Puck Daddy's Summer Series: The New Jersey Devils from A to Z

Tue, Aug 18, 2015, 11:59 AM

(Ed. Note: August is known to be a very quiet month in the hockey world. As we wait for September to arrive and training camps to begin, let’s learn a little history about all 30 teams. Behold, our summer A-Z series, in which we ask fans of all 30 teams to drop some knowledge on us! Add your own choices in the comments!)

By: Melissa Geschwind

A. A. A Line, The (Jason Arnott, Patrik Elias, and Petr Sykora)

Childhood friends Elias and Sykora often seemed to share a brain – sort of a Czech version of the Sedin twins but only 50% as blond – while power forward Arnott provided the perfect counterpoint to his wingers’ finesse. The line was together for two seasons, which is about as long as the Devils are allowed to have a credible scoring threat before the universe regains its equilibrium. During the A Line’s brief reign the Devils went to back-to-back finals, winning the 2000 Cup on a double-OT goal by Arnott off a damn near poetic feed from Elias.

His linemates have long since moved on, but 15 years later Elias remains a beloved fixture in a Devils franchise that’s suddenly populated by people most New Jersey fans couldn’t pick out of a police lineup.

B. Brodeur, Martin

You want numbers? Marty can give you numbers. His 691 wins (684 with New Jersey, a whopping 7 with St. Louis) are not only the most in NHL history, they’ve also got Roy’s total beat by an utterly absurd 140). Still, with the advent of the shootout the wins record will probably fall someday, unlike Brodeur’s shutout record of 125 (124 with NJ, exactly 1 with St. Louis). Good chance that one stands forever.

You want innovation? Brodeur wasn’t the first puck-handling goalie but he was far and away the best, so much so that the NHL put in the “dumb trapezoid” (Doc Emrick’s words, not mine) in an effort to thwart him and pretty much only him (no disrespect to Marty Turco). Before the implementation of the Brodeur Rule the Devils had essentially a third defenseman in Brodeur, a luxury that allowed coaches to enact systems that never would have worked without him (ever wonder why, upon seeing how successful the Devils were playing the trap, 29 other teams didn’t immediately become Cup contenders by following suit? It’s because 29 other teams didn’t have a goalie capable of calmly retrieving the puck from the corner and executing a perfect breakout pass every. single. time.).

You want personality? Brodeur was extroverted, funny and laid-back at a time when goalies were still expected to be the complete opposite of that. He is a self-described “raconteur” and a man whose greatest sin – at least that we know of – is that he loves too much (this applies both to non-blood relatives of former wives and to pizza).

To sum up: Brodeur was the best player the Devils ever had, the best player the Devils ever will have, and the greatest legend ever to suit up for the St. Louis Blues.

C. Crash Line, The (Bobby Holik, Randy McKay, and Mike Peluso)

They hit people. They chipped the puck out along the boards. They hit people. Now and then, inexplicably, McKay would score and then, as penance, he’d hit someone. Holik was a scholar of American history and also a guy who could carry the puck and also a guy who could hit people. Peluso was what would happen if pure, concentrated emotion developed sentience and a magnificent head of hair.

Sometimes that emotion came out in the form of tears so beautiful you could hardly look at them; usually, it came out in the form of hitting people. This is easily the most beloved trio of forwards in Devils history.

D. Daneyko, Ken

Drafted the summer before the franchise played its first game in New Jersey, Daneyko took his last shift as a player when then-head coach Pat Burns sent him onto the ice for the final moments of Game 7 of the ’03 Cup finals. During the two decades in between, Daneyko’s fearless play, gregarious personality (which endured even after he completed treatment for substance abuse) and absolute devotion to the logo earned him the nickname Mr. Devil and landed his #3 in the rafters. Now the color man on Devils’ TV broadcasts, Dano has been with the organization for an uninterrupted 33 years. He is, in short, the most Devils Devil ever to Devil.

E. Emrick, Mike “Doc”

Before he became the American voice of the NHL and one of the most respected play-by-play men in the country, Doc called, announced, described, illuminated, explained, narrated, expounded upon, elucidated, vocalized and waffleboarded (well, maybe not waffleboarded) Devils games for a living. Drive!

F. Fetisov, Slava

What can I say that hasn’t already been said in Red Army or that 30 for 30?

