50 Greatest New Jersey Devils Players Of All Time
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils have a long, wonderful history in the NHL which includes three Stanley Cup wins. Which players are the best that have ever graced the ice in New Jersey?
This year marks 40 years of New Jersey Devils hockey. There have been incredible highs with this franchise and devastating lows. This season, the Devils set multiple franchise records, including wins (52) and points (112). The recent lows made this high feel so much better. It has us thinking Three Stanley Cups, five Stanley Cup Final appearances, 11 Hall of Famers, and the greatest goalie of all time. Overall, Devils fans are lucky.
The Devils came into the league officially in 1982. The legendary Dr. John McMullen brought the franchise to the Garden State from Colorado. It’s the third stop for a franchise that started in Kansas City eight years prior to their move to the Northeast. At the time, there were 21 teams in the league, and expansion was close to a decade away.
Since then, there’s been talk of relocation, which includes a very awkward Gary Bettman interview at the Stanley Cup Final. There have been incredible highs (Henrique, it’s over might be tops among them), and there have been incredible lows (we’d need some time for this one, but the day Zach Parise left has to be at least close to the top).
One thing that unites all Devils fans is the love for this franchise and the love for this sport. The Devils are considered the third team in the New York Metropolitan Area. That makes fans even more ravenous when rooting for them. It started in Brendan Byrne Arena. It eventually evolved into a championship arena in East Rutherford called the Continental Airlines Arena. Now, the games are played at the Prudential Center.
At the peak of it all is the players. We wear their jersey. We scream their name. Some of us wait for hours to get a glimpse of them, and others buy season tickets just to spend a little time with them. You’ll still see jerseys around the arena of players who once called this team home. Now, let’s celebrate them, while also ranking them based on their impacts to this franchise. To be clear, we are ranking the players based on their contribution to the Devils only. All active players will be judged based on their contributions to this date, as if they retired today.
50. Jaromir Jagr
49. Kyle Palmieri
48. Mel Bridgman
47. Grant Marshall
46. Glenn “Chico” Resch
45. Marek Zidlicky
44. Valeri Zelepukin
43. Jesper Bratt
42. Nico Hischier
41. Damon Severson
40. Bryce Salvador
39. Bill Guerin
38. Brian Rolston
37. Jay Pandolfo
36. Peter Stasny
35. Colin White
34. Paul Martin
33. Tommy Albelin
32. Brendan Shanahan
31. Andy Greene
30. Jamie Langenbrunner
29. Aaron Broten
28. Cory Schneider
27. Ilya Kovalchuk
26. Stephane Richer
25. Alexander Mogilny
24. Randy McKay
23. Pat Verbeek
22. Adam Henrique
21. Bruce Driver
If you’d like to see the explanations for the first 30 choices, click on the following links: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21.