New Jersey Devils: 5 Greatest Undrafted Free Agents Ever

5. Greg Adams

It’s highly doubtful very many of you reading this even know who Greg Adams is. He played for a couple of seasons in the 80s before leaving for a journeyman’s career. However, he was an important part of a few seasons before the Devils made the playoffs in 1988. In 1985-86, he scored a career-high 77 points, which included 35 goals. He followed it up with 20 goals the next season before he became a free agent.

The Devils signed him out of the University of Northern Arizona when he led the country in scoring in September of 1986. Back then, he got his picture in the New York Times after the news. It wasn’t very often the Devils were getting any coverage, but getting a name from college hockey sure helped. The Devils were reportedly one of the few teams that scouted him, showing early in his career that Lou Lamoriello was making sure he knew where all the talent was.

Adams had a few good seasons before he was one of the key pieces in the Patrik Sundstrom trade. It was a decent trade for both sides, but the Canucks definitely got the better player and added Kirk McLean as well. Adams ended up scoring 369 points with the Vancouver Canucks. Sundstrom had a decent few years, but it ended so terribly. At least he has the Devils in the record books (he has the record for most points in a playoff game).

Back to Adams. He only had three seasons with the Devils, but he was good for two of them and really good for one. He had a very isolated impact, but it provided a boost to a team desperate for secondary scoring. It would be interesting to see what he would become if he was never traded.