Fetisov came, saw, got conquered (do you believe in miracles?), went home, engaged in some serious cloak-and-dagger with Devils GM Lou Lamoriello and eventually made it to New Jersey without having to actually defect from the USSR. Fetisov was a true pioneer, not to mention a damn fine defenseman and Cup-winning assistant coach in New Jersey in 2000. Now he’s a weird combination of Hollywood darling and Putin BFF. It’s confusing.

G. Goalies

More than just Brodeur, the Devils have a history of much beloved goaltenders. The first, Glenn “Chico” Resch, played a season as a Colorado Rocky before moving with the franchise to New Jersey. Resch was a strong goalie with a goofy demeanor that masked a surprisingly sharp hockey mind. He was popular from the start – it didn’t hurt that he had previously won a Cup with the nearby New York Islanders – and remained a fan favorite even after he was traded to the hated Flyers. He ultimately returned to New Jersey do color commentary (including, in later years, a wildly popular segment called “Chico Eats” in which, well, Chico ate) for Devils TV broadcasts, a job he and his famous mustache held for 18 years before retiring in 2014.

Other standouts include:

Sean Burke, without whom New Jersey absolutely would not have made it to the playoffs in 1988, let alone all the way to Game 7 of the conference finals.

Chris Terreri, a serviceable goalie who gracefully stepped aside for Brodeur and became a friend and mentor to the young superstar rather than a hindrance. T-Bone earned the eternal love of New Jersey fans when, during the 1995 championship (parking lot) parade he held up a sign that read “Nashville? NO WAY!” in response to rumors that the team might relocate to Tennessee.

Cory Schneider, the man of the moment. Like Resch, Schneider has so far been better than the roster and has had more than his share of frustrating nights. He deserves better. Let’s hope he gets it, and fast, in New Jersey.

Brodeur: See Brodeur, Martin.

H. Hells Bells

Yeah, yeah, I’ll go get beers in a minute. Now shut up – I’m watching the big screen and getting SO FREAKING PSYCHED! LET’S GO DEVILS!

I. Insults

The Devils have a long, rich history of both giving and receiving high-profile slams. These include, but are not limited to:

Exibit A: “Mickey Mouse” – On November 19, 1983 Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers crushed the Devils 13-4. Gretzky, naturally enraged by his team’s overwhelming success, decided to add literal insult to figurative injury by offering this helpful critique: “It's about time [the Devils] got their act together. They're ruining the whole league. They better stop running a Mickey Mouse organization and put somebody on the ice.”

He wasn’t entirely wrong, in the sense that New Jersey was in the midst of a 17-win season in which goalie Resch was pretty much the only NHL-caliber talent on the roster on any given night. On the other hand, it was an obnoxious thing to say and one for which Gretzky quickly apologized. Later, when the New Jersey developed into one of the league’s elite teams, Devils fans started to think of “Mickey Mouse” as a combination old joke/rallying cry. We still don’t much care for Gretzky, though.

Exhibit B: “Have another donut, you fat pig!” – Ah, Jim Schoenfeld, you magnificent bastard. The first thing to know about this quote is that it didn’t actually happen as we all remember it. What Devils coach Schoenfeld really shouted at slightly paunchy ref Don Koharski following an especially difficult playoff loss was “You fat pig! Have another donut!” To wit:

The fallout was AMAZING. The NHL suspended Schoenfeld and, not pleased with the prospect of losing his head coach in the middle of a playoff series, GM Lou Lamoriello obtained a court order temporarily blocking the suspension. That meant Schoenfeld was back in play for Game 4, a fact that prompted that night’s scheduled on-ice officials to sit out in protest. The NHL scrambled for competent last-minute replacements and darned if they didn’t almost manage to find some. What they actually found were some local guys with skates who were more willing than ready. In the apparent absence of a better idea, the NHL slapped some yellow practice jerseys on their intrepid fill-ins and watched an evening of embarrassment and unintentional comedy. Other stuff happened after that, but really, who cares?

Exhibit C: “Hey! You suck!” –Devils fans chant this whenever the visiting team gives up a goal. No matter how many times the Devils game ops brain trust tries to change the goal song to something that doesn’t lend itself to being followed by a rhythmic “Hey! You suck!” the fans still find a way. As for *why* you’d want to attribute every single one of your team’s goals to the other team sucking, well, I’m stumped on that one.

