A PGP Guide to: The New Jersey Devils

A PGP Guide to: The New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils aesthetic is red and black, suburban New Jersey mythology, the Pine Barrens, the Hudson River rivalry, Martin Brodeur casually owning every goalie record imaginable, terrifying defensemen, three Stanley Cups, playoff hatred with the Rangers, and then somehow transitioning into one of the youngest, fastest, most offensively gifted cores in hockey. The Devils are one of those franchises where the history and the current team feel almost opposite.

The old Devils became famous for defense, structure, goaltending and making games miserable. The modern Devils? Jack Hughes flying through the neutral zone at approximately 400 miles per hour.

The Basics

Team: New Jersey Devils

Conference: Eastern Conference

Division: Metropolitan Division

Home Arena: Prudential Center

Location: Newark, New Jersey

Franchise Founded: 1974 as the Kansas City Scouts

Moved to Colorado: 1976

Moved to New Jersey: 1982

Team Colors: Red, black and white

Stanley Cups: 3 – 1995, 2000, 2003

Biggest Rivals: New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders

The Devils play at Prudential Center, usually just called The Rock, in downtown Newark. It opened in 2007 after the team moved from the Meadowlands in East Rutherford. 

The Origin Story

The New Jersey Devils didn’t begin in New Jersey, technically, this franchise starts in Kansas City. The NHL expanded in 1974 and added the Kansas City Scouts alongside the Washington Capitals. The Scouts lasted just two seasons before financial problems forced a relocation to Denver in 1976, where they became the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies weren't exactly successful either. After six seasons in Colorado, the franchise was sold to businessman John McMullen, who moved it to New Jersey before the 1982-83 season. Once the move happened, the franchise needed a new identity. The team held a statewide naming contest, and thousands of fans submitted votes. The name comes from the legend of the Jersey Devil, a mythical creature said to haunt the Pine Barrens in South Jersey. The legend dates back centuries and has become one of New Jersey's most famous pieces of folklore.

The team's logo is also clever! It's basically an intertwined N and J with horns and a pointed devil tail. The original Devils uniforms were red, white and green, with green representing New Jersey's Garden State identity, but black replaced green in 1992, which turned out to be very good timing because the Devils were about to become terrifying.

The Vibe Check

The New Jersey Devils are aggressively New Jersey and I mean that lovingly. They're surrounded by major sports markets that constantly try to overshadow them. New York is right there, Philadelphia isn't far, their biggest rival plays at Madison Square Garden, and a large part of Devils identity has always been in the shadows of big brother. NJ has a chip on it’s shoulder at all times and I think that’s what makes them so interesting to play against. The franchise went from being mocked as one of the NHL's worst teams to becoming one of the league's most dominant organizations of the 1990s and early 2000s, and now there's a younger generation trying to create its own version of Devils hockey. Also their entire branding is based around a cryptid.

The History You Need to Know

The Devils were bad when they arrived in New Jersey, very bad. In 1983, Wayne Gretzky famously referred to them as a “Mickey Mouse organization” after Edmonton destroyed New Jersey. Naturally, Devils fans remembered that forever.

The turning point came in the late 1980s. New Jersey reached the playoffs for the first time in 1988 and shocked people by making it all the way to the Wales Conference Final, but the real transformation came under general manager Lou Lamoriello. Lamoriello built the Devils into one of the most disciplined, structured and successful organizations in hockey. He drafted well, developed players, built an incredible defense, and, rather importantly, drafted a goalie named Martin Brodeur. By the early 1990s, New Jersey had a core featuring Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Ken Daneyko, Claude Lemieux and others.

In 1994, the Devils reached the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers where they led the series 3-2. Rangers captain Mark Messier famously guaranteed a Game 6 victory and so New York won, then won Game 7 in double overtime, then won the Stanley Cup. For Devils fans, that’s trauma, but revenge came very quickly.

In the lockout shortened 1995 season, New Jersey returned to the playoffs and absolutely tore through the East. Then they faced the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final and New Jersey swept them, winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Claude Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy, Brodeur was brilliant, and Devils hockey officially had an identity – defense, goaltending, structure, patience, and making opposing teams absolutely miserable.

