50 Greatest New Jersey Devils Players of All Time: Numbers 30-21

Greatest New Jersey Devils player of all time: 23. Pat Verbeek

Pat Verbeek was another one of the young Devils who helped them in the early going. He was a second-round pick of the 1982 NHL Draft, the first draft the Devils had after moving to New Jersey. He ended up being a great pick, making the league in that very same season, playing six games. He became a full-time contributor the next season, putting up 47 points in his first campaign.

Verbeek went from good to great as he entered his prime. He went from 15 to 25 to 35 to 46 goals in consecutive seasons, with his best campaign coming in the Devils first playoff performance. Being the superstar scorer on a team that needed to outscore the opponents in the insane 80s was incredibly important.

This player was ironically very close to what we think of the Devils of Yore. He was a tough-nosed player (2,500 career penalty minutes) who could score with the top players in the league.

The Devils traded Verbeek for Sylvain Turgeon in what was a huge disappointment. Verbeek went on to have more very productive seasons, while Turgeon was largely terrible in the Garden State. If Verbeek stuck with New Jersey, he might have made the top ten of this list.