50 Greatest New Jersey Devils Players Of All Time

Greatest New Jersey Devils player of all time: 5. Ken Daneyko

Now we’re getting to the section of the article we’d like to call “The Rafters.” The top five players in New Jersey Devils history all see their names in the rafters of the Prudential Center, and they are probably the only players who deserve it. Plenty of players contributed to the Devils winning ways, but nobody contributed to those Stanley Cup teams like the next five players.

Ken Daneyko is Mr. Devil. He was drafted in the first round of 1982, the first year the franchise existed as the Devils. He would spend the next four decades as a part of the Devils family, touching just about every part of the Devils. Now, he’s the Devils head color commentator for the MSG Broadcast.

Daneyko played close to 1,300 games in a Devils uniform. Nobody matches that number, and it will be hard for even the current superstars to play that many games for the Devils. He should hold that record for a long time. He was a part of every Stanley Cup champion, finding consistency late in his career as a pure stopper. While Stevens and Niedermayer brought superstar tendencies to the lineup, Daneyko was tasked with stopping the superstars on the other team.

Early in his career, Daneyko was known as a bruiser. He would regularly get 200 PIMs in a season. Once the Devils started winning, he was in the penalty box a lot less. This team needed a veteran who went on the ice and got the job done. Daneyko couldn’t do that from the penalty box. Nobody will say Daneyko’s hockey card is impressive, but he provided so much more than stats. Daneyko was a leader; a consistent force who helped this team win three championships.