well as the very popular
New York Rangers. The Devils had to compensate the Islanders, Rangers and
Philadelphia Flyers for "invading" New Jersey.
[9]
New Jersey
1982–1993
On June 30, 1982, the team was renamed the New Jersey Devils, after the legend of the
Jersey Devil, an ominous
cryptozoological creature supposed to inhabit the
Pine Barrens of South Jersey.
[10]. Over 10,000 people voted in a contest held by local newspapers to select the name.
[11] The team began play in East Rutherford, New Jersey at the Brendan Byrne Arena, later renamed the Continental Airlines Arena and now the
Izod Center, where they would call home through the 2006-07 season. The Devils' first game ended in a 3–3 tie to the
Pittsburgh Penguins. Their first win, a 3-2 victory, came in New Jersey at the expense of their new trans-
Hudson rivals, the New York Rangers.
[12] The team finished with a 17-49-14 record, putting them three points above last place in the
Patrick Division.
In the following season, the Devils were publicly humiliated by
Wayne Gretzky after they were blown out 13-4 by his team, the
Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky was upset that former teammate
Ron Low played for what he considered an inferior team, and in a post-game interview said:
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| Well, it's time they got their act together, folks. They're ruining the whole league. They had better stop running a Mickey Mouse Operation
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Later, Gretzky publicly admitted that his comment went too far, but privately maintained that his comment was accurate.
[14] In response, many Devils fans wore Mickey Mouse apparel when the Oilers returned to New Jersey.
In the
1983–84 season, the Devils hosted the annual
NHL All-Star Game at the Brendan Byrne Arena.
Chico Resch was the winning goaltender, and Devils defenseman
Joe Cirella tallied a goal as the Wales Conference beat the Campbell Conference 7–6.
However, the team did not achieve much success. Head coach
Bill MacMillan was fired midway through the season and replaced with
Tom McVie, and the Devils won only 17 games. After the season, McVie was replaced by
Doug Carpenter.
Meanwhile, the Devils had begun building a nucleus of young players.
John MacLean,
Kirk Muller, and
Pat Verbeek all complemented the veteran leadership of Resch. The team's record improved each season between 1984 and 1987. However, the presence of the powerful Islanders, Flyers and Capitals in the
Patrick Division meant that the Devils found themselves in a losing battle with the Rangers and
Pittsburgh Penguins for the division's last playoff spot. The Devils actually finished last in the Patrick in 1986 and 1987 despite improving their record.
Hoping to light a spark under the team, McMullen hired
Providence College coach and athletic director
Lou Lamoriello as team president in April 1987. Lamoriello appointed himself
general manager shortly before the
1987–88 season. This move came as a considerable surprise to NHL circles. Although Lamoriello had been a college coach for 19 years, he had never played, coached, or managed in the NHL and was almost unknown outside the American college hockey community.
The 1987–88 Devils garnered the first winning record in the franchise's 14-year history. On the final day of the regular season, they were tied with their nemesis, the Rangers, for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. After New York defeated the
Quebec Nordiques 3–0, all eyes were on the Devils, who were playing the Blackhawks in Chicago. The Devils were trailing 3-2 midway through the third period when John MacLean tied the game, and with two minutes left in overtime, he added the winning goal. Although the Rangers and Devils both finished with 82 points, the Devils had one more win, sending them to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.
