32 NHL Cities in 32 Days: New Jersey Devils

Alexis Bazydola
May 18, 2020
6 min read

The Location: Newark, New Jersey

Opening its doors in 2007, the New Jersey Devils call the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey home. The team shares the facility with the Seton Hall Men’s Basketball team. Officially opening in October 2007, the arena hosted a series of 10 Bon Jovi concerts with special guests such as Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Daughtry, The All-American Rejects, and My Chemical Romance. The Prudential Center has also hosted other entertainer such as The Eagles and The Rolling Stones. Just over 16,500 fans can be seated at a home hockey game.

Team History

In 1972, the NHL announced two new expansion franchises, one in Kansas City, Missouri. The team was nicknamed the Scouts and began play in 1974-75. The Scouts finished last in their division and second to last in the league. With a year much the same during the 1975-76 season, the team had difficulty drawing spectators to games. The team was moved to Denver and renamed the Colorado Rockies. While it looked like the team would qualify for the playoffs during their first season in Denver, they went on an 18-game losing streak that caused them to fall from contention.

The team was not stable and saw coach after coach behind the bench. Prior to the 1978-79 season, the team was sold to Arthur Imperatore who planned to move the team to New Jersey. The plan was met with fraught from the other three franchises in the area, but their intended arena was still under construction so the team stayed in Denver. In 1982 the team was sold again to John McMullen and moved to New Jersey. The team was renamed the New Jersey Devils.

The team opened their season at the Brendan Byrne Arena in October 1982. The first season was not much better competitively than what the team had been producing in Kansas City and Denver as they finished with a 17-49-14 record. The team continued to improve their record between 1983-1987 but never qualified for the playoffs. Prior to the 187-88 season, Lou Lamoriello was hired as the team president. He then appointed himself general manager of the team.

The 1987-88 season saw the Devils finish with a winning record and a playoff berth. They were able to reach the Wales Conference Finals before they were defeated by the Boston Bruins in seven games. The Devils missed the playoffs yet again in the 1988-89 season. More coaching changes were seen over the next few years until Jacques Lemaire was brought in in 1993.

In 1993, the Devils returned to the Conference Finals this time against the New York Rangers. Their lineup included Devils greats like Ken Daneyko, rookie Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer, Claude Lemieux among others. The team was able to push the series to seven games but fell to the Rangers. The next year the Devils would return to the Eastern Conference Finals this time beating the Philadelphia Flyers. They would play for their first Stanley Cup as a franchise in 1995. They swept the Detroit Red Wings and hoisted their first cup. During this time rumors were started that the team would be moving again this time to Nashville. The state agreed to fund an arena renovation in order to keep the Devils in New Jersey.

The Devils did not return to the playoffs in 1996 as they missed out by two points. While they continued to post winning records, they were unable to make deep playoff runs as they did in 1995. In 1999-2000 the Devils returned to the playoffs this time beating the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers to return to another Stanley Cup Final. They faced the Dallas Stars and won their second Cup.

In 2000, the Devils were sold to YankeeNets. The new owners planned to move the team to Newark to a new arena. The team returned to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2001, but were unable to win their second consecutive Cup after being beat by the Colorado Avalanche in five games. The Devils finally returned to the Finals once again in 2003 against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. They defeated the Ducks in seven games to win their third Cup as a franchise. Following this season Brodeur was awarded the Vezina Trophy and Daneyko announced his retirement.

Jeff Vanderbeek purchased a controlling share of the Devils in 2004. He was a supporter of the Devils new arena in Newark and continued to work to have the arena built. Despite many governmental battles, the Prudential Center opened in 2007.

The team was met with more coaching and lineup changes throughout the next few years. They won division titles in both 2006 and 2007, but did not make deep playoff runs either years. The 2010-11 season brought more heartbreak to the team as many players were sidelined and coaches were changed out yet again. For the first time since 1996, the Devils missed the playoffs. The team would turn around the next season behind Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias, David Clarkson, rookie Adam Henrique and captain Zach Parise. The team returned to the Finals to face the LA Kings. They pushed the series to game 6 but could not hoist another Cup that year.

Following this season, Zach Parise signed with the Minnesota Wild. The lockout shortened 2012-13 season saw the Devils miss the playoffs. Financial struggles also ensued during this season with the team being forced to borrow $30 million to meet payroll. The team was sold again to Josh Harris and David Blitzer in 2013. Kovalchuk announced his retirement from the NHL this year. In need of offensive help, the team signed veteran Jaromir Jagr who led the team in scoring. The team missed the playoffs again in 2013-14.

Injuries plagued the Devils again in the 2014-15 season and led to the team missing the playoffs again by 20 points. The offseason brought Ray Shero as the new general manager and John Hynes as the new head coach. The team did not make the playoffs in 2015-16 or 2016-17. The team secured the first overall draft selection in 2017 and selected Nico Hischier. With Taylor Hall, Hischier and Keith Kinkaid the team was able to secure a playoff spot in 2017-18. They were knocked out of the first round by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Taylor Hall won the Hart Memorial trophy that year for his offensive success during the season.

The team was yet again met with injuries during 2018-19 and was given the first overall selection in the draft for missing the playoffs. They selected Jack Hughes. At the season’s pause the Devils sit at 26th in the league with 68 points.

Fanbase & Traditions

One popular tradition in the Devils fanbase is the national anthem singer. Arlette Roxburgh has been the primary national anthem singer since 1996. She has been accompanied by organist Pete Cannarozzi since 2001. Cannarozzi also plays throughout the game.

Like the Nashville Predators, the Devils also have a spirited group of fans that have claimed sections within the arena. Section 233 and 122 are known as the Crazies and Diablos, respectively. The 233 Crazies came about in 1993 when they occupied Section 228 when the Devils played at the Meadowlands. The Diablos section was formed in 2011 through a special season ticket offer that looked to build a supporters’ section in the game such as those in Major League Soccer.

The Devils have two main rivalries with the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers due to their proximity to each other. “The Battle of Hudson River” is the nickname of the Rangers vs. Devils rivalry and “The Battle of the Jersey Turnpike” is the nickname of the Flyers vs. Devils rivalry.

The team’s mascot is N.J. Devil. Debuting in 1993, N.J. Devil keeps the crowd excited by running through the fans giving high fives, skating across the ice, and signing autographs during games.