5 wildest New Jersey Devils nicknames for current players

Earlier this week, an episode of Jeopardy!, New Jersey Devils legend and greatest goaltender of all time Martin Brodeur was mentioned in a question. Devils fans loved that their superstar goalie came up on such a prominent game show, but something was off. It had nothing to do with the answer... err the question.

Satan's Wallpaper is a wild nickname, but it's also one almost none of us have heard of. Trust us, we've asked some people who have covered this team for decades, and they've never heard of it. Pucks and Pitchforks writer Trey Matthews even asked Martin Brodeur himself, and he said the nickname's debut came from Jeopardy!

Many believe that the nickname came from a simple producer search on Hockey Reference. The "Reference" sites have always been famous for the wildest nicknames on the planet. Kevin Durant has a laundry list of nicknames, like Easy Money Sniper, and Tom Brady's nickname, The Pharaoh. So, when it was announced that hockey players would be getting nicknames, the fun was just beginning.

So let's start our journey with the current NHL players. Which Devils players have the strangest nicknames? Surprisingly, Jack Hughes isn't on the list, despite Hockey Reference deeming his nicknames as Gentleman's Jack, and The Big Deal. Which nicknames are even crazier than this?

1. Luke Hughes
"Rusty"

Let's start with Jack's brother Luke. His nickname is "Rusty." This seems like a strange one, but we actually have a very good explanation for this. While Rusty as a nickname is usually used for those with red hair, that's not the case for the youngest Hughes brother. It's much simpler than this.

Devils reporter Amanda Stein did the research on this and found that it ties to Brad Pitt's character Rusty from Ocean's Eleven. Apparently, Rusty was eating in every scene, and Luke Hughes always seem to be eating whenever anyone is around. There's nothing wrong with snacking.

This nickname does have an origin at least, so Hockey Reference is right on the ball here. This isn't some fan-made or writer-created nonsense.

2. Erik Haula
"Haula Back", "Haula-luiah"

Okay, seriously, where did this come from? "Haula-luiah" is the nickname for Erik Haula? Who came up with that? We've never seen it written. We've never heard it spoken. This name seems like it came from the clear blue sky.

We've checked everywhere to find where this name came from. It's literally not mentioned on Twitter. The only time we saw it mentioned on Facebook was when people were misspelling Hallelujah. There are no media articles that mention this nickname. We cannot find it anywhere.

Haula has been with a few teams. Maybe this was a fleeting nickname that came out of the mouth of a Hurricanes or Bruins play-by-play guy. We have no idea, we're literally guessing.

Then, there's "Haula Back," which is a reference to Gwen Stefani's famous song "Hollaback Girl." For those who don't know, a "Hollaback Girl" is not a good thing to be. We did at least see this referenced in some goal tweets as far back as his Minnesota Wild days, so this is clearly coming from somewhere. The other one seems to be something that just sounded nice to say and slipped off the tongue.

4. Jonathan Kovacevic
"Kovatizer"

NHL nicknames tend to miss a lot of creativity. Many names just end a “y” or “ey” to the end of a shortened or full version of a player’s last name. Hughesy, Marky, and Pally are all well-known nicknames that the team uses. Sometimes teams will stretch it to make this work. Brenden Dillon is “Dilly,” Dougie Hamilton is probably “Hammy,” and Dawson Mercer feels like he would accept the nickname “Mercy.” 

So, when “Kovy” is right there waiting for Johnathan Kovacevic, which is his nickname actually “Kovatizer?” 

Well, when the Canadiens we’re given the opportunity to put their nicknames on the back of their warmup jersey, that’s where the Kovatizer name became popular. Kovacevic chose this name, while others had more traditional nicknames. Current Devils teammate had his moniker Jake the Snake, which has followed him from St. Louis. 

Through a little more research, we learned it came from former Canadiens center Sean Monahan. He apparently looked at Kovacevic’s nameplate and went with “Kovatizer,” and honestly, sure. 

5. Ondrej Palat
"Sneaky P"

Okay, this one feels fake. Sneaky P for Ondrej Palat? Where could that one have come from?

While we don’t know the origin, we have seen many Tampa Bay Lightning fans refer to him this way. It was very popular to label Palat “Sneaky P.” The first reference to the nickname came from Steven Stamkos, who mentioned the name back in 2022. That would make a lot of sense, as the captains of teams were often in control of giving nicknames. Even if Stamkos didn't give it to him, it made a lot of sense on those particular teams, especially when they started winning championships.

There were so many stars in Tampa at the time that Palat could easily fall under the radar. Even when he was putting up 50-60 points, teams weren’t paying attention to him over Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, or eventually Brayden Point. Palat was sneaky because he wasn’t a part of the conglomerate of top scorers.

Now, Palat can be sneaky again. He’s playing on a team with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, and more offensive talent. Even when Palat is in the top six, he doesn’t always get the attention his name value probably deserves. And now, he gets to keep his Sneaky P distinction as he continues his career in his mid-30s.