J. Johnny Mac Game, The

Before they were good the Devils were really, really bad. Bad enough that in their first 13 years as a franchise they missed the playoffs 13 times and only once even came close to a postseason appearance. By the start of the 87-88 season the team had been in New Jersey for 5 utterly unsuccessful years and fans had grown used to rooting for the Wales Conference’s adorable punching bag. On the very last day of the season, though, that would all change.

The Devils had to win – not tie, which was a possibility back in the halcyon, pre-loser point days – but win their season-closer in Chicago in order to swipe the final playoff berth from the rival New York Rangers. Down by a goal midway through the third, the Devils needed more than a miracle – they needed two miracles.

Miracle 1 came with about eight minutes remaining in regulation when budding offensive talent and future failed head coach John MacLean put a puck over Darren Pang’s blocker to tie the score. Miracle 2 could have come later in the 3rd, but this game was a little more magical than that.

No, the game had to go to overtime before – who else? – Johnny Mac scored the goal that finally put New Jersey in the playoffs.

The entire Devils team, including aforementioned magnificent bastard head coach Schoenfeld and rookie GM Lamoriello, leapt onto the ice in an explosion of pure joy. At the time it was easily the greatest moment in franchise history. Now, three Cups later, it’s still in the mix for that title.

K. Kovalchuk, Ilya

The superstar forward came over from the Atlanta Thrashers (remember them?) in a shocking trade. He played out the season and then took his sweet time mulling free agency. He re-signed, inking a 17-year contract. He saw that contract reduced to 15 years due to painfully obvious (if technically kind of kosher) cap circumvention. He helped lead the team to a finals berth. He “retired” to play in Russia. All this happened in the space of three and a half years.

L. Lou Lamoriello

Lamoriello wasn’t the Devils’ first general manager and, surprisingly, he wasn’t the last, but everything the Devils are, they are because of Lou. His first season at the helm was, not at all coincidentally, the first time the Devils ever made the playoffs.

It was also a demonstration of Lou’s supreme confidence. He turned the Devils into his own fiefdom, holding the titles of president, GM, CEO, chairman and head coach – sometimes all at once. He bucked conventional wisdom and traded down to draft Brodeur in 1990. One year later star defenseman and Blues captain Scott Stevens came to New Jersey not via draft, trade or free agency but as compensation – compensation! – for St. Louis signing Devils’ restricted free agent Brendan Shanahan, then an unproven 22-year-old. This was an early example of what happens when you try to screw over Lamoriello: You might get what you asked for, but you’re going to pay in ways you had never imagined.

If you did right by Lou, though, he would do right by you. Over the years many players and coaches returned for multiple stints in New Jersey because they believed in “Devils hockey,” which really meant they believed in Lamoriello. That’s why fans are so rattled by the septuagenarian departure: Not because he hadn’t lost a step or two as a strategist but because, after 28 years of drinking Lamoriello’s metaphorical Kool Aid, we simply don’t know what “Devil’s hockey” will look like come opening night. For the first time in a long time – and for some, the first time ever – we have to trust in someone other than Lou.

M. McMullen, John

If a group led by New Jersey native John McMullen hadn’t purchased the team in 1982 and moved it to the Meadowlands, you would be reading the A to Z guide to the Colorado Rockies right now.

N. Niedermayer, Scott

This guy always looked like he was dogging it. You couldn’t figure out how someone so lazy and disinterested could possibly have won so many championships (he’s Won Titles At Every Level™. Look it up!). I mean, his feet barely moved at all. But then it turns out that barely moving your feet is the most efficient way to skate like the freaking wind, and it’s really really hard to master despite looking like nothing at all. Also, Niedermayer had great hands and intelligence and vision and was one of the best defensemen ever to play the game, and he helped bring three Cups to New Jersey before leaving for California to get one for his kid brother/future Devil, Rob (and the Ducks, I guess). But still, it’s hard to trust someone who rocks that hard without ever breaking a sweat.

O. Old homes

The franchise began as the expansion Kansas City Scouts, who played at the Kemper Arena for just two seasons (74-75 and 75-76) and were abysmally bad. It then relocated to the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver and became the Colorado Rockies, who were only marginally less abysmal over their six-year stint (don’t be fooled by the “preliminary round” appearance in ‘78 – that was a play-in round in which the Rockies emphatically failed to qualify for the actual postseason).

