New Jersey Devils: Five Players With Successful Second Stints

Petr Sykora

Best remembered as one of the infamous “A-Line” members, Petr Sykora is one of two players on this list whose second stint started as a tryout in training camp. He spent the first seven seasons of his career with the New Jersey Devils, during which he won a Stanley Cup in 2000 and returned to the Finals in 2001. Sykora was traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the summer of 2002 in a six-player deal, in which New Jersey acquired forward Jeff Friesen and defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky.

Sykora went on to win another Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, and made a fourth Stanley Cup Finals appearance the prior year. After an extremely subpar bout with the Minnesota Wild in 2009-10, Sykora played 2010-11 in Europe, and it appeared his NHL career was finished.

After being invited to Devils training camp as a tryout in the summer of 2011, Sykora wound up making the team, tallying 21 goals and 44 points, being one of five players on the team to reach the 20-goal plateau. The Devils would go on their magical 2012 playoff run, during which Sykora had two goals and five points in 18 postseason contests. Sykora’s redemptive 2011-12 season helped New Jersey reach the playoffs, spending most of the year reunited on a line with fellow Czech Patrik Elias. Sykora was never re-signed by the Devils that summer, and returned to Europe the following season.