Now that the NHL lockout is over, history might be on the Devils’ side. In 1995, during a NHL lockout-shortened 48-game season, the Devils went 16-4 and won their first of three Stanley Cups.
“It was a weird experience. I’ll never forget it,” said former Devils center Jim Dowd, a member of the 1995 team and a native of Brick, N.J. “It was the first work stoppage I was a part of. One week, you’d get fired up, get skating, you’d think that was the time, and then, just like that, talks were off again.”
Those Devils were a confident group and felt very much they could win the Stanley Cup once the 1994 lockout — the first of three in commissioner Gary Bettman’s tenure — ended. After all, the Devils advanced to the Eastern Conference finals in 1994, and lost in seven games to the rival Rangers.
The Devils clearly wanted nothing more than to return, and pick up right where they left off. But the league and the NHLPA had other ideas.
“One week on, one week off, it did get frustrating, for sure. We never really knew how to feel about it,” Dowd said. “We wanted to get back at it, we knew we had a good team coming back, but there was only so much we could do.”
Not long after a settlement was reached, though, on Jan. 11, 1995, and the Devils returned to action, they found it wasn’t going to be quite as easy as they thought. Despite being among few favorites to win the Stanley Cup, and with very little concern logistically due to the Eastern Conference-only scheduling, the Devils still struggled out of the box.
Six days into the season, the Devils were 0-3-1.
Maybe it just took some time for that veteran group to find its legs. Maybe it took a little more time than expected to get over the loss to the Rangers. Whatever the case, the Devils shook the cobwebs and cruised past Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Detroit en route to the title. The Devils trailed in a series just once in that tournament, and swept the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals.
While 18 years is a long time in hockey, there are still members of that “family” with the Devils, who perhaps can be sources of guidance through this shortened season. Former defenseman Scott Stevens, the captain of the 1995 team, is an assistant coach. Lou Lamoriello is still the general manager. And goaltender Martin Brodeur, 40, in just his second season back in 1995, is still the Devils’ top goaltender.
While 18 years is a long time in hockey, there are still members of that “family” with the Devils, who perhaps can be sources of guidance through this shortened season. Former defenseman Scott Stevens, the captain of the 1995 team, is an assistant coach. Lamoriello is still the general manager. And goaltender Martin Brodeur, 40, in just his second season back in 1995, is still the Devils’ top goaltender.
“I can’t explain what, how or why the switch went on,” former defenseman Bruce Driver said. “That’s just how success works.’’