The Devils returned to the Final in 2000, this time facing the defending champion Dallas Stars. The series went six games. Jason Arnott scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in double overtime of Game 6 which brought the Devils their 2nd Cup.

Then New Jersey went right back to the Final in 2001 against Colorado. The Devils led the series 3-2 but lost Games 6 and 7, allowing former Devil Ray Bourque to finally win the Stanley Cup, but apparently New Jersey wasn't finished!

In 2003, the Devils reached the Final again, this time against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The series went seven games and New Jersey won Game 7 at home with Brodeur posting a shutout. The Devils won their third Stanley Cup in nine seasons. At that point, this wasn't a cute little run, it was a dynasty level era backed by Brodeur.

From 1995 through 2003, the Devils reached four Stanley Cup Finals and won three! They remained competitive for years afterward, largely because Martin Brodeur apparently had no interest in aging normally. Then came one final surprise when New Jersey returned to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. The path there was perfect! They beat Florida, Philadelphia, then met the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final, Game 6 went to overtime and Adam Henrique scored. The Devils eliminated their biggest rival and returned to the Stanley Cup Final.

Then the Los Angeles Kings ruined everything and won the Cup in six games. That 2012 run became the end of the old great Devils era and after that, things got much harder.

The Icons

Martin Brodeur

The Devil.

This isn't really debatable. Martin Brodeur is the most important player in franchise history. New Jersey drafted him 20th overall in 1990, and he spent almost his entire NHL career with the Devils. He won three Stanley Cups, four Vezina Trophies, five Jennings Trophies, and retired as the NHL's all time leader in both wins and shutouts. Brodeur has 691 career wins, which is still the NHL record. His puck handling was so influential that the NHL literally changed the rules to limit where goalies could play the puck. That's how annoying he was (and I love him for it)!

Scott Stevens

The terrifying captain.

Scott Stevens captained the Devils through all three Stanley Cup championships. He was physical, mean, defensively elite, and one of the most feared open ice hitters of his era. Some of those hits absolutely would not be treated the same way under modern NHL rules, but historically, Stevens became the physical embodiment of what old Devils hockey felt like. He won the 2000 Conn Smythe Trophy and captained New Jersey from 1992 through 2004.

Scott Niedermayer

The elegant one.

If Stevens represented brute force, Scott Niedermayer represented smooth skating. Niedermayer was one of the best skating defensemen of his generation and won all three Stanley Cups with New Jersey. He won the Norris Trophy in 2004 before eventually leaving to join his brother Rob in Anaheim, which worked out pretty well considering he then won another Cup there.

Ken Daneyko

Mr. Devil.

Ken Daneyko basically is New Jersey Devils history. He joined the organization in its first New Jersey season, played his entire 20 year NHL career with the Devils, won all three Stanley Cups, and retired as the franchise leader in games played, with 1,283. He also accumulated 2,516 penalty minutes.

Patrik Elias

The franchise scoring legend.

Patrik Elias is the Devils' all time leader in points. He spent his entire NHL career with New Jersey and was a major part of the 2000 and 2003 championship teams. He was skilled in a franchise that sometimes had the reputation of being purely defensive, and he remains one of the greatest offensive players New Jersey has ever developed.

Lou Lamoriello

Not a player, still impossible to leave out.

Lou Lamoriello became New Jersey's general manager in 1987 and built almost the entire Devils dynasty – the disciplined identity, roster, the coaching changes, the organization-first culture, the three Cups – all of it. He became one of the most influential executives in modern NHL history.

The Current Era

The modern Devils story really begins with lottery luck. Twice.

New Jersey won the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery and selected Swiss center Nico Hischier first overall. Then, two years later, the Devils won again and selected Jack Hughes first overall in 2019. Suddenly, there was an actual foundation, then came more young talent. Jesper Bratt developed from a sixth round pick into a star,  Luke Hughes joined his brother, Simon Nemec was drafted second overall in 2022, Dawson Mercer became a useful young forward, and eventually New Jersey exploded in 2022-23.

The Devils went 52-22-8 for 112 points, setting franchise records for wins and points. They got the Rangers in the first round, fell behind 2-0 in the series, came back, forced Game 7, and eliminated the Rangers behind a shutout from rookie goalie Akira Schmid. It felt like the beginning of something enormous, and then things got weird.

