History of the New Jersey Devils

The history of the New Jersey Devils National Hockey League team dates back to 1982, when the Colorado Rockies moved to New Jersey and became the Devils. Since 1995, the franchise has played in the Stanley Cup Finals five times, winning the Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003.

Kansas City and Colorado

In 1974, the NHL ended its first expansion period by adding teams in Kansas City, Missouri, and Washington, D.C.^[1]

Due to a rodeo being held in Kansas City's Kemper Arena, the Scouts were forced to wait nine games before making their home debut.^[2] The Scouts won for the first time in Kansas City on November 3, 1974, against their expansion brethren, the Washington Capitals, 5–4. Kansas City struggled in their inaugural season as they garnered only 41 points in 1974–75. They regressed to 36 points 1975–76 as the Scouts won only 12 games,^[3] including only one victory in their final 44 games^[4] – still the worst in franchise history as of the 2014–15 season. The Scouts failed to make the playoffs in either season in Kansas City and won only 27 of 160 games.^[5]

For their second season, the Scouts sold just 2,000 season tickets and were almost $1 million in debt.^[6] Kansas City's owners lost an estimated $5 million on the team and decided to sell after only two years.^[7] Following the 1975–76 season, the franchise was relocated to Denver, renamed the Colorado Rockies and played at the McNichols Sports Arena.^[8]

The team made a fresh start in Colorado and won its first game, 4–2 over the Toronto Maple Leafs.^[9] They looked like a possible playoff contender in 1976–77 but a collapse featuring an 18-game losing streak caused them to finish the year with a record of 20–46–14, good for 54 points.^[10][11] The Rockies improved to 59 points the next season but still had the sixth-worst record in the league. However, the Smythe Division was so weak that year—only the Chicago Black Hawks had a winning record—the Rockies were able to edge out the Vancouver Canucks for second place by two points.^[12] The rules of the time guaranteed a playoff spot to the top two teams in each division.^[13] The franchise's playoff debut did not last long, however, as the Philadelphia Flyers eliminated them in a two-game sweep.^[14]

A lack of stability continually plagued the team.^[15] In their first eight years, the Scouts/Rockies went through ten coaches, none lasting two full seasons.^[5] While in Denver, the team changed owners twice. Amid this instability, they not only never had a winning season, but never even came close to a .500 record. The closest they would get would be in 1980–81, when they won 22 games.

Prior to the 1978–79 season, owner Jack Vickers sold the team to New Jersey trucking tycoon Arthur Imperatore, who announced that he intended to move the team to the New Jersey Meadowlands in East Rutherford, across the Hudson River from New York City. The NHL vetoed the move since the Brendan Byrne Arena (now Izod Center) was still under construction 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 Imperatore sold the Rockies to another New Jersey millionaire, shipping magnate John McMullen (who also owned Major League Baseball's Houston Astros). McMullen's first act was to announce that the long-expected move to New Jersey would finally come to pass.^[16]

The team's new home, right in the middle of the New York–New Jersey–Connecticut tri-state area, was home to the three-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders as well as the very popular New York Rangers. As part of the relocation deal, the Devils had to compensate the Islanders, Rangers and Flyers for encroaching on the established team's territory.^[17]

New Jersey

1982–1993: Building the foundation

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.^[18] Over 10,000 people voted in a contest held by local newspapers to select the name.^[19] 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 were placed in the Patrick Division, where their 1974 expansion brethren, the Capitals, were also playing.

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.^[20] 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 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:

“

"They are putting a Mickey Mouse operation on the ice. It's not funny, it's disappointing. [Devils management] better get their acts together. They had better start getting better personnel and start putting them on the ice. It's ruining hockey.[21]

”

Later, Gretzky publicly admitted that his comment was "blown out of proportion." In response, many Devils fans wore Mickey Mouse apparel when the Oilers returned to New Jersey.^[22]

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.^[20] 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.^[23]

Meanwhile, with stable ownership at last in place, the Devils began a slow journey to respectability. They assembled a nucleus of young players; John MacLean, Bruce Driver, Ken Daneyko, Kirk Muller and Pat Verbeek all complemented the veteran leadership of Resch. The team's record improved each season between 1984 and 1987. However, playing in a division where the same three teams—the Flyers, Capitals and Islanders—made the playoffs every year for six years running 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 Head 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 two more wins, sending them to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history as the New Jersey Devils.^[24]

