New Jersey Devils: Top 5 One Hit Wonders

Jonathan Cheechoo. Fernando Pisani. Jim Carey. Those three names should have brought an immediate reaction in your head which should have been, “Whatever happened to those guys?”. You may remember Cheechoo as scoring 57 goals in 2005-06, although a 125-point season from Joe Thornton helped immensely. Cheechoo followed it up with a 69 point year after that, however, was out of the NHL by 2010. Fernando Pisani set the NHL world on fire during the 2005-06 playoffs, propelling the Edmonton Oilers to within one win of the Stanley Cup. Pisani scored 14 goals in 24 games, but never matched the intensity and was out of the league by 2011.

Jim Carey is a little different than those two. Cheechoo did win the Maurice Richard for most goals during the regular season but never won an award after. Pisani never won an individual award, however, if the Oilers won the Cup he had a decent case for the Conn Smythe. Carey came onto the scene in the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season. He finished second in Calder Trophy voting for rookie of the year finishing only behind Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg. He also came in third in Vezina Trophy voting, finishing behind Dominik Hasek and Ed Belfour. His first full season in 1995-96 saw him winning the Vezina trophy, posting a 2.26 goals-against average. His future was bright and was used to acquire Adam Oates. Carey was out of the league two years later.

Looking back over the years, the Devils have had a few players that showed they were capable of turning heads. However, they fell from grace just as quickly as they achieved anything in the red and black. Now, none of them won any awards, although probably one should have. To qualify for this list, the player must have been off of the roster within three years after their breakout. Two of these guys hold a close place in Devils fans’ hearts, however, on the grand scheme of things, they never panned out.

Now, saying they are a one-hit wonder for the Devils does not mean that they are a bad player. Much like saying someone is overrated does not mean that you are calling them bad. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out for some players. They make that initial impression, expectations skyrocket, and they just cannot live up to those realistic expectations. Even if they succeeded with the Devils and cashed in on the next contract, it doesn’t mean they succeeded there either. Here are five recent one-hit wonders for the New Jersey Devils.