The Devils missed the playoffs in 2023-24, returning in 2024-25, only to lose in the first round. Then they missed again in 2025-26, finishing 42-37-3 and seventh in the Metropolitan Division. Injuries absolutely wrecked them – Jack Hughes played only 61 games. The team also struggled badly at home.

Now, New Jersey has now failed to make the postseason in 11 of the last 14 seasons. That finally triggered organizational change as general manager Tom Fitzgerald was fired in April 2026. Ten days later, New Jersey hired Sunny Mehta, a New Jersey native who had spent six seasons with Florida and had been part of the front office during the Panthers' back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. Then Mehta started making moves.

He traded goalie Jacob Markstrom to Florida for Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist and Ben Steeves. He traded Simon Nemec and Maxim Tsyplakov to Calgary. Signed Anthony Mantha after Mantha scored a career high 33 goals and 64 points in Pittsburgh, re-signed Arseny Gritsyuk, extended Nico Hischier for five years and $58.5 million, keeping the captain under contract through 2031-32. Then on September 1, New Jersey acquired Luke Evangelista from Nashville for a conditional first round pick and a second round pick in 2028.

The Players You Need to Know

Jack Hughes

The superstar.

Everything starts here. Jack Hughes was drafted first overall in 2019 and has developed into one of the most dynamic offensive players in hockey. He's fast, creative, ridiculous with the puck, and when he's healthy, he can completely take over games. The problem is that last part – when he's healthy. Hughes recorded 27 goals and 77 points in only 61 games in 2025-26. He has now played 62 games or fewer in three consecutive seasons. After the 2026 Olympics, though, he was absurd. Hughes recorded 41 points in his final 25 games, second in the entire NHL over that stretch behind only Connor McDavid. 

Nico Hischier

The captain & responsible one.

Nico Hischier is basically the perfect complement to Jack Hughes. Hughes is chaos, Hischier is control. New Jersey selected him first overall in 2017, and he became captain in 2021. He's an excellent two-way center, takes difficult matchups, wins faceoffs, kills penalties and still produces offense. In 2025-26, Hischier recorded 28 goals and 66 points. This summer, New Jersey made it extremely clear that he's staying with a five year extension. He's not just the captain, he’s one of the foundational pieces of whatever New Jersey is trying to build.

Jesper Bratt

The sixth-round steal.

New Jersey drafted Jesper Bratt 162nd overall in 2016 and then everyone else just forgot to draft him. Bratt has developed into one of the most consistent offensive players in hockey. He recorded 71 points in 82 games in 2025-26 and has now produced at least 70 points in five consecutive seasons. He's fast, smart, excellent on the power play, and one of the best examples of New Jersey's scouting actually hitting way outside the obvious first-round picks.

Luke Hughes

The younger Hughes brother & blue-line future.

Another Hughes! Luke was drafted fourth overall by New Jersey in 2021 and gives the Devils a completely different kind of defenseman. He's an elite skater, moves the puck, creates offense, and basically plays defense like someone who occasionally forgets he's supposed to be a defenseman. His skating metrics remain ridiculous as he ranked in the 97th percentile among NHL defensemen in top skating speed and 20+ mph speed bursts last season. New Jersey is betting heavily that he becomes a true top offensive defenseman.

Timo Meier

The power forward who needs a bounce back.

New Jersey acquired Timo Meier from San Jose in 2023 and then signed him to an eight-year contract. They expected goals, physicality, a power forward, and he’s shown that, but not consistently. Meier scored 24 goals and 44 points in 77 games in 2025-26, his lowest point total in a full season since 2020-21. The good news is he still shoots constantly, still hits, and still creates chances. Entering this season, he's one of New Jersey's most obvious bounce back candidates.

Anthony Mantha

The giant new goal scorer.

Anthony Mantha might be one of the most interesting additions on the entire roster. He's 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, and just had the best season of his NHL career. Mantha scored 33 goals and 64 points in 81 games for Pittsburgh in 2025-26. Both totals were career highs. New Jersey signed him to a two year, $9.5 million contract. The Devils already have plenty of small, fast, skilled players, so adding a giant winger who can actually finish gives the lineup a different look.

