Formerly based in Kansas City and Colorado, the New Jersey Devils National Hockey League (NHL) franchise has won three Stanley Cups since relocating to the Garden State in 1982. While the Devils have only made the playoffs once in the past eight seasons, it had done so in all but two of the prior 22 seasons.
In this time, New Jersey has had numerous impact players, many of whom have since been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF). Below are five of the 13 HHOF inductees who have played for the Devils.
1. Martin Brodeur
Inducted into the HHOF in 2018, Martin Brodeur played all but seven of his 1,266 career regular season games with the Devils. Selected 20th overall by the team in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, the goaltender played for the Devils from 1991 to 2014.
After that, he played seven games with the St. Louis Blues. He retired on January 29, 2015, with a career win-loss-tie/overtime loss record of 691–397–154 to go along with a goals against average and save percentage of 2.24 and .912, respectively.
A seven-time All-Star, Brodeur won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 1993–94 and backstopped the Devils to all three of the team’s Stanley Cup victories. He also won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender in 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008.
He holds the all-time NHL record for games played by a goaltender (1,266), wins (691), and shutouts (125). He also won a pair of Olympic gold medals with Canada. The Devils unveiled a statue in his honor and retired his №30 in February 2016.
2. Scott Niedermayer
Selected third overall by the Devils in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, Scott Niedermayer played 892 regular season games with the Devils from 1991 to 2004. He later played five seasons with the Anaheim Ducks before retiring in 2010.
Like Brodeur, he won three Stanley Cups with New Jersey and was a key contributor on all three of those teams. He recorded a league-best 18 points through 24 games in the 2003 playoffs. The defenseman won another Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007 and won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP.
An offensively-gifted defenseman known for his effortless skating stride, Niedermayer recorded 476 points with the Devils and retired with 568 points in 1,263 regular season games. He was a four-time All-Star and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in 2003–04 after recording 54 points in 81 games.
3. Brendan Shanahan
Although he is now the president of the Toronto Maple Leafs and played for four other teams during his 21-year playing career, Brendan Shanahan entered the NHL as a member of the Devils. Selected second overall by the team in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, Shanahan played four seasons in New Jersey before he was dealt to the St. Louis Blues.
He later played for the Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers before retiring as a Devil in 2009. Combined, he accumulated 228 points in 315 regular season games with New Jersey. Overall, he had 1,354 points in 1,524 games. He won three Stanley Cups and was inducted into the HHOF in 2013.
4. Scott Stevens
Considered an offensive defenseman early in his career, Scott Stevens became known primarily for his sound defensive abilities and thundering bodychecks with the Devils. He was the captain of the Devils for each of its three Stanley Cup victories and was particularly impactful during the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2000.
Stevens was as physical as ever in those playoffs, adding 11 points in 23 games. He won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP that year. The hard-hitting defenseman played 13 of his 22 seasons with the Devils and retired in 2005 with 908 points and 2,785 penalty minutes in 1,635 career regular season games.
5. Viacheslav Fetisov
Inducted into the HHOF in 2001, Viacheslav Fetisov enjoyed his greatest on-ice successes in Detroit, where he won a pair of Stanley Cups, but spent the majority of his NHL career in New Jersey. Fetisov joined the Devils for the 1989–90 season after spending more than a decade as one of the top defensemen with the Soviet National Team.
He recorded 130 points through 341 games with the Devils and, after retiring in 1998, joined the team as an assistant coach. Fetisov won his third Stanley Cup ring in 2000 as a member of New Jersey’s coaching staff.
In addition to his on-ice and coaching success, Fetisov is remembered for paving the way for Russian players to join the NHL. He originally signed with the Devils in 1988, but Soviet authorities chose not to grant him his release.
He announced his intention to quit the Red Army team the following year, but was again denied by the armed forces. He was finally granted his wish to play in the NHL later that year after Soviet hockey powers declared they were going to promote younger players in favor of aging veterans like Fetisov, who was 31 at the time.