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 4. 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 NHL. 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, NHL President John Ziegler was away on personal business and could not be contacted, leaving Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, as chairman of the NHL's Board of Governors, to give the order to play the game with backup officials.^[25]

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.^[25][26]

The next season, 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.^[27] 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.^[28]

1993–2000: A championship franchise

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, the latter goaltender being honored as the League's top rookie with the Calder Memorial Trophy.^[29] 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 Atlantic Division champion Rangers and Northeast Division champion Pittsburgh. 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 Rangers, but were up for the challenge, after Richer scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime of Game 1. 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 7, the Devils' Valeri Zelepukin tied the 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.^[25] 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).^[30] Scared at the embarrassing thought of losing the reigning champions, the State of New Jersey agreed to fund a renovation of the soon after renamed Continental Airlines Arena.

The Devils missed the playoffs by two points the following season with a 37–33–12 record, 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 a year later. Lemaire resigned after that season and was replaced by Assistant Coach Robbie Ftorek. However, the next season ended as the previous one, with a first-round loss, this time to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Late in the 1999–2000 season, Lamoriello made the controversial decision to fire Ftorek and replace him with Assistant Coach Larry Robinson. The Devils had the fourth-best record in the NHL, but Lamoriello feared that a late-season swoon would turn into another early-round playoff collapse. 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. Scott Stevens, Bobby Holik, Scott Niedermayer and Martin 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 Philadelphia 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.^[31] This series was also remembered for the hit that captain Scott Stevens laid on Flyers center Eric Lindros, effectively ending Lindros' career in Philadelphia. Stevens was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy,^[32] 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 National Basketball Association's 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.^[33] 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.^[34]

2001–2007: A third Cup and the lockout

Led by the Patrik Elias–Jason Arnott–Petr 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, however, to the Colorado Avalanche despite leading 3–2 and having Game 6 on home ice; Brodeur had a subpar series, with a save percentage under .900, and was bested by Colorado and future Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy. The team's strong regular season was recognized at the NHL's annual awards that year, with John Madden becoming the first player in franchise history to win the Frank J. Selke Trophy (for top defensive forward), along with Brodeur and Scott Stevens named as finalists for the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) and Norris Trophy (top defenseman) awards, respectively.

In the 2001–02 season, New Jersey were expected to be contenders once again,^[35] and they finished the season as the third best team in the Atlantic Division, with 95 points. The Devils entered the playoffs as the sixth seed, but lost in the first round to the third-seeded Carolina Hurricanes.

In 2003, the Devils finished first in the Atlantic Division with 108 points, earning the second seed in the East. Their playoff run included a seven-game Conference Final victory, decided in the final three minutes on a goal by newly acquired forward Jeff Friesen, over the Ottawa Senators, who won the Presidents' 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, however, after defeating the Mighty Ducks in Game 7 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,^[36] 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, 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.^[37][38] Brodeur, however, 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 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 Jeff 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.^[39] Like Puck Holdings/YankeeNets, Vanderbeek largely left the Devils in Lamoriello's hands.

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.^[40] 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,^[41] and the groundbreaking occurred almost exactly a year later.^[42] 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.^[43]

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.^[44][45] In October, Booker conceded there would be "a first-class arena built in the city of Newark, whether we like it or not",^[46] and soon after the Devils struck a deal including both property and monetary givebacks that appeased city officials.^[47] The arena, which was named the Prudential Center when Newark-based Prudential Financial purchased naming rights in early 2007,^[48] opened shortly after the start of the 2007–08 season.^[49]

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, many Devils players played in European leagues and in the hockey world championships.^[51] Patrik Elias, who was playing in the Russian Superleague (RSL), contracted hepatitis A.^[52] 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.^[53][54][55] In July 2005, the team announced that Head Coach Pat Burns would not return for the 2005–06 season after being diagnosed with cancer for the second time in little more than a year.^[56] 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.^[57] Robinson resigned as head coach on December 19, and Lamoriello moved down to the bench.^[58] 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.^[59] The win streak to close the year was also an NHL record.^[60]

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 15 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 a 4–1 Game 5 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, who eventually won the Stanley Cup.

In the off-season, the Devils hired former Montreal Canadiens coach Claude Julien to replace Lamoriello behind the bench.^[61] In the last week of the 2006–07 Devils season, however, with just three games left, Julien was fired and Lamoriello once again reprised his interim coaching role.^[62] The move is reminiscent of Robbie Ftorek's firing with eight games left in the 1999–2000 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 Semifinals 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.

