The current New Jersey Devils squad is set to dominate the NHL for the next decade, but how would some of the franchise’s legends fare in today’s game? We take a look at five unsung heroes who would adapt best to the NHL in the present-day.
The New Jersey Devils were, by far and away, one of the best hockey teams in the world in the 1990s and early 2000s. Their success would continue through the 2000s and into the 2010s, but their quests for the ultimate prize – the Stanley Cup – would fall short post-2003. Everyone knows about their superstar Hall of Famers, like Scott Niedermayer, Martin Brodeur, and Scott Stevens. Hockey is a team sport, though, and the New Jersey Devils wouldn’t be the same without their lesser-known guys.
The New Jersey Devils come from humble beginnings. Starting as the Kansas City Scouts and then becoming the Colorado Rockies, the New Jersey Devils franchise wouldn’t experience their first 30-win season until 1987-88 – their sixth year as the Devils and 14 years removed from their inaugural season.
For this exercise, we’ve removed Hall of Famers as the assumption is they would dominate in any era. Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, and Martin Brodeur would obviously be very good today. These five players might actually be even better now than they were in their heyday.
Bruce Driver
One defenseman was there from virtually the beginning, and he goes by the name of Bruce Driver. Driver joined the Devils as a 21-year-old in their second year in New Jersey in 1983 and remained with the team until 1995 when he left for the New York Rangers.
Driver spent 11 years with the New Jersey Devils, including a year as the team’s captain in 1991. Scott Stevens took that role a year later. Driver was once the Devils’ all-time leader amongst defensemen in assists (316) before Stevens and Scott Niedermayer eventually surpassed him.
Driver never got to fully reap the rewards of his 11 years of building the Devils from the ground up. After helping the Devils win the 1995 Stanley Cup in what was personally a down year for him, Driver signed with the New York Rangers and spent the last three years of his career there. The Devils would win two more Cups, but both came after Driver had retired from the NHL. If Driver was able to stay in New Jersey and regain his form, it’s possible the team could have won even more.
At his best, Bruce Driver was a smooth-skating defenseman with a knack for setting up plays and doing things the right way. Even as a smaller guy in his era at 6’0″, Driver had three seasons where he scored 50 or more points and paved the way for the prototypical defensemen of today’s NHL to be what they are. On a team that prioritized defense, Bruce Driver set the standard for what a two-way defenseman should be: responsible and smart at both ends of the ice. That’s a skill set that would dominate today.