Hey, long time lurker here. I was bored and decided to attempt to compile a list of what I thought were the 25 greatest Devils.
1. Martin Brodeur
2. Scott Stevens
3. Patrik Elias
4. Scott Niedermayer
5. John MacLean
6. Ken Daneyko
7. Claude Lemieux
8. Bruce Driver
9. Bobby Holik
10. John Madden
11. Sergei Brylin
12. Jason Arnott
13. Jeff Friesen
14. Petr Sykora
15. Kirk Muller
16. Randy McKay
17. Brian Rafalski
18. Jay Pandolfo
19. Scott Gomez
20. Patrik Sundstrom
21. Chico Resch
22. Aaron Broten
23. Viacheslav Fetisov
24. Tommy Albelin
25. Brian Gionta
Kovy and Zach didn't make the cut, as I feel that their Devils careers are still pretty young and haven't accomplished that much in the grand scheme of things yet. I might need to shuffle the order around, especially towards the end of the list. I'm sure some inclusions won't be too popular (Gomez), and there are some honorable mentions (Greg Adams, Pat Verbeek, Joe Nieuwendyk, Dave Andreychuk, Chris Terreri, Jim Dowd, Alex Mogilny, Bill Guerin, Shawn Chambers, Joe Cirella, and maybe even Mike Rupp come to mind). I'm interested in hearing others thoughts on this. I was even thinking of making a detailed article on this, kind of like how the Hockey News had their 100 greatest Montreal Canadiens awhile back, with write-ups on each player with reasons for their inclusion.
Not bad at all, I think Friesen is a little high but he was a beast towards the end of the 03 run and we most likely aren't in the Finals without him (or Grant Marshall's 1 in 1 million perfect pass).
1. Martin Brodeur
2. Scott Stevens
3. Patrik Elias
4. Scott Niedermayer
5. John MacLean
6. Ken Daneyko
7. Claude Lemieux
8. Bruce Driver
9. Bobby Holik
10. John Madden
11. Sergei Brylin
12. Jason Arnott
13. Jeff Friesen
14. Petr Sykora
15. Kirk Muller
16. Randy McKay
17. Brian Rafalski
18. Jamie Langenbrunner
19. Jay Pandolfo
20. Scott Gomez
21. Patrik Sundstrom
22. Chico Resch
23. Aaron Broten
24. Viacheslav Fetisov
25. Tommy Albelin
26. Brian Gionta
Honorable mention for Richer, maybe Paul Martin too. Martin wasn't really "great" imo but was a good puck-moving defenseman during a time where all our pmd's were departing.
Edit - Sean Burke for honorable mention too!
Last edited by Beastdog75: 02-18-2012 at 04:46 PM.
Reason: wanted to add something
I think guys like McKay, Pandolfo, and Rafalski should definately be above Friesen
Listen I loved Friesen, but his impact was short lived as compared to the 3 I listed who won multiple cups here and had impacts over longer periods of time......there kind of is a reason we parted ways with Friesen much quicker than we did McKay, Pandolfo, and Rafalski
Also agree with Just Win, Chico doesn't belong on the list lol
I think Stastny is in Stephane Richer territory. His Devils tenure was good, but not enough to be great (although if we're talking about entire career, Stastny wins hands down).
I think guys like McKay, Pandolfo, and Rafalski should definately be above Friesen
Listen I loved Friesen, but his impact was short lived as compared to the 3 I listed who won multiple cups here and had impacts over longer periods of time......there kind of is a reason we parted ways with Friesen much quicker than we did McKay, Pandolfo, and Rafalski
Also agree with Just Win, Chico doesn't belong on the list lol
I put Chico on there because in the early days if he wasn't in net, I think the Devils would have been truly awful. He also is somewhat of a Devils icon, say what you will about the guy.
Martin Brodeur
Scott Stevens
Scott Niedermayer
Patrik Elias
Ken Daneyko
John MacLean
Bobby Holik
Kirk Muller
Scott Gomez
Claude Lemieux
Jamie Langenbrunner
John Madden
Aaron Broten
Jason Arnott
Petr Sykora
Bruce Driver
Randy McKay
Zach Parise
Patrik Sundstrom
Sergei Brylin
Brian Rafalski
Brian Gionta
Jay Pandolfo
Pat Verbeek
Chris Terreri
Honourable Mention:
Tommy Albelin
Slava Fetisov
Alex Mogilny
Jeff Friesen
Chico Resch
In my Top 25, all but Arnott (Cup winning goal & The A-Line though), Sundstrom & T-Dog played at least 400 games (and he had 300+ as mostly a backup) and that was an important consideration. Counting great AS Devils, not great players who happened to play a couple of good seasons, or a couple of great moments. And frankly, if you weren't around to appreciate the pre-Cups Devils, it's a lot harder to appreciate those guys.
Last edited by KohoDonuts88: 02-18-2012 at 04:58 PM.
Martin Brodeur
Scott Stevens
Scott Niedermayer
Patrik Elias
Ken Daneyko
John MacLean
Bobby Holik
Kirk Muller
Scott Gomez
Claude Lemieux
Jamie Langenbrunner
John Madden
Aaron Broten
Petr Sykora
Bruce Driver
Jason Arnott
Randy McKay
Zach Parise
Patrik Sundstrom
Sergei Brylin
Brian Rafalski
Brian Gionta
Jay Pandolfo
Pat Verbeek
Chris Terreri
Honourable Mention:
Tommy Albelin
Slava Fetisov
Alex Mogilny
Jeff Friesen
Chico Resch
That list looks better. But i have to disagree on two players. Sarge is way too low and Gomez too high. I will post my list later or tomorrow.
I put Chico on there because in the early days if he wasn't in net, I think the Devils would have been truly awful. He also is somewhat of a Devils icon, say what you will about the guy.
I wasn't alive to see him play so I can't comment on how much he kept us in games but were truly awful then
He is a Devils icon and has been around the organization since pretty much the start, but the list is called the best, he may have been very good for us, but I feel there are 25 guys that deserve credit over him