[15]
The team made it all the way to the conference finals, but lost to the
Boston Bruins in seven games. In that series, head coach
Jim Schoenfeld verbally abused referee
Don Koharski after the third game, screaming obscenities. During the exchange, Koharski slipped and fell against the wall. He immediately claimed that Schoenfeld had pushed him, but Schoenfeld retorted that Koharski had fallen down. As Koharski snapped that Schoenfeld was "gone," Schoenfeld replied, "Good, 'cause you fell, you fat pig. Have another doughnut!" League disciplinarian
Brian O'Neill ordered Schoenfeld to sit out game four. The Devils demanded a hearing, but O'Neill refused. Claiming their rights as well as Schoenfeld's had been violated, the Devils appealed to
New Jersey Superior Court judge James F. Madden—an unprecedented appeal to authority outside the league. Forty minutes before game time, Madden ordered the suspension overturned pending a formal league hearing. In his order, Madden pointed out that the NHL's investigation consisted of two phone calls—one to Koharski and one to Schoenfeld—and criticized O'Neill for not reviewing the videotape. In protest, referee Dave Newell and linesmen Gord Broseker and Ray Scapinello refused to work the game. After more than an hour's delay, three off-ice officials—Paul McInnis, Jim Sullivan and Vin Godleski—were tracked down to work the game. McInnis served as the referee, while Sullivan and Godleski worked the lines wearing yellow scrimmage sweaters. Notably, league president
John Ziegler was away on personal business and could not be contacted, leaving
Chicago Blackhawks owner
Bill Wirtz, as chairman of the league's board of governors, to give the order to play the game with backup officials.
[16]
Ziegler conducted a hearing on May 10, and suspended Schoenfeld for game five and fined him $1,000; the Devils were fined $10,000. Schoenfeld later admitted he regretted his comments. Nonetheless, Devils fans and broadcasters claimed that the officials shortchanged them for several years afterward.
, the Devils once again slipped below .500 and missed the playoffs. Lamoriello made several postseason player changes, notably signing of two
Soviet stars:
Viacheslav Fetisov and
Sergei Starikov. The Devils drafted Fetisov years earlier in the
1983 entry draft, but the
Soviet government did not allow Fetisov, who was an
Army officer as well as a member of the
national team, to leave the country.
[18] Shortly after, the Devils signed Fetisov's defense partner,
Alexei Kasatonov.
The team changed coaches midway through each of the next two seasons. Schoenfeld was replaced with
John Cunniff in
1989–90, and Tom McVie was re-hired midway through the
1990–91 season and helmed the team through its third-straight first-round elimination in
1991–92.
Herb Brooks, who coached the 1980 "
Miracle on Ice" team, was brought in for the
1992–93 season, but when the team yet again was eliminated in the first round, he was fired and replaced with former
Montreal Canadiens coach
Jacques Lemaire.
[19]
1993–2000
Under Lemaire, the team roared through the
1993–94 regular season with a lineup including defensemen
Scott Stevens,
Scott Niedermayer, and
Ken Daneyko, forwards
Stephane Richer, John MacLean,
Bobby Holik, and
Claude Lemieux, and goaltenders
Chris Terreri and
Martin Brodeur, who was honored as the league's top rookie with the
Calder Memorial Trophy.
[20] The Devils' first 100-point season earned them the NHL's second-best record behind the
New York Rangers. However, due to the NHL's new playoff format, the Devils were seeded third in the East, behind the Rangers and Penguins. The Devils and Rangers met in a memorable Eastern Conference Finals match up, which went seven games. The Devils had lost all six regular season meetings to the Blueshirts, but let the world know they were up for the challenge, after Richer scored the game winning goal in the second overtime of Game One. Going into Game 6, the Devils led the series 3-2 after having dominated Game 5 in Madison Square Garden. Before the game Rangers captain
Mark Messier made his famous guarantee that the Rangers would win Game 6. Keeping true to his word, Messier led his team back, netting a natural hat trick, and leading the Rangers to a 4-2 victory (after the Devils were up 2–0). In game seven, the Devils'
Valeri Zelepukin tied the deciding game with 7.7 seconds remaining, but the Devils were defeated in double overtime, on a goal by
Stephane Matteau. Devils fans, however, claimed that
Esa Tikkanen was in the crease, and the goal should have been wiped out.
Nonetheless, the series is viewed by many hockey fans as one of the best playoff series in NHL history.
Despite the setback, the team returned to the Eastern Conference Finals during the
lockout-shortened 1995 season and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers four games to two. They swept the heavily favored
Detroit Red Wings to win New Jersey's first-ever Stanley Cup, and the first major professional sports championship in the state's history, as they brought the Stanley Cup across the Hudson River from "
the Garden to the Garden State," with the Rangers having won the Stanley Cup the year before.
