The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kansas City Scouts in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1974. The Scouts moved to Denver in 1976 and became the Colorado Rockies. In 1982, they moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey, and took their current name, which is derived from the legendary Jersey Devil creature. For their first 25 seasons in New Jersey, the Devils were based at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford and played their home games at Brendan Byrne Arena (later renamed Continental Airlines Arena). Before the 2007–08 season, the team moved to Prudential Center in Newark. The Devils are owned and managed by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE), with founders Josh Harris and David Blitzer acquiring the team in 2013.
The franchise was poor to mediocre in the eight years before moving to New Jersey, with only one playoff appearance and no winning seasons. The pattern continued during the first five years in New Jersey, with no playoff appearances and never finishing higher than fifth in a six-team division. Their fortunes began to turn around following the hiring of president and general manager Lou Lamoriello in 1987. Under Lamoriello's stewardship, the Devils made the playoffs all but three times between 1988 and 2012, including 13 berths in a row from 1997 to 2010, and finished with a winning record every season from 1992–93 to 2009–10. They have won the Atlantic Division regular season title nine times, most recently in 2009–10, before transferring to the newly created Metropolitan Division as part of the NHL's realignment in 2013. The Devils have reached the Stanley Cup Final five times, winning in 1994–95, 1999–2000 and 2002–03, and losing in 2000–01 and 2011–12. The Devils were known for their defense-first approach throughout their years of Cup contention, and were one of the teams credited with popularizing the neutral zone trap in the mid-1990s.
The Devils have a rivalry with their cross-Hudson River neighbor, the New York Rangers, as well as a rivalry with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils are one of three NHL teams in the New York metropolitan area; the others are the Rangers and the New York Islanders. The Devils are one of four major professional sports teams that play their home games in New Jersey; the others are the National Football League's New York Giants and New York Jets, and the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer. Since the relocation of the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn in 2012, the Devils have been the only major league team in any sport to bill themselves as solely representing the state of New Jersey.
History
Kansas City and Colorado
In 1972, the National Hockey League (NHL) announced plans to add two expansion teams, including one in Kansas City, Missouri, owned by a group headed by Edwin G. Thompson. The new team was officially named the Scouts in reference to Cyrus E. Dallin's statue of the same name which stands in that city's Penn Valley Park.Laroche, chapter "Kansas City Scouts", p. 1. In the team's inaugural season, 1974–75, the Scouts were forced to wait until the ninth game to play in Kansas City's Kemper Arena, and did not post a win until beating the Washington Capitals, their expansion brethren, in their tenth contest.Laroche, chapter "Kansas City Scouts", p. 2. With 41 points in their inaugural season, the Scouts finished last in the Smythe Division; only the Capitals had fewer points in the NHL. Kansas City fell to 36 points the following season, and had a 27-game winless streak, three short of the NHL record, which was set when the 1980–81 Winnipeg Jets went 30 games without a win. The Scouts had difficulty drawing fans to home games, and National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) leader Alan Eagleson publicly expressed concerns about whether Scouts players would be paid.
After two seasons in Kansas City, the franchise moved to Denver and was renamed the Colorado Rockies. It played at the McNichols Sports Arena. The team won its first game as the Rockies, 4–2, against the Toronto Maple Leafs.Maguire, p. 141. The Rockies were in position to qualify for the playoffs 60 games into the 1976–77 season, but a streak of 18 games without a win caused them to fall from contention. The Rockies ended the campaign last in the division with a 20–46–14 record and 54 points, and improved to 59 points the next season. Despite having the sixth-worst record in the League, the Rockies beat-out the Vancouver Canucks for second in the division by two points and gained a playoff berth. The Philadelphia Flyers eliminated the Rockies from the playoffs in the preliminary round.
A lack of stability continually plagued the team. In their first eight years, the Scouts/Rockies went through ten coaches, none lasting two full seasons.
The franchise never won more than 22 games and did not return to the playoffs after 1977–78 in its six seasons in Colorado. Prior to the 1978–79 season, the team was sold to New Jersey trucking tycoon Arthur Imperatore, who intended to move the team to his home state. The plan was criticized due to the existence of three other NHL teams in the region. In any event, their intended home in the New Jersey Meadowlands was still under construction, and there was no nearby facility suitable even for temporary use; the franchise ultimately stayed in Denver. In 1979, the team hired Don Cherry as head coach and featured forward Lanny McDonald. The Rockies still posted the worst record in the NHL, and Cherry was subsequently fired after the season.
After two more years in Denver, the Rockies were sold to a group headed by Jersey City native John McMullen (who also owned Major League Baseball's Houston Astros) on May 27, 1982, and the franchise moved to New Jersey. As part of the relocation deal, the Devils had to compensate the three existing teams in the region – the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, and Flyers – for encroaching on their territory.
