5 Hall of Famers With Surprising New Jersey Devils Ties

The New Jersey Devils have quite a few Hall of Famers enshrined in Toronto. Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, and Lou Lamoriello are the first names that come to mind when we talk about former Devils who have Hall of Fame plaques. We expect a few others to make the Hall of Fame one day, including Patrik Elias, Alexander Mogliny and Zach Parise. There are plenty of players who surprisingly have Devils ties despite being Hall of Famers.

Here, we’ll go beyond that. Yes, there will be some players on the list, but the Hall of Fame is so much more than that.  There are (at our count) 131 builders and referees in the Hall. Many of them have ties to the New Jersey Devils, despite the team joining the NHL just 40 years ago (after moving from Colorado). The first is a referee who started his illustrious career with a game back in the former red and green days.

5. Bill McCreary – 2014 Induction

Bill McCreary was the referee for 1,737 NHL regular-season games, 297 playoff games, and one NHL All-Star Game. However, it all started in 1984, when he wore the stripes for his first NHL game. It was in Landover, Maryland, then the home of the Washington Capitals. They were taking on Chico Resch and the New Jersey Devils.

McCreary would have many moments, including being the ref for the night Martin Brodeur passed Terry Sawchuk for the most shutouts in NHL history. In 1995, he was one of the referees for the Devils win over the Detroit Red Wings, the Devils first in franchise history. He would be a ref for their wins in 2000 and 2003, as McCreary was the referee for 13-straight Final.

This isn’t a Devils tie, but it’s definitely ironic. McCreary finished his career where it began. His last game was in Washington, D.C., as the Capitals took on the Buffalo Sabres.