Claude Lemieux was awarded the
Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP. The Devils established an NHL record by posting 11 road victories in one playoff season. The success also came amid constant rumors that the team would move for the third time in its history to
Nashville (which eventually gained
their own NHL expansion team).
[21]
The Devils missed the playoffs by 2 points the following season, with a 37-33-12 record. They were beaten by the
Tampa Bay Lightning for the last playoff spot in the East on the last day of the season. It marked the first time in 26 years that a defending Cup champion failed to reach the playoffs. For most of the remainder of the decade, the Devils failed to live up to expectations. Despite annually having one of the best regular season records in the league, they were ousted by the New York Rangers in the second round of the 1997 playoffs, and were eliminated in the first round by the
Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins the next two seasons.
left
During the
1999–00 season, New Jersey was in the midst of a late-season swoon. Despite having one of the best records in the league, Lamoriello feared another early playoff collapse and made the controversial decision to fire head coach Robbie Ftorek and replace him with assistant Larry Robinson. The move paid off, as New Jersey defeated the
Florida Panthers, the
Toronto Maple Leafs and the
Philadelphia Flyers to make the Stanley Cup Finals. In the Finals, the Devils reached the top again, defeating the defending champion
Dallas Stars in six games to win the Stanley Cup for the second time. Stevens, Holik, Niedermayer, and Brodeur, all integral parts of the 1995 team, were augmented with new players acquired in the intervening five years including
Patrik Elias,
Petr Sykora,
Jason Arnott,
Alexander Mogilny, and rookies
Brian Rafalski,
John Madden, and Calder Trophy recipient
Scott Gomez. A highlight of the Devils' second championship run was their come-from-behind victory in the conference finals. They trailed the Philadelphia Flyers three games to one, but rebounded to win three straight games and the series. This was both the first time in Devils playoff history and in NHL Conference Finals history that a 3-1 deficit was surmounted.
[22] This series was also remembered for the pulverizing hit that team captain Scott Stevens laid on Flyers captain
Eric Lindros, effectively ending Lindros' career in Philadelphia. Stevens was named the winner of the
Conn Smythe Trophy,
[23] and assisted on Jason Arnott's Stanley Cup-clinching goal in double-overtime of Game 6 in Dallas.
Shortly before this victory, McMullen sold the team to Puck Holdings, an affiliate of
YankeeNets, for $175 million. The owners wanted to use the Devils and the
New Jersey Nets (also a tenant at Continental Airlines Arena) for programming on what eventually became the
YES Network and move both teams to a new arena in
Newark. Neither of these proposals became reality under Puck Holdings' ownership.
[24] The new owners largely left the Devils' operations in Lamoriello's hands. For the start of the next season, Lamoriello was appointed
CEO of both the Devils and Nets. He remained at the helm of the basketball team until it was sold with the intention of moving it to
Brooklyn.
[25]
2001–2004
Led by the Elias-Arnott-Sykora line (The A Line),
Bobby Holik, and the goaltending of Martin Brodeur, the Devils reached the
Stanley Cup Finals for the second straight year in
2001. They lost the series to the
Colorado Avalanche despite leading 3-2 and having game six on home ice; Brodeur had a subpar series, with a save percentage under 90%, and was bested by Colorado Hall of Fame goaltender
Patrick Roy. The team's strong regular season was recognized at the NHL's annual awards that year, with Madden becoming the first player in franchise history to win the
Frank J. Selke Trophy (for top defensive forward), along with Brodeur and Stevens named as finalists for the
Vezina Trophy (top goalie) and
Norris Trophy (top defensemen) awards respectively.
In the
2001–02 season, they were expected to be contenders once again,
[26] and they finished the season as the 3rd best team in the Atlantic Division, with 95 points. The Devils entered the playoffs as a 6 seed, but lost in the first round to the number 3 seed
Carolina Hurricanes.