New Jersey
1982–1993: Building the foundation
On June 30, 1982, the team was renamed the New Jersey Devils, after the legend of the Jersey Devil, a creature that allegedly inhabited the Pine Barrens of South Jersey. Over 10,000 people voted in a contest held to select the name. The team began play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at the Brendan Byrne Arena, later renamed the Continental Airlines Arena and then the Izod Center, where they called home through the 2006–07 season. With their relocation, the newly christened Devils were placed in the Wales Conference's Patrick Division. Their first game ended in a 3–3 tie against the Pittsburgh Penguins, with their first goal scored by Don Lever. Their first win, a 3–2 victory, came in New Jersey at the expense of the Rangers. The team finished with a 17–49–14 record, putting them three points above last place in the Patrick Division.
In the following season, on November 19, 1983, the Devils were criticized by Wayne Gretzky after a 13–4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. In a post-game interview, Gretzky said that the Devils were "putting a Mickey Mouse operation on the ice." Later, Gretzky said that his comment was "blown out of proportion." In response, many Devils fans wore Mickey Mouse apparel when the Oilers returned to New Jersey on January 15, 1984, despite a 5–4 loss. Also in the 1983–84 season, the Devils hosted the annual NHL All-Star Game. New Jersey's Chico Resch was the winning goaltender, and Devils defenseman Joe Cirella tallied a goal as the Wales Conference beat the Campbell Conference 7–6. Overall, the team did not achieve much success. Head coach Bill MacMillan was fired 20 games into the season, whereupon Tom McVie was named the new coach. The Devils won only 17 games and after the season, Doug Carpenter succeeded McVie.
On January 22, 1987, a massive blizzard hit the New York metropolitan area resulting in only 334 fans attending the game between the Devils and the Calgary Flames at Brendan Byrne Arena where the Devils rallied to win 7–5. The Devils officially recognized the fans that made the journey to the game the "334 Club". The fans received a letter that read, "You are hereby inducted and given lifetime membership to a club that cannot grow – the 334 Club".
The Devils assembled a core of players that included John MacLean, Bruce Driver, Ken Daneyko, Kirk Muller and Pat Verbeek, with Resch as their goaltender. Their record improved each season between 1983–84 and 1986–87. However, they were unable to reach the playoffs. Despite their improvement, the Devils remained last in the Patrick Division in 1985–86 and 1986–87. McMullen hired Providence College athletic director Lou Lamoriello as team president in April 1987. To gain greater control over franchise operations, Lamoriello appointed himself general manager before the 1987–88 season.
The 1987–88 Devils garnered the franchise's first winning record. On the final day of the regular season, they were tied with their rivals, the Rangers, for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. After New York defeated the Quebec Nordiques 3–0, the Devils needed to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks for a postseason berth. The Devils were trailing 3–2 midway through the third period when John MacLean tied the game, and with 2:39 left in overtime, he added the winning goal. Although the Rangers and Devils both finished with 82 points, the Devils had two more wins, sending them to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history as the New Jersey Devils. The team made it all the way to the conference finals in the 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs, but lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games. In that series, head coach Jim Schoenfeld verbally abused referee Don Koharski after the third game in the Devils' 6–1 loss. During the exchange, Koharski fell and Schoenfeld said to him "Good, 'cause you fell, you fat pig! Have another doughnut! Have another doughnut!"Maguire, p. 52. Schoenfeld was given a suspension by the NHL, but due to a favorable court order, he was able to coach in the fourth game of the series. In protest, referee Dave Newell and linesmen Gord Broseker and Ray Scapinello refused to work the game. Three off-ice officials – Paul McInnis, Jim Sullivan and Vin Godleski – were tracked down to work the game. After the injunction was lifted, Schoenfeld's suspension was imposed in the following game.
In the next season, the Devils once again slipped below .500 and missed the playoffs. Among the postseason player changes Lamoriello made in the off-season was the signing of two Soviet stars – Viacheslav Fetisov and Sergei Starikov. The Devils drafted Fetisov years earlier in the 1983 NHL entry draft, but the Soviet Government did not allow Fetisov, who was a member of the national team, to leave the country. Shortly after, the Devils signed Fetisov's defense partner, Alexei Kasatonov.
The team changed coaches midway through each of the next two seasons. Schoenfeld was replaced with John Cunniff in 1989–90, and Tom McVie was hired midway through the 1990–91 season and helmed the team through its third-straight division semifinals' elimination in 1991–92. Herb Brooks, who coached the 1980 U.S. Olympic "Miracle on Ice" team, was brought in for the 1992–93 season, but when the team yet again was eliminated in the division semifinals, he was fired and replaced by former Montreal Canadiens head coach Jacques Lemaire.
1993–2000: A Championship franchise