The New Jersey Devils are owners of dozens of NHL records. Surprisingly, a team not known for big numbers or Hall of Fame scoring is a main proponent of leaders. Martin Brodeur, by himself, is the owner of at least 32 NHL records. He played basically his entire career in New Jersey, so the Devils can claim every one of those records.
However, he’s not the only one. There are many individual and team records that those with Devils ties hold. We did our best to avoid selecting players who had only a brief stint in New Jersey, opting instead for those who had a lasting impact. There are so many Hall of Famers whose Devils stop is just a blip on their career.
We went through the entire NHL Record Book, uncovering interesting records you may not know about or have forgotten.
1. Lou Lamoriello
Oldest head coaching debut
After the New Jersey Devils fired Peter DeBoer during the 2014 season, the team tried something innovative (or insane). They hired three head coaches to replace one. It was an interesting concept, but it ultimately failed. The three head coaches were Adam Oates, Scott Stevens, and Devils GM Lou Lamoriello.
The funny thing about that is Lamoriello became the oldest head coach to coach his first game. He was 72 years and 67 days old when he coached against the New York Rangers on December 27, 2014. It ended up being a Devils loss, and the experiment didn’t work.
Lamoriello didn’t spend all of his time on the bench, spending more time with his GM duties as he tried to make the most of a flailing Devils season. They finished with 78 points, nowhere close to the playoffs.
The Devils ended up hiring John MacLean that offseason, another major mistake by Lamoriello, and the start of the rebuild was upon us. We acknowledge that Lamoriello had been down to the bench before, but the NHL record books recognizes this as his only "full-time" gig.
2. Martin Brodeur
Most playoff assists by a goalie
We mentioned the Brodeur records earlier, and most are very well known. Some are different or ones you may not think of. The first one we will discuss is Brodeur’s playoff assists record. It makes sense when we really think about it. Brodeur has the goalie goals record with three. That one is well known. It would make sense that the best offensive goalie in history has a ton of assists.
What is interesting is when Brodeur broke the record for most assists for a goalie in one playoff season. He did it during the 2011-12 run to the Stanley Cup Final. Brodeur was 39 years old at that point. The Devils went 4-0 in games where Brodeur got an assist. He had two assists in the Florida series, one in the Flyers series, and then his fourth assist came in the Eastern Conference Final against the Rangers.
3. Ilya Kovalchuk
Most shootout goals in a season
The name Ilya Kovalchuk usually brings consternation among Devils fans. The way his career ended in New Jersey will never be forgotten by those who were there to witness it. The news coming in that he “retired” was devastating.
We don’t like celebrating him and what he did for the Devils, but we have to acknowledge this record. The Devils have a terrible history in the shootout, but they were actually very good when Kovalchuk was on the team.
In 2011-12, Kovalchuk carried the Devils when the overtime period didn’t go the way they wanted. At this point, overtime was still 4v4. The Devils went to 16 shootouts that season. Kovalchuk scored 11 times.
He holds the record on his own, too. Multiple players have 10 shootout goals in a season, but Kovy stands alone by helping the Devils score 11 extra points thanks to a parlor game.
4. Martin Brodeur
Most shootouts played in a season
In 2006-07, Brodeur held his opponent scoreless in overtime 16 times, which is a record that still holds today. He also holds the record for wins in a season, but he shares that with Jonathan Quick, Mathieu Garon, and Ryan Miller. He stands alone with his 16 shootouts in one season.
Brodeur actually struggled this season, stopping just 67% of shootout shots. He allowed 20 shootout goals in 2006-07, just the second season in which the shootout existed. The 20 goals were not a record, as Roberto Luongo allowed more in one season, but it’s second on that list.
5. 2013-14 New Jersey Devils
Most shootout losses in a season
Back to the shootout, with so many records, it’s no surprise that the Devils have been in more shootouts than all but one team. The Devils have played in 182 shootouts in history as of this writing. Only the Florida Panthers, with 189 shootouts in franchise history, have been in more. Ironically, the Panthers and Devils both have just 85 shootout wins.
Where the Devils usurp the Panthers is in single-season shootout losses. The Devils lost 13 shootouts in 2013-14. This was the same year that Lou Lamoriello became the oldest head coach in the history of the league to debut. Take that for what it is.
This was a Devils team trying to survive without Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk, David Clarkson, and other talented forwards. It hurts that the Devils finished the season with 88 points, five points behind Detroit and Columbus for the final Wild Card spots.