In 1982 the team took up residence in the Meadowlands as the New Jersey Devils. The early Devils were, you guessed it, abysmal, and the building they inhabited was just as ugly as their play. Something happened, though, as the Devils grew roots and a fan base in the swamp - Brendan Byrne Arena, still a concrete eyesore, also developed into a place we all could call home.

Together, we parked on the other side of a highway and bounded excitedly across a rickety covered bridge – known affectionately as the Brunnel – toward the game; together, we crossed back over the Brunnel afterward and shared either quiet disappointment or boisterous celebration (which was both exhilarating and terrifying, as it involved thousands of feet stomping so hard that the entire Brunnel shook). Continental Airlines bought the naming rights to the arena in 1996, and a scant decade later most Devils fans had grudgingly acceded to using the new moniker.

The Stanley Cup was in the building three times (though one of those times it had to fly to Dallas before the Devils could claim it) and paraded joyfully around the parking lot soon after each one.

Those wins are now commemorated in the Prudential Center in Newark, a shiny new building erected expressly for the Devils in 2007 and featuring better food, cleaner surfaces, nicer seats and fewer deathtraps. Still, the Devils haven’t won anything at The Rock yet, so the best parts of the new building are the ones that remind us of the old one: Murals depicting former Devils greats, championship banners, and anthem singer Arlette, who has been with the team since the late 1990s and who could definitely kick Rene Rancourt’s ass.

P. Pepe

Devils fans love Claude Lemieux.

We know he was a turtler and a cheap-shot artist and generally a person you never wanted to share an elevator with, but he downright TOOK OVER the 1995 playoffs, scoring at will en route to a Conn Smythe win and the franchise’s first Cup. That he was a guy who could make opposing players damn near chew through their tongues with rage was really just a bonus. Pepe Lemieux (get it? Because he was a skunk!) didn’t become a league-wide villain until he joined the Avs the following year, but New Jersey gladly welcomed him back in November of 1999 – just in time to help the Devils claim their second NHL title. Indeed, until New Jersey won the Cup in 2003 nobody was entirely sure it was possible for the Devils to take the championship without Pepe on the roster.

Q. Quiet

This isn’t a commentary on the relative absence of fan noise at Tuesday night games in October (just shut up, OK? We have work tomorrow), but rather an acknowledgement of the Devils front office’s unparalleled ability to remain airtight against any – and I mean ANY – unwanted information leaks.

The old joke in New Jersey was that if you heard whispers of a possible trade then you could be sure it wouldn’t happen, because Lamoriello would nix the deal just to render the rumor false. Information likely will flow more freely with the regime change in New Jersey (enjoy your complete lack of access, Leafs beat writers!); if so, then it will be absolutely fitting that the last unforeseen shocker of a move was Lou’s own exit.

R. Robinson, Larry

(Above: Robinson hoisting his only Cup as a head coach while repping for the injured Petr Sykora, because Larry is awesome like that)

Perhaps the most universally adored figure in Devils history, Robinson was Billy Martin to Lamoriello’s Steinbrenner except without any hint of animosity. So easygoing and (perhaps irrationally) loyal was Larry that after Lou fired him as head coach in 2002, Robinson still answered the call to return to the organization in a much-diminished role the following season - and that was just one in a series of Larry’s departures, returns and role changes in New Jersey. The result of Robinson’s on-again-off-again relationship with the Devils was three Stanley Cup rings (including one as head coach in 2000) to go with the six he’d won as a player in Montreal.

S. Scott Stevens

Once an offensive-minded defenseman, Stevens evolved into a defensive force in New Jersey; the trouble is that almost everything about Stevens’ game would be illegal in today’s NHL, and for good reason. A couple decades ago, though, his penchant for open-ice checking opponents into next Wednesday was not just within the rules but actively encouraged. Stevens was a gifted eliminator of rival players’ daylights, either by knocking or simply scaring them out of whomever was unfortunate enough to line up on the other side.

Stevens was at his most brutal, and brutally effective, in the playoffs. In the 1995 finals Stevens levelled Slava Kozlov and then turned to the Detroit bench and, with a slightly insane glint in his ice-blue eyes and a simple promise (“You’re next!”), made the rest of the Red Wings think twice about getting anywhere near him again. In 2000 he was awarded the Conn Smythe for, among other things, dealing Eric Lindros a well-timed and utterly horrific concussion. In 2003 Stevens famously – and terrifyingly – almost killed Paul Kariya with a perfectly legal check.

