50 Fun Facts About New Jersey Devils

Under what name was the Devils franchise founded in 1974?

Kansas City Scouts was the second choice: the owners wanted Mohawks, Chicago's Black Hawks objected, and the team took its name from The Scout, a statue overlooking the city.

Between Kansas City and New Jersey, the franchise spent six seasons in Denver under which name?

Colorado Rockies was the name for six losing seasons in Denver: the team made the playoffs once, with just 19 wins in 1977-78, and was sold and moved east in 1982.

The Devils' name comes from a legendary creature said to haunt which New Jersey region?

The Pine Barrens of South Jersey are home to the Jersey Devil, said in the legend to be the cursed thirteenth child of a local woman named Mrs Leeds, born in 1735.

Which colourful coach did the Devils' Denver forerunners hire in 1979, only to fire him after a last-place season?

Don Cherry won just 19 of 80 games in his only Denver season and never coached in the NHL again, becoming one of Canada's best-known hockey broadcasters instead.

Which Devils defenseman won the 2004 Norris Trophy as the NHL's best at his position?

Scott Niedermayer took over as captain when a concussion ended Scott Stevens' season that January, and his 54 points from the blue line won him the Norris.

Which star famously called the 1983 Devils a 'Mickey Mouse operation' after a 13-4 game?

Wayne Gretzky said it out of sympathy for the beaten goalie, his old teammate Ron Low. When Edmonton next visited, Devils fans turned up in Mickey Mouse ears.

The Devils' '334 Club' honours fans who did what?

Only 334 fans attended a game during a 1987 blizzard that buried the region. The Devils beat Calgary 7-5 and later honoured everyone who made it as the 334 Club.

Lou Lamoriello left which job to become Devils president in 1987?

Providence College athletic director Lou Lamoriello arrived straight from college hockey, named himself general manager before his first season and turned a perennial loser into a Stanley Cup champion.

Whose overtime goal on the last day of 1987–88 sent the Devils to their first New Jersey playoffs?

John MacLean tied the game late in regulation, then won it 2:21 into overtime in Chicago. The Devils rode that momentum all the way to the conference finals.

Which Devils coach was suspended in 1988 for telling a referee to 'have another doughnut'?

Jim Schoenfeld coached the next game anyway under a court order, so the officials walked out and amateur stand-ins refereed it after a delay of more than an hour.

Which Soviet defenseman, drafted by New Jersey in 1983, was finally allowed to join the club in 1989?

Viacheslav Fetisov had to fight Soviet officials for permission to leave. In 1989 he and Sergei Starikov became some of the first Soviet players to sign with an NHL club.

Which coach lasted a single season with the Devils in 1992-93 before Jacques Lemaire replaced him?

Herb Brooks, the coach behind the 1980 'Miracle on Ice', won 40 games in New Jersey but lost in the first round and resigned after one season.

Which defensive system were the mid-1990s Devils credited with popularising?

The neutral zone trap arrived with coach Jacques Lemaire in 1993 and won a Stanley Cup within two seasons, though it was criticised for producing low-scoring games.

Which Rangers captain guaranteed a Game 6 win over the Devils in 1994, then scored a natural hat trick?

Mark Messier's Rangers trailed the series 3-2 and fell behind 2-0 in Game 6 before his third-period hat trick forced a Game 7, which New York won in double overtime.

Whom did the Devils sweep to win their first Stanley Cup in 1995?

The Detroit Red Wings were heavy favourites, but the Devils won the first two games in Detroit and finished the sweep at home with back-to-back 5-2 wins.

Which lasting tradition did the 1995 champion Devils begin?

Each player gets a day with the Stanley Cup because the 1995 Devils made an old habit official: before then, winners often just made off with the trophy for a while.

Persistent 1995 rumours had the Devils moving to which city, which got an expansion team in 1998?

Nashville was the rumoured destination even as the Devils won the 1995 Cup. Rather than lose the champions, New Jersey agreed to pay for a renovation of their arena.

Which defending champion did New Jersey beat in six games to win the 2000 Stanley Cup?

The Dallas Stars stayed alive by winning Game 5 in triple overtime in New Jersey, only for the Devils to take the Cup in double overtime in Dallas in Game 6.

Which Flyers center's Philadelphia career was effectively ended by a Scott Stevens hit in the 2000 conference finals?

Eric Lindros had only just returned from a run of concussions when the Game 7 hit knocked him out. The Devils won that night to finish a comeback from 3-1 down.

Which trio made up the Devils' celebrated 'A Line' around 2001?

Elias, Arnott and Sykora drove the 2000 Cup win and the NHL's top-scoring attack a year later, but trades broke the line up before the 2002-03 season.

Whom did the Devils beat in seven games for their third Stanley Cup in 2003?

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim won every game on their own ice, but the Devils never lost at home and closed the series there with a 3-0 shutout in Game 7.

Which winger set the Devils' single-season record with 48 goals in 2005-06?

Brian Gionta, at 5 ft 7 in one of the smallest players in the NHL, broke a club record that had stood since 1988 by scoring his 48th in the last game of the season.

Which Newark mayor took office in 2006 threatening to pull the city out of the Devils' arena deal?

Cory Booker inherited a deal that committed Newark to $210 million and weighed walking away, but construction was already under way and the arena opened the next year.

Whose record for regular-season wins did Martin Brodeur break with his 552nd victory in March 2009?

Patrick Roy's 551 wins fell in a season when a torn biceps cost Brodeur nearly four months: a winning streak on his return carried him past the mark in March.

Which star winger did the Devils get from Atlanta in 2009-10 and sign for 15 years and $100 million?

