New Jersey Devils revealed their first-ever black jersey. Fans have been hoping for the black alternate since alt..."/> New Jersey Devils revealed their first-ever black jersey. Fans have been hoping for the black alternate since alt..."/> New Jersey Devils revealed their first-ever black jersey. Fans have been hoping for the black alternate since alt..."/>
Pucks and Pitchforks
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New Jersey Devils: 2 Reasons New Jersey Is A Miss And 1 Reasons It’s Not So Bad

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 06: Nathan Bastian #14 and Travis Zajac #19 of the New Jersey Devils talk during a stop in play in the third period against the New York Rangers at Prudential Center on March 06, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey.A limited number of fans are in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions.The New York Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-3. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 06: Nathan Bastian #14 and Travis Zajac #19 of the New Jersey Devils talk during a stop in play in the third period against the New York Rangers at Prudential Center on March 06, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey.A limited number of fans are in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions.The New York Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-3. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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A fan holds up a sign for the Fresno State Bulldogs. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Negative: Leaning Into A Strange Legacy

The New Jersey Devils are on a media blitz today. Everyone is talking to everyone who is willing to print the team’s opinions on the jersey. ESPN, the Athletic, the Sports Business Journal, and more have “exclusive” interviews with members of the Devils to promote the new jersey concept. This isn’t the first time the Devils have used a media blitz. It seems like the concept started under Ray Shero and continued here under Tom Fitzgerald. Maybe it’s a Josh Harris-David Blitzer ideal. Either way, they are really pushing two things. One, they want everyone to know that Martin Brodeur came up with the jersey concept. Two, they want everyone to know they are thinking about tradition with this jersey.

Okay, that second part seems a little strange. They keep bringing up the Newark Bulldogs with this jersey. They call that the tradition of Newark hockey. It’s grasping at straws, to be honest.

The Bulldogs played one season in Newark in 1928-29. That’s literally almost 100 years ago. It was one season of hockey, and then the team was gone.

The team played in the CAHL (Canadian-American Hockey League) and they had future Hall of Famer Sprague Cleghorn on the team. He was a Montreal Canadiens legend, but he was coming to Newark to become a player and a coach. Billy Coutu also played for the team, which was a defensive force during this era. That seems like a lot of fun, but the team was actually really bad. They allowed 81 goals over 40 games. It seems good, but it was actually the worst in the league. They only won 14 games that season.

There are some NHL talents on the team. Nick Wasnie led the team in goals and he went on to play for the Montreal Canadiens the next season. However, it’s strange the Devils have leaned into this concept when most people haven’t heard of this team prior to this week.

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