Greatest New Jersey Devils Lineup Of All Time
The New Jersey Devils have had some great players pass through their locker room over close to four decades. If they could choose from any player that’s worn a Devils uniform, what would that team look like?
It’s the offseason, and we’re still waiting for that “big-game hunting” from Ray Shero and the New Jersey Devils. So, we decided to make a little noise ourselves and go back into the history of “Jersey’s Team” to put together a lineup Shero and Devils fans could only dream of.
We want to put together the very best lineup that could ever step foot on the ice in Devils history. To do this, we had to go through all 37 seasons of Devils hockey.
The Devils have 22 playoff appearances, nine division titles, and three Stanley Cup Championships to their name. With that much success, especially most of it coming over a couple decades, there’s a lot of greats that wore the red and black (and red and green at one time).
The Devils have had Hall of Famers in the lineup before, but their best players were always known for their defense. Martin Brodeur is in everyone’s argument for best goalie of all time, and he played the crease for the Devils for 21 seasons. Scott Stevens is best known for his time in New Jersey where he put fear into every opponent, captaining the team to all three titles. Scott Niedermayer might be the best puck-moving defensemen in recent memory. All three went into the Hall of Fame with their best years as Devils.
None of them will be on this list today, because we are focusing on the four forward lines only. First, some ground rules. We are taking singular seasons from certain players. Their careers with the Devils have no credence. This is just one particular season, and that season alone. Also, we do our best to fit the lines as best possible. Finally, players can only appear on this list once. Patrik Elias will appear on this list, but we cannot take his 2000-01 season for one line and his pre-lockout year for the other. He can only show up once.
There are some great seasons not making the list. Most of them involve wingers. Brendan Shanahan‘s early career did not make the list, despite his first breakout season coming in red and black. Claude Lemieux‘s miraculous 1995 playoff run did not make the list, mostly because he had a pretty awful regular season thanks to injuries. No Bobby Holik season made the list. Nor did Brian Rolston or Sergei Brylin or Randy McKay.
There are more great Devils seasons than we know. Let’s jump into this.
First Line
Left Wing: 2017-18 Taylor Hall
Center: 2005-06 Scott Gomez
Right Wing: 1990-91 John MacLean
Left wing is the hardest position to rank in the history of the Devils, but how can you not choose the team’s one and only MVP? Taylor Hall in 2018 was the greatest player not named Brodeur in this team’s history. He scored 39 points and had 93 points. It wasn’t the most points ever in a season, but even Patrik Elias’ best year doesn’t compare to this. Hall carried the Devils on his back to the playoffs, and he was given the highest award in the sport for it.
Now, the center position is not as good as either wing position. During the Lou Lamoriello years, he’d focus on centers who prioritized a two-way game. Hard-nosed players like Bobby Holik were featured over a true playmaker. Gomez was a player who just developed perfectly, and hit a peak in the mid-2000s. In 2005-06, he hit a level he would never come close to again. He scored 33 goals, more than a dozen more than he’d score in any other year of his career. 24 of his goals game via 5v5. He shot a ridiculous 13.5%. He never shot more than 10% besides that. He was great as a distributor and would do amazing things with Hall and the next guy.
This one may surprise you. John MacLean was the first great Devils forward that stuck around. This isn’t nostalgia, he was legitimately great in 1991. He scored 45 goals in 78 games, getting in the top ten for Hart Trophy voting. With how well both Hall and Gomez distribute, this line could score 150 goals on their own. Yes, MacLean had his best season during an era of offensive explosion, but greatness is greatness.
This line would be insane. Scoring would be a priority, but they all can hold their own defensively. This would be John Hynes’ dream.
Second Line
Left Wing: Patrik Elias 2000-01
Center: Jason Arnott 1999-00
Right Wing: Brian Gionta 2005-06
Patrik Elias’ 2000-01 was one for the record books. He scored 96 points, the most of any Devils player ever. He also led the league with a ridiculous +45. Yes, +/- is not the type of stat we should use to measure players, but this is still a ridiculous number. Elias was also great in the playoffs. He played every single possible game that season, and helped lead the Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals. He scored nine goals in the postseason, including two game winners. In total, he had 119 points in 107 games. It was just plain great.
