The Full History of the New Jersey Devils: From Misfit Start to Stanley Cup Glory
How a wandering franchise became one of hockey’s most disciplined dynasties and what comes next for the Devils.
Newark, September 5 EST: The New Jersey Devils’ story doesn’t begin in Newark, or even in New Jersey. It begins on the flat plains of Missouri. Back in 1974, the NHL planted a franchise in Kansas City and called it the Scouts. It sounded ambitious enough. New arena, a new market, and a shiny expansion team meant to show hockey could grow outside its traditional borders.
It didn’t exactly go that way.
The Scouts stumbled right out of the gate. Their first season was messy; their second was worse. At one point they went 27 straight games without winning. Twenty-seven. Imagine sitting through that stretch as a season-ticket holder. By the end of the second year, it was obvious the team wasn’t going to last. The owners bailed. The league shuffled the deck. And in 1976, the franchise packed up for Denver, where they were reborn as the Colorado Rockies.
Now, Denver fans did their best. The jerseys were sharp red, blue, and gold, with a mountain peak on the chest. They even scraped into the playoffs once. But the money never lined up with the enthusiasm. By the early ’80s, another relocation was already being whispered about.
That’s when John McMullen, a shipping magnate from New Jersey, stepped in. He bought the club, moved it east, and dropped it into the brand-new arena at the Meadowlands. Finally, New Jersey had its own NHL team.
Naming the Devils
Picking a name wasn’t just a branding exercise. McMullen let the fans decide. Out of thousands of entries, one idea stuck the Devils, a nod to the centuries-old legend of the Jersey Devil that supposedly lurks in the Pine Barrens. Perfect fit.
The uniforms were red and green, festive to some, odd to others. The logo, though, with that “NJ” with the horns and tail, was clever enough to become timeless.
But clever logos don’t win hockey games.
The first Devils squads were dreadful. In December 1983, Wayne Gretzky, after his Oilers flattened them 13–4, famously called them a “Mickey Mouse organization.” Fans hated hearing it. Players hated it more. The insult lingered like a bad smell for years.
Still, the Devils were here, in New Jersey, and that alone mattered.
Enter Lou
By 1987, the Devils needed a course correction. They got it in the form of Lou Lamoriello. Lou wasn’t a big NHL name. He’d been running things at Providence College. But McMullen saw something in him, and Lou wasted no time proving him right.
Lamoriello believed in rules, order, and no excuses. Players cut their hair. Nobody got special treatment. If you weren’t in shape, you weren’t playing. Some hated it. Many thrived under it.
The results didn’t take long. In 1988, the Devils reached the playoffs for the first time since coming to New Jersey. They fought all the way to the conference final before bowing out to Boston. Suddenly, people around the league had to admit it the Devils were no longer a joke.
1995- The Breakthrough
Fast forward a few years. The lockout-shortened season of 1995 looked like another chance for New Jersey to sneak in, but not much more. They finished fifth in the conference. Nobody picked them to do damage.
Then the playoffs started.
Scott Stevens hammered anything that moved. Claude Lemieux found the net when it mattered most. And in goal, a 23-year-old named Martin Brodeur played like a seasoned veteran.
Round after round, the Devils rolled. When they hit the Stanley Cup Final, they faced the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings. The experts thought it would be quick. It was just not the way anyone expected. New Jersey swept Detroit in four games.
The Devils lifted the Cup for the first time. A franchise that had been called Mickey Mouse a decade earlier was suddenly on top of the hockey world.
The Brodeur Years
If the ’95 Cup was a shock, what came next was proof. The Devils weren’t just a one-hit wonder. They were built to last.
Brodeur became the face of the team and maybe the entire era. He wasn’t flashy. He just won. He stopped pucks, handled the puck like a defenseman, and gave the Devils the confidence to play their suffocating style.
That style was the neutral zone trap. Opponents loathed it. Fans outside New Jersey grumbled it made hockey boring. But it worked. The trap choked off speed through the middle of the ice and forced turnovers. With Stevens anchoring the blue line and Niedermayer skating it out, the Devils made life miserable for everyone.
Between 1995 and 2003, the Devils reached the Stanley Cup Final four times and won three titles. They beat Dallas in 2000, lost a seven-game heartbreaker to Colorado in 2001, and edged Anaheim in 2003 for their third championship.
This was the golden age. A decade when the Devils stood alongside Detroit and Colorado as one of the NHL’s powerhouse clubs.
The Rival Across the River
All of this success made the rivalry with the New York Rangers burn even hotter. The two teams had been feuding since the ’80s, but it was the 1994 conference final that poured gasoline on the fire. The Devils had the Rangers on the ropes in Game 6, only to watch Mark Messier deliver his famous guarantee and back it up with a hat trick. The Rangers won that series and went on to win the Cup. Devils fans never forgot.
Years later, New Jersey would get its revenge with playoff wins of their own. But nothing ever really settled it. Even regular-season games had playoff heat. One of the classics came in 2010, a 1–0 shootout win where Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist traded jaw-dropping saves all night.
This wasn’t just geography. It was personal.
A New Home
By 2007, the old arena in East Rutherford was showing its age. The Devils moved to the Prudential Center in Newark, a gleaming downtown arena that instantly became one of the NHL’s best. It felt like a reset button; the franchise was no longer tucked away off the highway. It was front and center, part of the city.
After Lou
Lamoriello eventually stepped down in 2015, ending nearly three decades of control. What followed has been a rougher ride. The Devils popped into the playoffs in 2018 on the back of Taylor Hall’s MVP season, but that flash didn’t last.
Lately, the franchise has pinned its hopes on young stars like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. They’ve had flashes of brilliance but haven’t yet delivered a deep playoff run. In 2024, during their 50th anniversary season, they played an outdoor game at MetLife Stadium a spectacle, even if the season ended in disappointment. The following year, they made the playoffs again but fell to Carolina in the opening round.
The Jersey That Endured
Through it all, the look has stayed steady. Aside from ditching the green in the early ’90s, the Devils haven’t tinkered much. Red, black, and white, with that “NJ” logo that still feels fresh. Fans still love when the team breaks out the green throwbacks. The 2020 Reverse Retro sweater deep green with red accents was an instant classic.
The Devils don’t need to reinvent their image. They already own it.
What It All Adds Up To
Looking back, the Devils’ story is one of persistence. Twice uprooted, mocked by legends, and overlooked by casual fans, they still found their way to three Cups and a permanent spot in New Jersey sports.
Ask an older fan, and they’ll talk about 1995 like it happened yesterday. Ask a younger one, and they’ll tell you Jack Hughes is the guy who’ll carry them back there. The truth is, nothing about this franchise has ever been easy. But then again, that’s New Jersey.
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A former college-level cricketer and lifelong sports enthusiast, Arun Upadhayay brings the heart of an athlete to the sharp eye of a journalist. With firsthand experience in competitive sports and a deep understanding of team dynamics, Arun covers everything from grassroots tournaments to high-stakes international showdowns. His reporting blends field-level grit with analytical precision, making him a trusted voice for sports fans across New Jersey and beyond.