2007–2013: Move to Newark and return to the Finals

During the move to Newark, the Devils lost a few prominent members. On July 1, 2007, long-time Devils Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski left the team as unrestricted free agents; Gomez to the rival Rangers and Rafalski to his hometown Detroit Red Wings. Back-up goaltender Scott Clemmensen went to Toronto, and local favorite, forward Jim Dowd, signed with Philadelphia. The Devils, however, were able to sign Buffalo Sabres forward Dainius Zubrus and Rangers defenseman Karel Rachunek. 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.

On July 13, 2007, Brent Sutter was named the 14th head coach of the team. Previous coach Larry Robinson was named to aide John MacLean as the second assistant coach. On August 7, 2007, the Devils signed former Islander Arron Asham. As the Devils preseason came to an end, prospects Niclas Bergfors and David Clarkson made the final roster. The Devils opened their new arena, the Prudential Center, on October 27, 2007, against Ottawa 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 Tampa Bay 6–1. In a dramatic last game of the season against the 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, Michael 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, 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 2009 playoffs, the Devils suffered two losses to the Hurricanes within the final minute of regulation play. In Game 4, the Devils overcame a three-goal deficit, only to lose on a goal with 0.2 seconds left in the game in which Brodeur claimed he was interfered with.^[63] The team was eliminated in a Game 7 loss in which the Hurricanes scored two goals in the last one minute and twenty seconds of the game to erase a 3–2 Devils lead.^[64]

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. In a controversial move three days later, however, Sutter was introduced as the new head coach of the Calgary Flames. A month later, the Devils named former head coach Jacques Lemaire as his replacement. Assistant Coach John MacLean was named head coach of the Lowell Devils, New Jersey's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. 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 Canadiens, respectively. Additionally, Scott Clemmensen signed with Florida and Michael Rupp with Pittsburgh. All four had won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey.

After several weeks of fruitless contract negotiations late in the season, the Atlanta Thrashers traded star left wing Ilya Kovalchuk, along with defenseman and former Devil Anssi Salmela, to the Devils on February 4, 2010, in exchange for defenseman Johnny Oduya and forward Niclas Bergfors, prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick in 2010. The Devils finished the season in first place in the Atlantic and second in the East. Their seeding matched them up against Philadelphia in the first round, who eliminated the Devils four games to one. Kovalchuk was held to two goals in the series.

After Head Coach Lemaire retired from coaching, the Devils announced that the team's all-time leading scorer, John MacLean, would become their new head coach. Former team head and assistant coach Larry Robinson and former NHL All-Star Adam Oates joined MacLean as his assistants. During the off-season, the Devils signed Ilya Kovalchuk to a 17-year contract, keeping him in New Jersey until the conclusion of the 2026–27 season. The contract was the longest contract ever held by an NHL player, beating out Rick DiPietro's 15-year contract with the New York Islanders.^[65] The League, however, rejected Kovalchuk's contract for allegedly circumventing the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement^[66] and Kovalchuk became a free agent for two months^[67] before the NHL officially accepted a 15-year contract worth $100 million.^[68]

John MacLean led the team to a record of 9–22–2, and after sitting in last place in the NHL on December 23, he was removed in favor of Jacques Lemaire, who came out of retirement for his third stint as head coach of the Devils and second in less than two seasons. During the tumultuous season, the Devils lost superstar Zach Parise to a meniscus tear in November and he finally returned in March for just one game in which the Devils were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Adding to the team's woes, Martin Brodeur suffered two multi-game injuries, an elbow injury in November and a minor knee sprain in February. Following the trade of captain Jamie Langenbrunner to the Dallas Stars, the Devils managed an astonishing turnaround with an impressive run of 26–7–3. They saw a dramatic increase in offensive production, in addition to the outstanding performance of backup goaltender Johan Hedberg. On March 12, the Devils found themselves just six points out of a final playoff spot. The other major trade of the season was Jason Arnott to the Washington Capitals in exchange for center Dave Steckel and a second-round draft pick.

During their astonishing late Winter run, the players did not talk about any playoff aspirations and maintained the motto of "one game at a time." Head Coach Lemaire also refused to talk about the team's playoff potential and told reporters to ask him about the Devils' chances once they were five points back. The Devils ultimately came within one point of Lemaire's benchmark but were eliminated by Montreal on April 2, 2011, thus missing out on the playoffs for the first time since the 1995–96 season. After winning their last game of the season, Lemaire announced that he would not return as head coach for another season with the Devils. Overall, this was the first losing season for the Devils since 1990–91.

