Bryce Salvador
Bryce Salvador’s arrival in New Jersey came under strange circumstances – the St. Louis Blues traded him for Cam Janssen – but Salvador became supremely valuable to the Devils in a short span of time.
Salvador was already 31 by the time he made it to New Jersey, but he made his seven years as a Devil count. ‘Sal’ was an all-defense, no offense defenseman who was a shot blocking, hit making machine in his heyday. However, during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Salvador took his game to new heights.
Bryce Salvador scored four or more goals in a single season just twice in his career, but he managed to do that in the 2012 playoffs too. Salvador finished that postseason tied for third on the New Jersey Devils in scoring with Travis Zajac, trailing only Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise. Salvador scored four goals and 10 assists and played in all 24 playoff games. Salvador scored four goals and 10 assists in 79 games in the 2009-10 season; his offensive production was certainly unprecedented.
Salvador came up in big moments, as you would expect of the former New Jersey Devils captain. Sal had two assists in the Game Four win over the Los Angeles Kings, and followed that up with a goal in the Game Five win. In fact, all 14 of Bryce Salvador’s 2012 playoff points came in wins. The New Jersey Devils lost every game in which Salvador did not score a point.
In the years that followed, Bryce Salvador succeeded Zach Parise as New Jersey Devils captain, thus becoming only the third Black captain in NHL history after Dirk Graham and Jarome Iginla. Salvador’s physical health declined immensely in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and he retired ahead of the 2015 season.
The Bryce Salvador we all know and love can be seen covering New Jersey Devils games on MSG Network, as he has been doing since 2017. He’s also a regular guest of the Let’s Go Devils Podcast.