5 Players Who Returned To New Jersey Devils (And How It Went)

Claude Lemieux

Claude Lemieux was crucial to the early great years of the New Jersey Devils. He won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens, and then he brought that experience to New Jersey in 1990, right when things were starting to get good. He would play the next five seasons with the Devils, and he was impossibly good in the 1995 postseason. He scored 13 goals on his way to the Conn Smythe award as the playoff MVP. It was clear he was something special for the Devils.

Then a few months later, the Devils traded Lemieux to the Colorado Avalanche. Lemieux was unhappy with his contract with the Devils which he signed the season before. He went as far as to challenge Lou Lamoriello in arbitration, claiming his contract was invalid. An arbitrator sided with the Devils, but Lou agreed to trade Lemieux before the start of the season.

It worked out for Lemieux, who went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche that season. There was bad blood between the two parties, but the Devils got back multiple time 30-goal scorer Steve Thomas. He had a ho-hum career with the Devils, scoring 28 goals in his first season but facing some serious injury problems in years two and three in New Jersey.

Then, the impossible happened. The Devils traded for Lemieux to return in 1999. The New York Post article from the breaking news story literally starts “pigs must fly”. Lamoriello brought Lemieux back to help the team win the Stanley Cup. They sent Brian Rolston to the Avalanche and they were able to swap 1st-round picks in the 2000 NHL Draft.

Lemieux helped the Devils win another Stanley Cup in 2000 after the trade. Lamoriello knew what the team was missing, and while Lemieux didn’t end up scoring 13 goals like he did in 1995, he did play an X factor for a team that was as skilled as any in New Jersey. Lemieux would sign with the Phoenix Coyotes in the offseason, but his return to New Jersey was undoubtedly a success.