Ilya Kovalchuk first agreed a 17-year, $102 million deal, which the NHL voided as a way round the salary cap. The Devils were fined $3 million and lost draft picks.

Which team beat the Devils in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final?

The Los Angeles Kings won the first three games. New Jersey took the next two, then gave up three goals on a single five-minute power play in Game 6 and lost it 6-1.

Which captain left the Devils in 2012 for a 13-year, $98 million contract with Minnesota?

Zach Parise had just captained the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final, but he was born in Minneapolis and chose to go home, signing with the Wild on 4 July 2012.

Which pair of NBA owners bought the Devils from Jeff Vanderbeek in 2013?

Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who already owned the Philadelphia 76ers, paid about $320 million when the seller could no longer raise the money to keep the club.

Which 41-year-old signed in 2013 and led the Devils in scoring in 2013-14?

Jaromir Jagr was signed soon after the Devils' biggest star abruptly quit the NHL for Russia, and he filled the gap himself with a team-best 67 points.

Martin Brodeur finished his career with a seven-game stint for which team?

The St. Louis Blues signed Brodeur at 42 after 21 seasons in New Jersey. He won three of his seven games to reach 691 career wins, then retired in mid-season.

Which defenseman went to Edmonton in the 2016 trade that brought a future Hart Trophy winner to New Jersey?

Adam Larsson was the whole return in a straight one-for-one swap: Edmonton gave up a former first-overall pick because it badly needed a right-shot defenseman.

Whom did the Devils select first overall in the 2017 draft?

Nico Hischier became the first Swiss player ever taken first overall, when the previous best was fifth, and he rated his own surprise on draft night at ten out of ten.

Who became the first Devil to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, in 2018?

Taylor Hall scored a career-high 93 points and carried the Devils to their first playoff appearance since 2012, which is what won him the league's MVP award.

Which veteran goalie signed with New Jersey in 2020 but retired without playing a game for them?

Corey Crawford, a two-time Cup winner with Chicago, signed in October 2020 and retired the following January, days before the delayed season began.

Who set the Devils' single-season points record with 99 in 2022-23?

Jack Hughes was 21 when he passed a club mark of 96 that had stood since 2001, in a season when the Devils leapt from 63 points to a franchise-best 112.

Which rookie goaltender backstopped the Devils past the Rangers in seven games in 2023?

Akira Schmid took over in Game 3 with the Devils down 2-0 in the series, won four of the next five and shut the Rangers out twice, including in Game 7.

Which All-Star forward did New Jersey acquire from San Jose in a 2022-23 mid-season trade?

Timo Meier arrived at the trade deadline as the Devils chased their first playoff place in five years, then signed for eight more years and $70.4 million that June.

Where did the Devils beat the Flyers outdoors in February 2024?

MetLife Stadium drew 70,328 to the Devils' first home game at the Meadowlands since 2007, and they scored just 32 seconds in on the way to a 6-3 win.

Before black replaced it in 1992, which colour trimmed the Devils' red uniforms?

Green trimmed the Devils' red sweaters for their first ten seasons in New Jersey, a pairing that drew Christmas nicknames from fans and opponents alike.

Why did Lou Lamoriello refuse to give the Devils a third jersey?

He believed a team should have one identity and wanted the home and away jerseys to feel special, so the Devils sat out the league-wide rush to sell alternates.

Before NJ Devil arrived in 1993, the Devils' mascot was a giant what?

Hockey puck: Slapshot, as the giant puck was called, disappeared in 1993 after the man inside the costume was accused of inappropriately touching three women, and NJ Devil took over.

Why do fans call the Devils' Newark arena 'The Rock'?

Its sponsor's Gibraltar logo, the Rock that Prudential uses as its emblem, named the arena from the first night: opening the building in 2007, Jon Bon Jovi welcomed the crowd to 'The Rock'.

Which college basketball program shares Prudential Center with the Devils?

Seton Hall announced in May 2007 that it would follow the Devils from the Meadowlands to Newark, and both teams moved into the new arena when it opened that October.

Which Devils winger won the 1995 Conn Smythe Trophy after scoring 13 goals in the playoffs?

Claude Lemieux had managed just six goals in 45 games of the shortened regular season, then scored 13 in 20 playoff games as the Devils won their first Stanley Cup.

The 'Brodeur rule' restricts goalies handling the puck behind the goal line to a zone of what shape?

Trapezoid lines went in after the 2004-05 lockout to stop goalies fetching pucks from the corners, and since Brodeur was one of the best at it, the rule took his name.

Whose NHL record of 103 regular-season shutouts did Martin Brodeur break in December 2009?

Terry Sawchuk's 103rd and last shutout came against Pittsburgh in 1970, and Brodeur broke the record against the same club, stopping all 35 Penguins shots in a 4-0 win.

Which defenseman spent his whole 1,283-game NHL career with the Devils, winning three Stanley Cups?

Ken Daneyko sat out the first six games of the 2003 final, then was put back in for Game 7, so the very last game he played won him a third Cup.

Whose overtime goal in Game 6 beat the Rangers and sent the Devils to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final?

Adam Henrique, a rookie, scored 63 seconds into overtime, his second series-ending overtime goal of that spring after a double-overtime winner in Game 7 against Florida.

Who was the first forward to have his number retired by the Devils?

Patrik Elias followed three defensemen and a goalie into the rafters in 2018: the Devils had honoured no forward until the man who holds their records for goals, assists and points.

Who was the inaugural inductee into the Devils Ring of Honor in January 2017?

John McMullen brought NHL hockey to New Jersey in 1982 and owned the Devils through their first two Stanley Cups, so the club opened its Ring of Honor with its founder.