In the 2011 off-season, Lemaire was replaced by former Florida Head Coach Peter DeBoer.^[69] After winning the 2011 NHL Entry Draft lottery, the Devils drafted defenseman Adam Larsson fourth overall along with several other key prospects. In addition to drafting and later signing Larsson, the Devils traded away veteran forward Brian Rolston while signing former Devils "A-Line" star Petr Sykora to a one-year contract.^[70][71] The Devils team continued to grow and develop during the regular season, while the Devils' offense came out strong in DeBoer's new system.^[72] Led by Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias and Zach Parise, the team posed a significant offensive threat that year, bearing seven 40-point scorers by the season's end. The Devils' special teams was also notably exceptional, breaking an NHL record for the best regular season penalty kill since before the Expansion Era.^[73] Important late season acquisitions, including defenseman Marek Zidlicky (who was traded for three players and two draft picks) and winger Alexei Ponikarovsky (who was traded for a player and a draft pick), became valuable assets during the later months and the post-season, with Zidlicky becoming the Devils' key offensive defenseman on the power play.^[74][75] Kovalchuk and Elias both finished as League top-ten point scorers during the regular seasons, with 83 and 78 points, respectively. Forwards Kovalchuk, Parise and David Clarkson all scored over 30 goals during the regular season while rookie forward Adam Henrique totaled 51 points and earned a Calder Trophy nomination for NHL rookie of the year.^[76]

The Devils finished the regular season as the sixth seed in the East with 102 points. Returning injured center Travis Zajac led the team's offense as they then proceeded to knock the Florida Panthers out of the playoffs in seven games, winning Game 6 in overtime with a goal from Zajac and another in double overtime in Game 7 from Henrique.^[77][78] They moved on to play their Atlantic Division rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, in the Conference Semifinals and were considered heavy underdogs in the series.^[79] They faced some early setbacks against the Flyers, including a Game 1 overtime loss and the injury of All-Star Kovalchuk.^[80] The Devils, however, rallied in Game 2 without their star forward, winning the game 4–1.^[81] Kovalchuk returned strong for Game 3 with a goal and two assists, including the game-winning assist to Alexei Ponikarovsky in overtime.^[82] The streak continued as the Devils would win four in a row to eventually defeat the Flyers and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2003.^[83] The Devils would play the Rangers in the Conference Finals, a rematch of the 1994 series that resulted in a heartbreaking Game 7 overtime loss during Martin Brodeur's rookie season. The series was highly publicized by the New York media and was a tough back-and-forth battle for the first four games, leaving the series split at two games apiece.^[84][85] The Devils' fourth line, which had been very successful throughout the playoffs, came through in Game 5 to help give the Devils a 3–2 lead in the series.^[86] The line consisted of players Ryan Carter, Stephen Gionta and Steve Bernier, all of which had been dropped from a professional roster at some point during the season. Emerging as playoff heroes, they tallied an impressive 19 points in the first three rounds.^[87] Despite constant comparisons to the 1994 series, the Devils and Brodeur rewrote history and claimed victory on May 25, 2012, as Henrique scored another series clinching overtime goal in Game 6 to advance the Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Los Angeles Kings.^[88][89][90] The Devils dropped the first two games in overtime in Newark, then were shut out in Game 3 as Los Angeles took a 3–0 series lead. The Devils won Games 4 and 5 to become only the third team in NHL history to force a Game 6 in the Finals after being behind three games to none, but Los Angeles eliminated the Devils in Game 6 to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Brodeur later signed with the team for two additional years, ending speculation that his career was over despite the fact he turned 40 on May 6, 2012, in New Jersey's Game 4 tilt with Philadelphia.

The 2012 off-season was a busy one. On July 4, Zach Parise signed a 13-year, $98 million contract with the Minnesota Wild, leaving the Devils after one season as team captain. Weeks later, on July 17, the Devils announced former defenseman and team captain Scott Stevens would return to the team as an assistant coach, as well as the addition of Matt Shaw—formerly working with the San Jose Sharks—as the team's offensive assistant coach running the team's power play unit.^[91]

The Devils entered the lockout-shortened season with Bryce Salvador as their new captain. The Devils, however, failed to repeat the performance of the year past, finishing 19–19–10 in 48 games, missing the playoffs. Injuries to Brodeur and Kovalchuk only made their season tougher, with the Devils losing ten games in a row at their lowest point. Goaltenders Johan Hedberg and Keith Kinkaid, a rookie, were used when Brodeur was injured, though neither of them performed strong enough to help the Devils put anything positive and lasting together.

