Scott Gomez
Like Sykora, Scott Gomez’s second New Jersey Devils stint started as a tryout. However, Gomez is also the only player on this list who was on a non-playoff Devils team during his second bout with the organization. Currently the organization’s all-time leading US-born player in points (484), Gomez played the first seven years of his NHL career in New Jersey. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1999-2000, along with his first Stanley Cup, winning a second championship with the team in 2003 and had another run to the finals in 2001. Gomez was an effective playmaker, who had some of the best years in his NHL career with the Devils during his initial tenure in the Garden State.
Gomez outraged Devils fans when he signed a lucrative contract with the New York Rangers in 2007, after which he bounced around the league for a couple years, playing for the Montreal Canadiens, San Jose Sharks, and Florida Panthers. Over his last three seasons before returning to New Jersey, Gomez collected meager totals of six goals and 38 points in 123 contests. Although he only netted seven goals with the Devils in 2014-2015, Gomez had 34 points in 58 contests, which equates to about nine goals and 48 points over an 82-game season.
While his numbers weren’t flashy and he played on a New Jersey Devils team, which finished 12th in the Eastern Conference that year, Gomez’s second stint with the organization was largely a success because of how strongly he rebounded when his career appeared finished. He almost collected 30 assists playing under 60 games, and the 34 points he had in 2014-2015 nearly eclipsed his total number of goals and assists he attained in the three previous seasons. Although Gomez’s NHL career concluded the following season, he was able to go out on a respectable high note with the team where he first started.