He wasn’t just a headhunter, though. Stevens also played rock-solid defense while inspiring his teammates to greatness. He remains the standard by which all other Devils captains are measured (and, thus far, judged lacking). Scott Stevens would have been an absolute shoe-in for the Mark Messier Leadership Award for Leadership (Sponsored by Bridgestone), had he not been a contemporary and rival of Messier himself.

T. Tough Little Tiger

Robinson used this phrase to describe Sergei Brylin and it was as accurate as it was adorable. Of the five players who were on all three Cup teams (Brodeur, Brylin, Daneyko, Niedermayer, Stevens) Brylin is the only one whose number remains in circulation, which is simultaneously appropriate and a little bit disappointing. Never the biggest, fastest or most skilled man on the roster, “Sarge” was a consummate utility man who could play on any line at any forward position or fill in at D in a pinch. If you never noticed him as a force on the ice neither did you ever notice him as a liability – no small accomplishment for someone asked to play as many different roles as Brylin was. The Devils got 13 solid seasons and countless successful penalty kills out of a tough little tiger who was so unsung that he managed to win the team’s Unsung Hero Award only twice, aced out most of the time by far-more-sung teammate Jay Pandolfo.

U. Uniforms

Home and away for the Kansas City Scouts, home and away for the Colorado Rockies, home and away for the New Jersey Devils and home and away for the New Jersey Devils after people realized the first Devils uniforms looked a little too much like Christmas Trees. The only – the ONLY – alternate jersey this team has ever used is a throwback to the Christmas Tree unis that comes out once a year for St. Patrick’s Day (twice when the Devils get an outdoor game, which they probably never will again).

Now that Lamoriello is gone, though, we should all get ready for a big ol’ third jersey money grab. More’s the pity.

V. Victory

The Devils don’t always win, but they always try to win. Even in 1983-84, which you’ll recall as the “Mickey Mouse” season, the Devils never played to lose. The Penguins, on the other hand, have basically admitted that they tanked that season to earn the right to draft Mario Lemieux. New Jersey got consolation prize Kirk Muller, who would captain his team to the first playoff berth in Devils franchise history. Was Lemieux better than Muller? Of course. Would the Devils have been more successful faster if they had gotten Mario? Indubitably. Would that have been worth selling out the organization’s soul? Absolutely not. The Devils became a powerhouse the honest way (give or take a few minor acts of cap circumvention) and that’s worth a hundred No. 1 picks.

W. Warburton, Patrick

AKA Seinfeld’s David Puddy, the Devils’ first celebrity fan and still the standard-bearer for face painters everywhere.

X. Xs and Os

Blah blah blah neutral zone trap blah blah blah dead puck era blah blah blah Jacques Lemaire ruined hockey blah blah blah

Y. Yesteryear

There was a span of time from the mid-90s to early 2000s when the Devils had the best goalie (Brodeur), the best defense (Stevens, Niedermayer & co.), the best GM (Lamoriello) and the best play-by-play man (Emrick) in the league. Now they have no jobs, no cash and no hope, or at least no reasonable expectation of making the playoffs next season, so please excuse us while we watch Game 4 of the 1995 finals on YouTube. Again.

Or perhaps the end of Game 6 of the 2000 finals. Again.

And hey, what the hell, let’s watch the 2003 Devils win a Cup for Pat Burns, too. Again and again and again.

Z. Zach, Zidlicky, Zubrus, Zajac, Travis

There have been a string of Zs in recent Devils history, but only one remains: Travis Zajac, who is under contract until 2021 and has a full no trade clause and who therefore might – just might – still be around when the season begins. We like Travis. Travis is good at face-offs and is a very serviceable center and seems like a pretty nice guy. Plus we recognize him, which is suddenly a major rarity. Stick around, Travis! We don’t want to live in a world with no Zs!

Meet the author: Melissa Geschwind is a former newspaper reporter and current sometime blogger who wrote this while wearing her Bruce Driver jersey. She remembers rooting for the Devils in the pre-Lamoriello days and believe her, it wasn’t pretty. Follow her on Twitter @MGeschwind.

New on Yahoo