During the subsequent off-season, the Devils acquired goaltender Cory Schneider from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for New Jersey's ninth overall draft pick in 2013. Lou Lamoriello stated that Brodeur would still remain the starter, but that Schneider would get significant ice time. David Clarkson was lost in free agency to Toronto and Henrik Tallinder via a trade to Buffalo, but Lamoriello brought in Jaromir Jagr, Ryane Clowe and Michael Ryder from the Bruins, Rangers and Canadiens, respectively. Matt Shaw was replaced by Mike Foligno as power play coach, while Patrik Elias re-signed on a three-year, $16.5 million contract. Weeks later, however, Kovalchuk shocked the Devils and NHL community after announcing his retirement from the League and his intention to return to Russia to play for SKA Saint Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

2013–present: the Harris–Blitzer era

The Devils' long-time financial struggles worsened during the 2013 season, and at one point the team was forced to borrow $30 million to meet their payroll. This prompted owner Jeff Vanderbeek to sell the team. Andrew Barroway, the attorney who loaned the team the $30 million, was one potential buyer, though the team was ultimately sold to Josh Harris—owner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers—as well as David S. Blitzer, for over $320 million.^[92] The sale was formally announced on August 15, 2013. The sale allowed the Devils organization to clear all of the debt from its books (about $200 million).

During the 2013–14 season, the Devils missed the playoffs by five points, marking the only time they did not qualify for the post-season twice in a row under Lamoriello. Among the team's problems were inconsistent goaltending, an overreliance on aged players—Jaromir Jagr led the team scoring at the age of 41—and a failure to win any of the 13 shootouts the team played in.^[93] The Devils played their first outdoor game on January 26, 2014, against the New York Rangers as part of the 2014 NHL Stadium Series, a game they ultimately lost 7–3. The game was played at Yankee Stadium with almost 50,000 spectators in attendance.^[94] Later that year, on March 6, the NHL announced that it had decided to partially reverse the penalties previously imposed against the Devils for the signing of Ilya Kovalchuk in 2010, whose contract was ruled to have circumvented the NHL's salary cap. The penalties, which stipulated that the Devils had to forfeit a third-round draft pick in 2011, a first-round pick in one of the next four drafts and pay a $3 million fine, was reduced to a $1.5 million fine and saw the Devils receive their first-round pick back, which they used to select John Quenneville 30th overall in 2014.^[95]

The 2014–15 season opened with injuries and plenty of personnel losses to the Devils. On December 26, head coach Peter DeBoer was fired from his position^[96][97] and was replaced former Devils captain Scott Stevens—who had been DeBoer's assistant for two years—and Adam Oates, with Lamoriello himself supervising the team during the first few months of the coaching changes.^[98] After having only one victory in their last eleven games, the Devils finished seventh in the Metropolitan Division and 20 points away from a playoff spot with a 32-36-14 record; the 2014–15 season game the team its worst record since the 1988–89 season.^[99] Lamoriello resigned from the team after the end of the season to accept the general manager position with the Toronto Maple Leafs (who fired Dave Nonis); former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero was hired to replace Lamoriello.^[100][101]

The Devils later hired head coach John Hynes from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins; he will begin his tenure as Devils head coach in the 2015–16 season.^[102]

Traditions

Arlette

Arlette Roxburgh has been the national anthem singer at many New Jersey Devils home games since 1996. Many fans love her musical talent and she continues to be a success when singing the anthem.^[103]

Fan Sections

Two of the rowdiest sections at Prudential Center is the 233 Crazies and the Diablos in Section 122. The Diablos were formed in 2011 entirely made of die-hard Devils fans when the management felt that they needed a supported energized boost. They are known to stand and cheer while the puck is in play and all wear Devils attire during all of the home games. The 233 Crazies were originally created in 1993 as the 228 Crazies when the Devils still played at the former Izod Center (which at the time was Brendan Byrne Arena, then Continental Airlines Arena). The 233 Crazies attend every Devils home game and some road games as well. ^[104]

Pete Cannarozzi

Pete Cannarozzi has been the team's organist since 2001. His organ playing has helped keep the Devils tradition alive at both the Izod Center and Prudential Center. There is a roped area where Cannarozzi plays so fans can view him playing.^[105]

The D-E-V-I-L-S chant started back in 1995 and still continues today.

References