Luke Evangelista

The extremely new young forward.

New Jersey gave Nashville a conditional first-round pick and a second-round pick in 2028 to acquire the 24-year-old winger. Evangelista is skilled, creative and still young enough to grow with the Hughes/Hischier/Bratt core. NHL.com's preseason projection has him at 57 points and if he reaches that, this could become a really smart addition.

Arseny Gritsyuk

The breakout candidate.

Gritsyuk became one of the more interesting young Devils last year. The Russian winger recorded 13 goals and 31 points in 66 games as a rookie, but his role grew as the season progressed. New Jersey liked what it saw enough to sign him to a three year extension this summer. He is exactly the kind of internal development the Devils need, because eventually, not every good player can be a first overall pick.

Dawson Mercer

The useful middle of everything guy.

Dawson Mercer isn't usually the first Devils player people talk about, but that doesn't mean he isn't important. He can play wing, center, special teams, and move around in the lineup. He's basically the kind of player who becomes increasingly valuable when injuries hit, which, given New Jersey's recent luck, is relevant.

Dougie Hamilton

The veteran offensive defenseman.

Dougie Hamilton remains one of the NHL's most dangerous shooting defensemen. He scored 12 goals and 39 points in 2025-26, and he was the only NHL defenseman last season to record at least 200 shots, 80 hits and 70 blocked shots. At 33, he's now the veteran on a blue line increasingly being shaped around Luke Hughes.

Jake Allen

The goalie carrying the newest version of the goalie problem.

Goaltending has been one of New Jersey's biggest headaches since Martin Brodeur retired. The Devils tried multiple solutions, then traded for Jacob Markstrom, but now Markstrom is gone which leaves Jake Allen entering 2026-27 as New Jersey's projected primary goalie, and Nico Daws also in the picture. The forward group looks terrifying, but the goalie situation? We'll see.

The Rivalries

New York Rangers

Devils-Rangers is the Hudson River Rivalry – the Rangers represent New York City and the Devils represent New Jersey, and they're separated by the Hudson River. They've shared divisions basically forever, and New Jersey spent its first years trying to establish legitimacy while the Rangers were already one of the NHL's most famous franchises. Former Devil Bill Guerin summed up the early feeling perfectly: New York was established, New Jersey wasn't. If the Devils wanted to become anything, they had to go through the Rangers.

Then the playoff history made everything worse. In 1994, the Rangers eliminated New Jersey in Game 7 double overtime on the way to winning the Stanley Cup. In 2012, Adam Henrique scored in overtime of Game 6 to eliminate the Rangers and send New Jersey to the Cup Final. In 2023, the teams met again. New Jersey came back from a 2-0 series deficit and eliminated the Rangers in Game 7. If you're becoming a Devils fan, you do not like the Rangers.

Philadelphia Flyers

New Jersey and Philadelphia have spent decades sharing divisions and annoying each other. Geographically, it makes sense, but stylistically, it’s even better. For much of the 1990s and 2000s, these were physical Eastern Conference teams that met constantly in meaningful games. The Devils eliminated Philadelphia in the 1995 Eastern Conference Final on the way to their first Stanley Cup. Then did it again in the 2000 Eastern Conference Final on the way to another Cup. Philadelphia got revenge in 2004 and 2010, then New Jersey eliminated them again in 2012. It's one of those rivalries where neither fanbase needs a particularly detailed explanation, they're just irritated with each other.

Carolina Hurricanes

This rivalry is much more playoff based. The teams have met repeatedly in the postseason: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005. Carolina has caused a LOT of damage, the most painful might be 2009. New Jersey held a 3-2 lead late in Game 7, Carolina scored twice in the final 80 seconds. Season over. Then Carolina eliminated New Jersey again in five games in the second round in 2023, immediately after the Devils had just experienced the high of beating the Rangers. So while this isn't the geographic hatred of Rangers-Devils, there is trauma and history.

New York Islanders

The Islanders rivalry is less vicious than the Rangers rivalry, but the geography is still there. New Jersey/Long Island. New York metro area. Same division. Fans crossing into each other's buildings. The Rangers will always be the primary New York enemy for New Jersey, but Islanders games still carry that local market edge. Frankly, there is only so much friendship available when three NHL teams are packed into one metropolitan region.