In
2003, the Devils finished first in the Atlantic Division with 108 points, earning the number 2 seed in the East. Their
playoff run included a seven-game conference final series victory, decided in the final three minutes on a goal by newly acquired forward
Jeff Friesen, over the Ottawa Senators, who won the
President's Trophy that season. In the
Stanley Cup Finals, the Devils and
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim had a back and forth battle, with both teams winning only their home games. This was the first time since
1965 that all the games in a Stanley Cup Final were won by the home team. The Devils brought the Stanley Cup to New Jersey a third time, defeating the Mighty Ducks in the 7th game of the Finals in New Jersey. Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Ken Daneyko, and
Sergei Brylin each won their third Cup, and after the series, Daneyko, a long-time fan favorite,
[27] announced his retirement. Despite Anaheim not being able to complete their
Cinderella run, the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP was awarded to their goaltender
Jean-Sebastien Giguere who was the first player not on the championship team to be named playoff MVP since
Ron Hextall in
1987. Some hockey writers speculated a New Jersey player did not win because there were multiple candidates, resulting in a
split vote among the sportswriters who select the winner.
[28] [29] However, Brodeur was awarded the Vezina Trophy as outstanding goaltender in the regular season for the first time in his career. The
New Jersey Nets were in
their finals at the same time the Devils won this Stanley Cup, but lost to the
San Antonio Spurs in six, which denied the state of New Jersey from having both NBA and NHL championships in the same year.
In the
2003–04 season, Martin Brodeur took home the Vezina Trophy again. Despite the permanent loss of long time team captain Scott Stevens the Devils finished second in the Atlantic Division with 100 points. With the sixth seed in the
Stanley Cup playoffs, the Devils lost to the Philadelphia Flyers four games to one. In March 2004, near the end of the season,
Lehman Brothers executive
Jeffrey Vanderbeek purchased a controlling interest from Puck Holdings and resigned from Lehman Brothers to assume full-time ownership. He had been a minority owner since the 2000 sale.
[30]
Vanderbeek was a strong proponent of the proposed arena in Newark, which first received funding from the city council during Puck Holdings' ownership in 2002.
[31] After legal battles over both
eminent domain and the city's financial participation in the arena project, the final deal was approved by council in October 2004,
[32] and the groundbreaking occurred almost exactly a year later.
Nonetheless, in January 2006 financial issues threatened to halt the deal, as the Devils did not provide the city with a required letter of credit until the last possible day.
[33]
Though construction was well underway, in late summer 2006,
Cory Booker, who had recently taken office as Mayor of Newark, promised to reevaluate the deal and considered backing out.
[34] [35] In October Booker conceded there would be "a first-class arena built in the city of Newark, whether we like it or not",
[36] and soon after the Devils struck a deal including both property and monetary givebacks that appeased city officials.
[37] The arena, which was named the
Prudential Center when Newark-based
Prudential Financial purchased naming rights in early 2007,
[38] opened shortly after the start of the
2007–08 season.
[39]
2005–2007
During the
2004–05 NHL lockout, many Devils players played in European leagues and in the hockey world championships.
[41] Patrik Elias, who was playing in the
Russian Superleague, contracted
hepatitis A.
[42] Faced with Elias' indefinite recovery timetable, plus the loss of defensive stalwarts Scott Niedermayer to free agency and Scott Stevens to retirement, Lamoriello signed veteran defenseman
Dan McGillis and two former Devils — winger Alexander Mogilny and defenseman
Vladimir Malakhov, none of whom finished the season on the ice.
[43] [44] [45] In July 2005, the team announced that head coach
Pat Burns did not return for the
2005–2006 season after being diagnosed with
cancer for the second time in little more than a year.
[46] Assistant coach
Larry Robinson, the team's head coach from 2000 to 2002, was promoted to start the season.
The Devils struggled early in the
2005–06 season, ending the 2005 calendar year with a 16-18-5 record.
[47] Robinson resigned as head coach on December 19, and Lamoriello moved down to the bench.
