5 Players Who’ve Played Their Last Games With New Jersey Devils

Drew Stafford

Drew Stafford is a love-hate relationship with the New Jersey Devils. On paper, he’s having a worse season this year than he did last year, but last year was mostly one great run to start, then coming back to the mean. This year, he filled his role perfectly after signing a PTO in the preseason.

Stafford is a fine player, and could possibly return in certain situations, but the Devils just need these NHL spots with players like Kevin Rooney hitting their one-way deals. Stafford might actually stick with the Devils on the coaching staff if anything, as he’s always been a really good locker room presence.

Stafford scored just five goals this season in 57 games. He’s great to have around, but his production on the ice just isn’t up to snuff. He’s a veteran presence, someone the younger players look up to, but at the end of the day if he’s not contributing on the ice, Shero needs to find someone who is.

Stafford was frustrating for two years with the team, mostly because it started so well. There were people looking to give him a two year extension last October, but here we are 18 months later, and he could be ending his hockey career in general.

Stafford’s the only player on this list that could be done with hockey altogether next season. He’s only 33 years old, but if he doesn’t want to play in the minors or overseas, he might have played his last professional hockey game. He had an interesting career that mysteriously fell off the map, but one day we will look back fondly on his time with New Jersey.