5 Best New Jersey Devils Rookie Seasons Of All Time

4. Kirk Muller 1984-85

Kirk Muller had a tall hill to climb to live up to any hype for the New Jersey Devils. He was taken second overall behind a guy named Mario Lemieux. He would continue to fall behind him for his entire career. It started his rookie season, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact he was really good that year.

Muller put up 17 goals and 34 assists for an absolutely putrid Devils team. The team finished the season with 22 wins, good for third worst in the league. Muller was fourth on the Devils in scoring, despite it being the 80s where teams constantly had 100-point scorers. 16 players had 100 points that season, including a teenage Lemieux.

Muller’s season was all about scoring. His paltry -31 (still a terrible stat, but we don’t have much else to go off in 1985) showed that the Devils were allowing too many goals. However, Muller was putting together a foundation that would eventually lead to a very nice career.

Muller made the All-Star Game in his first season as the Devils lone representative. He ended up assisting a Lemieux goal on the way to a Wales Conference win. He got better as the season went on, kept scoring, and even added a defensive side to his game. Muller’s season isn’t going to get him in any Hall of Fames, but it was memorable for those who were watching at the time.