[48] Once Elias returned from his bout with hepatitis, the team quickly turned around, finishing 46-27-9 after a season-ending eleven-game winning streak capped with a dramatic 4-3 win over the
Montreal Canadiens. During that final victory, which clinched the Devils' sixth division title,
Brian Gionta set a new team record for goals in a season with 48, topping
Pat Verbeek's 46.
[49] The win streak to close the year was also an NHL record.
[50]
On April 29, 2006, the Devils won their first round Stanley Cup playoff series against the New York Rangers four games to none, extending their winning streak to fifteen games and marking the first time the Devils defeated their cross-river rival in a playoff series. The team's season ended in the next round with an 4-1 Game 5 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, who eventually won the Stanley Cup.
In the offseason, the Devils hired former Montreal Canadiens coach
Claude Julien to replace Lamoriello behind the bench.
[51] However, in the last week of the , with just three games left, Julien was fired, and Lamoriello once again reprised his coaching role.
[52] The move is reminiscent of Robbie Ftorek's firing with eight games left in the
1999–00 season, after which the Devils won the Stanley Cup. Lamoriello defended the move saying, "I don't think we're at a point of being ready both mentally and [physically] to play the way that is necessary going into the playoffs." The Devils went on to win their seventh Atlantic Division title and earn the second seed in the Eastern Conference after finishing ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins by two points. They defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in the first round, but struggled against the fourth seeded Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals and lost to them in five games. Their final loss of the series on May 5, 2007, marked the final game of the Devils' 25-year history at the
Continental Airlines Arena.
2007–present
The early playoff exit led to some speculation that this was the "end of an era" for the Devils.
[53] This proved to be correct, as on July 1, 2007, long-time Devils Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski left the team as unrestricted free agents, Gomez to the rival New York Rangers and Rafalski to the Detroit Red Wings. Back-up goalie
Scott Clemmensen went to the
Toronto Maple Leafs, and local favorite forward
Jim Dowd opted for free agency. However, the Devils signed Sabre forward
Dainius Zubrus and Ranger defenseman
Karel Rachunek shortly after. On July 5, the Devils signed Rangers goalie
Kevin Weekes as a backup to Brodeur, as well as
Nashville Predators defenseman
Vitali Vishnevski on July 10.
thumb, in October 2007.
On July 13, 2007,
Brent Sutter was named the 14th head coach of the team, along with previous coach
Larry Robinson, to aide John MacLean as the second assistant coach. On August 7, 2007, the Devils signed former Islander
Arron Asham. After the Devils preseason came to an end, Devils prospects
Nicklas Bergfors and
David Clarkson made the final roster. The Devils opened their new arena, the
Prudential Center, on October 27, 2007 against the Ottawa Senators after opening the season with a nine game road trip. The game ended with a 4-1 win for Ottawa.
On October 31, 2007, the New Jersey Devils won their first home game at the Prudential Center by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-1. In a dramatic last game of the season against their rivals the New York Rangers, the Devils won in a shootout, giving them home ice advantage over the Rangers in the playoffs, though the Devils lost the series against the Rangers 4-1, losing all three games at home. Brodeur did win the Vezina Trophy for the fourth time in five years for his performance in the regular season.
For the
2008–09 season, the Devils signed
Brian Rolston, Bobby Holik, Brendan Shanahan,
Mike Rupp, and
Scott Clemmensen, all making their second stints with the team. The Devils' season looked to be in jeopardy after Brodeur tore a biceps tendon in November and was sidelined for four months, but strong play by scoring leader
Zach Parise and backup goalie Clemmensen kept the Devils atop the NHL standings. Brodeur would return strong and make history. On March 17, 2009, on
St. Patrick's Day before a sellout home crowd, Brodeur broke
Patrick Roy's record for regular season wins with his 552nd victory, while Patrik Elias became the franchise's all-time leading scorer with his 702nd point. In the opening round of the
playoffs, the Devils suffered two losses to the Hurricanes within the final minute of regulation play. In Game 4, the Devils overcame a 3 goal deficit, only to lose on a goal with 0.2 seconds left in the game in which Brodeur claimed he was interfered with.