6. 2011-12 New Jersey Devils
Best penalty kill of all time
Despite going all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, that team tends to be underrated for just how good it was. It had flash up top with Kovalchuk, Parise, Patrik Elias, and an aging Brodeur, but it was also possibly the deepest Devils team in terms of talent. Players like a rookie Adam Henrique, David Clarkson, and Alexei Ponikarovsky really helped in all aspects of the game. Plus, they had an interesting collection of defenders in Bryce Salvador, Anton Volchenkov, Andy Greene, and midseason acquisition Marek Zidlicky.
That season, the Devils broke the record for the best penalty kill in history (which has been recorded since 1978). That team stopped close to 90 percent of all power plays against them. Imagine going on the power play and only scoring 10 percent of the time? This isn’t a time with no stars. There were plenty of stars in the game in 2011-12.
Ironically, that penalty kill didn’t show up in the playoffs, but it helped them get to over 100 points in the standings. That set up the journey to the Final, with a matchup with the Florida Panthers to start.
7. 2005-06 New Jersey Devils
Longest win streak to end a season
Think about how long we’ve been tracking the NHL. It’s been more than 100 years. Never in the century that we’ve been following professional hockey has a team won as many games to finish off a regular season as the 2005-06 New Jersey Devils.
This was the first season after the NHL Lockout that ended an era for New Jersey. Scott Niedermayer signed in Anaheim. Scott Stevens retired after a history of concussions. Patrik Elias contracted a sickness while playing overseasons and missed half of the season. It was also the first season of the “Martin Brodeur Rule,” better known as the trapezoid. It was put there to stop an athletic goalie like Brodeur from playing the puck. Pat Burns was diagnosed with cancer and had to step away from the team.
The team struggled to start the season. Larry Robinson stepped down as head coach. They were well below .500 when the calendar moved to 2006. If they wanted to keep their playoff streak alive, they needed to put up a ton of points in the second half of the season. In January, they went 10-2-1, putting them right back into the mix.
With 11 games left in the season, the Devils were 35-27-9. It’s not bad, but they weren’t one of the best teams in the league. Then, they won every game to end the season. They added 22 points in those final three weeks, and they inexplicably won the Metropolitan Division, barely beating out the Philadelphia Flyers. They would go on to sweep the New York Rangers in the first round, beating their rivals for the first time in the playoffs.
8. Steve Thomas
Top scorer from the United Kingdom
Steve Thomas didn’t have a long career with the New Jersey Devils, spending three years here. He signed in 1995 after the Devils won the Stanley Cup, and he was gone after the 1997-98 season. His career in New Jersey might be easily forgotten, but the 119 points he put up while in New Jersey helped him become the all-time scoring leader for any player out of the United Kingdom. Those points helped Thomas beat out Owen Nolan for the honor.
9. Dainius Zubrus
Top scorer from Lithuania
While Thomas had a small impact on the history of the Devils, all fans would agree Dainius Zubrus had a much bigger impact. Still considered possibly the best free agent signing in the history of the Devils, Zubrus helped the Devils play into their next era after the lockout.
He would spend the next eight years with New Jersey, putting up between 25 and 45 points per season. That helped Zubrus finish his career with 591 points, by far the most from any player born in Lithuania.
10. 2003 Devils/1995 Devils/2000 Devils
Most home games won/Most away games won in one playoff season
That's right, the Devils have both records. A team needs 16 wins to get a Stanley Cup. It doesn't matter where the wins come. They could be home, away, neutral ice, heck, they can put ice on Mars, and as long as it's a sanctioned NHL Playoff game, the win counts towards those 16 wins to glory.
In 1995, the Devils were coming into the postseason with less juice than they had in 1994. The lockout-shortened season was up and down for them, but the Devils found magic in the playoffs. Being a five seed, the Devils started the playoffs on the road. They stole two games from Boston in Boston, and they ended that series in five games, once again winning at the Boston Garden. They would go on to win 10 road games that postseason, including both games in Detroit.
The 2000 Devils also won 10 road games, as well. Fast forward to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Devils were down 3-1 in the series, and two of the final three games were in Philadelphia, including Game 7. The Devils swept those games on their way to the Stanley Cup Final. The adversity that came with that season led to the Final. Against Dallas, the Devils actually went 1-2 in New Jersey, but they swept the Stars on their home ice to tie the record.
While 10 road wins is impressive, it’s been repeated by several other teams. No other team has done what the 2003 Devils did. They put on a show for the home fans. That team lost one home game the entire postseason, a 2-1 loss in overtime to the Ottawa Senators in Game 6. They swept the Ducks at home in the Final, lifting the Stanley Cup in front of the home fans.