5 Hall of Famers You Forgot Played For New Jersey Devils
It was yet another year where Patrik Elias and Alexander Mogilny did not make the Hockey Hall of Fame despite fabulous careers. They aren’t out of opportunities, but it’s starting to look bleak for both former New Jersey Devils legends. Their greatness may never be recognized for what it was, two of the great players in the history of the game.
The Devils have their fair share of Hall of Famers. There are the pillars of the Devils dynasty in Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, and Scott Niedermayer. Overall, 11 Hall of Famers played for the New Jersey Devils over their careers. There will be at least one more when Jaromir Jagr makes the Hall of Fame. The jury is still out on other players who might make the Hall like Zach Parise, Taylor Hall, or Mogilny/Elias.
A lot of these players are known Devils, too. Everyone knows that Brendan Shannahan started his career in New Jersey, and he eventually was the reason the Devils got Scott Stevens. It was a fair trade. Well, at least for the Devils. It’s also pretty well known that Peter Stastny spent a few of his twilight years in the early days of the New Jersey Devils.
However, there are a few Devils players who made the Hall of Fame despite barely having any recollection that they played for the Devils at all. Sometimes they were with the Devils for a cup of coffee, or they might have played for a team that wasn’t exactly a juggernaut. Let’s take a look at some Hall of Famers who had very forgettable stints in the Garden State.
5. Joe Nieuwendyk 2002-03
Joe Nieuwendyk was somehow the least remembered player of a four-player trade right before the 2002 NHL Trade Deadline. The Devils traded two legends to the Dallas Stars for a future captain and a future Hall of Famer. Randy McKay was a fan favorite, but he was getting old. Jason Arnott was once the center of one of the most electric lines in the league. The “A” line broke up after three fabulous seasons and one Stanley Cup, including a championship-winning goal in Game 6 overtime against these Stars.
In exchange, the Devils got Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner. Nieuwendyk was 35 at the time of the trade, and he was enjoying another decent season. He had 47 points at the time of the trade including 22 goals. Nieuwendyk was the player who won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the Stars’ 1999 Stanley Cup championship. The Devils were getting a certified winner on the ice.
Nieuwendyk was fine in his year and a half with the Devils. He only had one point as the Devils went down in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes. The next season, he had nine points in 17 playoff games as the Devils won its third and as of right now last Stanley Cup Championship in 2003.
After that season, Nieuwendyk signed a one-year deal to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was able to finally play for his home-province team, although that was another short-lived stop before he finished his career with the Florida Panthers.
4. Igor Larionov 2003-04
It’s almost like Lou Lamoriello let one future Hall of Famer go in Joe Nieuwendyk and brought in another, albeit much older, one in Igor Larionov. Larionov was clearly near the end of his rope, as he was already 42 years old at the time of his signing and he would turn 43 during the season. This signing really didn’t work out.
Larionov was only able to play 49 games during the regular season and just one playoff game that season before retiring. None of what he did with the Devils was ever going to impact his case for the Hall of Fame. He had just 12 points and one goal during his season with the Devils.
Points weren’t the entirety of Larionov’s game anyway, but they were a nice bonus. Larionov declared this was going to be his last season when he signed with the Devils. He wanted one last chance to make it to the Stanley Cup Final. It didn’t work out as the Devils were ousted in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers.
This was a fun signing on paper. Larionov in his prime is the perfect type of player for Lou Lamoriello, but like some others on this list, he didn’t consider the Devils until much later in his career. He won his three Stanley Cups already, so it’s not like he missed out, but it would have been fun to see Larionov on some of those mid-90s Devils teams.
3. Viacheslav Fetisov 1989-95
Viacheslav Fetisov was someone who was a staple for the early 90s New Jersey Devils teams. As the team was transitioned from the days of red and green jerseys to red and black jerseys that would turn this team into a champion, Fetisov was here for the transition. He spent six seasons with the Devils, but he was traded right before the Devils won that first Stanley Cup.
Fetisov ironically came to the U.S. alongside Larionov, as Soviet officials finally relented and let him play in the NHL. He was 31 years old at the time, and he was going to the Devils who drafted him way back in 1983. This was the second time he was drafted, as the first time he was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens five years earlier. So, it was more than a decade after the first time he was drafted that Fetisov was in the NHL.
Ironically, Fetisov was traded to the Detroit Red Wings near the 1995 trade deadline. He was very productive for the Wings and helped them make it to the Stanley Cup Final that season. There, he lost to his former team the New Jersey Devils.
Fetisov is one of the most decorated international players of all time. It’s strange the Devils aren’t celebrating him more. However, his time in New Jersey, while long, did not produce the accolades that other players did in shorter times.
2. Dave Andreychuk 1995-99
Dave Andreychuck had a very unlucky tenure with the New Jersey Devils. He was traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Devils during the 1995-96 season. That was the one season the Devils missed the playoffs between 1990 and 2010. Then, he stayed on the Devils from 1996 to 1999. Despite spending three and a half seasons with the Devils, he has one line in his Wikipedia page about his time in New Jersey. It just says how he got there and that’s it.
Andreychuk had 150 points over 224 games with the Devils. He had zero big runs with the Devils because the Devils didn’t have big runs in this stretch. They kept losing in the first round of the playoffs, and the 1995 Cup win was looking more and more like a fluke. Then Andreychuk was sent to the Boston Bruins, and the Devils immediately won another championship.
Obviously, the Devils would have been better with Andreychuk on that 2000 team, but something might not have clicked between the two sides trying to make it work.
It took him nine years of eligibility to make the Hall of Fame. He ended up going in with current Devils assistant coach Mark Recchi. His time in New Jersey didn’t make much of an impact, but his career was one of the most memorable during that era overall.
1. Phil Housley 1995-96
Phil Housley played 1,495 NHL games in his career. Only 22 players in the history of the league have played more games in their careers. Of those 1,495 games, only 22 came with the Devils. Housley is one of the best American players in NHL history.
Lou Lamoriello made one of his patented veteran trades when he sent Tommy Albelin, Cale Hulse, and Jocelyn Lemieux to the Calgary Flames for Housley and defenseman Dan Keczmer. The Devils got 13 points in their next eight games after the trade as the Devils were desperately trying to get back into the playoffs. Housley was not very good with the Devils. He only had one goal in 22 games.
Housley was even worse as the Devils fell apart down the stretch. His +/- was atrocious, and he was watching goals go in the net behind him over and over. His inability to defend really didn’t fit with what the Devils were trying to do as a unit.
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Housley ended up finishing his career without a Stanley Cup. He had played the most games without one until Shane Doan retired. His tenure with New Jersey was awful, but the rest of his career was great.