At center, we played around with a lot of names. Rolston’s final full season in New Jersey was a consideration. Patrik Sundstrom made an impact in the very early 90s, but he didn’t end up being the pick. Jason Arnott needs to have a place for his time centering the “A” Line. Arnott scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in overtime of the Finals. Yes, that helps his pick here. His regular season numbers don’t look amazing (56 points), but his 20 points in 23 playoff games give him the spot here.
Brian Gionta makes two record holders on the same line. So, the most points in franchise history, the most goals in franchise history and a Stanley Cup winning goal all on the same line? And it’s the second line? It was pretty clear that Gionta’s 2005-06 season would always be an outlier. He’s a 5’7 winger, but what he did this season was amazing. 48 goals and 41 assists make it one of the best seasons in team history. We still love Gionta to this day, partially for how great this one season was.
Third Line
Left Wing: Kirk Muller 1987-88
Center: Aaron Broten 1987-88
Right Wing: Ilya Kovalchuk 2011-12
This line may be the most unpopular. For one, two of the players might be before our times. The other is because of a certain Russian. Either way, we can’t ignore history. Let’s start with our blasts from the past. Kirk Muller was the first great Devils forward. In his first season in the NHL, Muller was a Calder Trophy candidate. In this season, he was a Hart Trophy candidate. In 1988, he had 37 goals and 57 assists. Not only did he get votes for MVP on the Devils first playoff team, he was also top ten in Selke voting.
We chose to pick the same center from his line in Aaron Broten. Broten is not the most well-known Devils player, but he’s someone who really took advantage of the scoring boom. He hit an All-Star peak once in his career, the same year that Muller went off. Sure, Muller’s skill and talent helped bring out the best in Broten, but there’s no denying that having a good center helped.
Then, we get to Ilya Kovalchuk. This was a goal-scoring machine before he went evil on us. He had a great regular season, scoring 83 points over 77 games. In the playoffs, he was dealing with a back injury, but he still found a way to score a league-high eight goals in the postseason. That helped lead the Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals, still their last appearance. Kovalchuk might be the most skilled player to ever play for the Devils, but the way he plays the game he’d still make sense on the third line. He’s a big body that could throw down, but could also snipe from anywhere on the ice. A motivated Kovalchuk was unstoppable.
Fourth Line
Left Wing: Zach Parise 2008-09
Center: Travis Zajac 2009-10
Right Wing: Alexander Mogilny 2000-01
Zach Parise on the fourth line? Sign me up every single time. Is there some bias here because of how Zach Parise left in 2012? No, it’s just a face that the left wing position is the most stacked in New Jersey Devils history. He scored 31 even-strength goals, and a total of 45. He was at his very best. He had career highs in goals, assists, points (obviously), even-strength points, and shots. Parise was great for the Devils, but he never came close to what he was in 2009. He ended the season fifth in Hart Trophy voting, third in Lady Bing voting, and eighth in Selke voting. He did just about every, and he did it at an elite level.
At center, we took the greatest season from life-long Devil Travis Zajac. Zajac scored 25 goals once, in 2009-10. We know how great Zajac is in the faceoff circle and as a defensive forward. He’s had Selke votes in seven different seasons, but in 2010 he made it to 6th in voting, his highest ever total. He works extremely well on the fourth line, especially with the ridiculous talent he is in between.
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Alexander Mogilny had to be on this list. In such a short time with the Devils, he made a major impact. His first full season with the Devils was his best with this team. He had 43 goals and 40 assists and did much better in the playoffs. It seemed like he was a bit spooked when he got traded in 2000, but he made it work much better in 2001. He had 16 points across all four playoff rounds. He did all this while playing just over 16 minutes per game. This shows he can make something happen with limited time, making this the perfect fourth line. Seriously, could there be a better fourth line in history?