[54] The team was eliminated in a heartbreaking Game 7 loss in which the Hurricanes scored 2 goals in the last one minute and twenty seconds of the game to erase a 3-2 Devils lead.
[55]
On June 9, 2009, the New Jersey Devils announced that head coach Brent Sutter was stepping down from his position, citing personal and family reasons. However, 3 days later the
Calgary Flames announced that Brent Sutter was the new coach which started controversy around the league. No compensation for the loss was provided, because there is no compensation for losing a coach under contract.
After the free agency period opened on July 1, 2009, career-long Devils
John Madden and
Brian Gionta left to sign with the
Chicago Blackhawks and
Montreal Canadians, respectively.
Scott Clemmensen signed with the
Florida Panthers and
Mike Rupp signed with the
Pittsburgh Penguins. All four had won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey.
On July 13, 2009, The Devils named former head coach
Jacques Lemaire head coach of the New Jersey Devils. Assistant Coach
John MacLean was named head coach of the
Lowell Devils.
Style of play
The Devils have been known as a defense-first team since
Jacques Lemaire's tenure, although the Devils have twice led the Eastern Conference in Goals scored, once leading the NHL in goals scored (295 GF in 2000–2001). Lemaire gave the Devils their defensive mantra when he implemented a system commonly called the
neutral zone trap
.
[56] This system is designed to force teams to turn over the puck in the neutral zone leading to a counterattack.
[57] This style of play, coupled with poor attendance and television ratings, led the team to be chastised by the media and hockey fans for "making the NHL boring".
[58] Nevertheless, the Devils were successful using this style of play, and Devils coach Larry Robinson asserted that the Montreal Canadiens (who also won the Cup many times) he played on in the 1970s used a form of the trap, though it did not have a name.
[59]
Under Brent Sutter, the team adopted less of a trap and more of a transitional, aggressive forechecking style of play which also emphasized puck possession and instilled the cycle to start the 2007-2008 season.
[60] This led to many high scoring games early in the 07–08 season for New Jersey.
Team colors and mascot
Logo
The Devils' logo is a
monogram of the letters "N" and "J", rendered with two devil horns at the top of the "J" and a pointed tail at the bottom. The monogram is red with a black outline, and sits inside an open black circle. The logo lays on a field of white in the middle of the chest on both uniforms. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the black circle and outline were green.
Jerseys
The current team colors are red, black and white, and they can be seen on both the home and road jerseys. The home jersey, which was the team's road jersey until the NHL swapped home and road colors in 2003,
[61] is dominantly red in color. There are three black and white stripes, one across each arm and one across the waist. The road jersey (the team's former home jersey) is white in color with a similar design, except that the three stripes are black and red. The shoulders are draped with black on both uniforms. Before 1993, the uniforms were green and red with slightly different striping
leading some fans to affectionately refer to them as "
Christmas colors".
[62] The Devils have yet to introduce a
third jersey and are one of only two NHL teams (Detroit is the other) never to have worn one.
[63] GM Lou Lamoriello has stated that he does not ever intend to introduce a third jersey for the Devils, saying, "I don't believe in it," Lamoriello said. "I strongly believe that you have to have one identity as a team. We want to create a feeling that our home and away jerseys are special and that it means something special to wear one."
[64] Unlike most teams, the team kept the same uniform design when the NHL switched to the Rbk EDGE jerseys for the
2007–08 NHL season, going as far as to issue a
press release saying that the team had no plans for an event unveiling the Rbk EDGE design, because there was nothing new to see.
[65]
On August 25, 2009, Lamoriello announced that the Devils with be wearing their classic red, white, and green jerseys for their March 17, 2010 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Lamoriello stated "The original red, green, and white jerseys are a part of our history here in New Jersey. We have always been an organization that takes great pride in its tradition. This is something we believe our fans will enjoy for that one special night."