The Fanbase

Devils fans have a very specific identity because they're surrounded by everyone else's teams. New Jersey sits between New York and Philadelphia, so depending on where you are in the state, you can find Rangers fans, Flyers fans, Islanders fans, Yankees fans, Mets fans, Eagles fans, Giants fans, Jets fans, and then Devils fans are standing in the middle going: “I'm here! We exist!”.

Three Stanley Cups between 1995 and 2003 gave New Jersey something none of those neighboring NHL fanbases could dismiss. The Rangers were more famous, the Flyers were louder, but the Devils kept winning, and now the current generation has inherited a very different team. Instead of Brodeur-Stevens-Niedermayer defense-first hockey, they're cheering for Hughes-Hischier-Bratt speed and creativity.

The fanbase also loves its “Let's Go Devils!” chants, and naturally, the mascot is N.J. Devil, based on the same Jersey Devil legend that inspired the team's name. And then there's the black alternate jersey. It literally just says JERSEY across the front. Martin Brodeur helped design it, and the shorthand was meant to reflect the way people actually refer to the state. It was controversial, then it became extremely popular.

The Retired Numbers

The Devils have officially retired five numbers.

No. 3 — Ken Daneyko

Mr. Devil. Twenty seasons, all with New Jersey. Three Stanley Cups, more than 1,200 games, and enough lost teeth to qualify as a dental emergency.

No. 4 — Scott Stevens

The captain of all three championship teams and the physical identity of the dynasty era.

No. 26 — Patrik Elias

The franchise's all time points leader and one of the greatest offensive players the Devils have ever had.

No. 27 — Scott Niedermayer

The smooth skating Hall of Fame defenseman who won three Cups in New Jersey.

No. 30 — Martin Brodeur

There might never be a more obvious jersey retirement. The greatest player in franchise history, and very possibly the greatest goaltender ever.

The Team Identity

The old Devils identity was easy to explain – defense first, Martin Brodeur behind it, Scott Stevens hurting people in front of him, Scott Niedermayer moving the puck, Lou Lamoriello building the roster, Jacques Lemaire installing structure, and everyone else slowly losing their minds trying to score. The phrase “neutral-zone trap” became almost inseparable from the Devils, fairly or unfairly. They became symbolic of defensive hockey in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The modern identity is almost the opposite. New Jersey wants to play fast, attack off the rush, create with skill, let Jack Hughes do Jack Hughes things, use Luke Hughes from the blue line. They surround Hischier and Bratt with enough depth that opponents can't simply key in on one line. The problem is that the current Devils have not yet built consistency.

The 2022-23 season looked like the breakthrough, then they missed the playoffs, then returned, then missed again, and that's why 2026-27 matters so much for this team. There are no more excuses about waiting for the core to arrive. Jack Hughes is 25, Nico Hischier is 27, Jesper Bratt is 28, Timo Meier is 29, Luke Hughes is established. The captain just signed a massive extension, New Jersey spent a first round pick to get Luke Evangelista, and the new general manager came from an organization that just won back-to-back Stanley Cups. The Devils aren't trying to figure out whether they have enough talent because they know they do, they just need to prove they can actually turn it into something.

Why You Should Watch Them

You should watch the New Jersey Devils because they give you the best of two completely different hockey worlds. The history is incredible. I mean, Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Patrik Elias, three Stanley Cups. They’re infamous for the neutral-zone trap. There’s the 1994 heartbreak, 1995 revenge, the 2000 Cup, the 2003 Cup, Henrique ending the Rangers' season in overtime in 2012.

The modern team is a completely different kind of fun. Jack Hughes is one of the most entertaining players in hockey, Nico Hischier is the captain who does basically everything correctly, Jesper Bratt was somehow a sixth-round pick, Luke Hughes skates like a forward pretending to be a defenseman, Anthony Mantha adds a giant 30 goal threat, Luke Evangelista just arrived, Arseny Gritsyuk could break out, and New Jersey is entering the season with exactly the kind of pressure that makes a team interesting. The Devils have already shown us what their ceiling could look like. They won 52 games in 2022-23, beat the Rangers in Game 7, looked like one of the NHL's next great young teams, and three years later they're still waiting for the next step.