[66]
Mascot
The current mascot is "NJ Devil", a tall devil who plays into the myth of the
Jersey Devil. NJ Devil keeps the crowd excited, signs autographs, participates in entertainment during the intermissions, skates across the ice, and runs throughout the aisles of the arena to high five fans.
[67]
Prior to 1993, the mascot was "Slapshot", a large Devils
hockey puck that interacted with the fans. However, the man inside the costume resigned after he was accused of improperly touching three women while in costume. The lawsuit and all charges were dropped as nothing could be proven. However, to remove the stigma of the lawsuit, Slapshot was retired and has not returned since.
[68]
Season-by-season results
Note:
GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes''
| Season
| GP
| W
| L
| OTL
| Pts
| GF
| GA
| PIM
| Finish
| Playoffs
|
| 2004–05
| Season canceled due to 2004–05 NHL lockout
|
| 2005–06
| 82
| 46
| 27
| 9
| 101
| 242
| 229
| 938
| 1st, Atlantic
| Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1–4 (Hurricanes)
|
| 2006–07
| 82
| 49
| 24
| 9
| 107
| 216
| 201
| 830
| 1st, Atlantic
| Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1–4 (Senators)
|
| 2007–08
| 82
| 46
| 29
| 7
| 99
| 206
| 197
| 974
| 2nd, Atlantic
| Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 1–4 (Rangers)
|
| 2008–09
| 82
| 51
| 27
| 4
| 106
| 244
| 209
| 974
| 1st, Atlantic
| Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3–4 (Hurricanes)
|
Franchise records
Scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.
Note:
Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game * = still active with the team
Updated at completion of 2008–2009 season
| Player
| Pos
| GP
| G
| A
| Pts
| P/G
|
| Patrik Elias*
| LW
| 822
| 295
| 411
| 706
| .86
|
| John MacLean
| RW
| 934
| 347
| 354
| 701
| .75
|
| Kirk Muller
| LW
| 556
| 185
| 335
| 520
| .94
|
| Scott Niedermayer
| D
| 892
| 112
| 364
| 476
| .53
|
| Bobby Holik
| C
| 760
| 202
| 268
| 470
| .64
|
| Aaron Broten
| C
| 641
| 162
| 307
| 469
| .73
|
| Scott Gomez
| C
| 548
| 116
| 334
| 450
| .82
|
| Scott Stevens
| D
| 956
| 93
| 337
| 430
| .44
|
| Bruce Driver
| D
| 702
| 83
| 316
| 399
| .57
|
| Petr Sykora
| RW
| 445
| 145
| 205
| 350
| .79
|
Franchise records
Regular season
- Most goals in a season: Brian Gionta, 48 (2005-06)
- Most assists in a season: Scott Stevens, 60 (1993–94)
- Most points in a season: Patrik Elias, 96 (40 G, 56 A) (2000–01)
- Most penalty minutes in a season: Krzysztof Oliwa, 295 (1997–98)
- Most points in a season by a defenseman: Scott Stevens, 78 (1993–94)
- Most points in a season by a rookie: Scott Gomez, 70 (1999–00)
- Most wins in a season: Martin Brodeur, 48(2006–07) (also the NHL record)
- Most shutouts in a season: Martin Brodeur, 12 (2006–07)
- Most power play goals in a season: Brian Gionta, 24 (2005–06)
Playoffs
- Most goals in a playoff season: Claude Lemieux, 13 (1995)
- Most goals by a defenseman in a playoff season: Brian Rafalski, 7 (2001)
- Most assists in a playoff season: Scott Niedermayer, 16 (2003)
- Most points in a playoff season: Patrik Elias, 23 (9 G,14 A) (2001)
- Most points by a defenseman in a playoff season: Brian Rafalski and Scott Niedermayer, 18 (2001, 2003)
- Most penalty minutes in a playoff season: Perry Anderson, 113 (1988)
Team
- Most points in a season: 111 (2000–01)
- Most wins in a season: 51 (2008–09)
- Longest season-ending win streak: 11 (2005–06)
Players
Current roster
Updated December 15, 2008.
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