The New Jersey Devils’ franchise was first founded in 1974 as the Kansas City Scouts. After just two years, the franchise was moved to Denver and renamed the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies spent 6 grueling years in Denver before finally moving to New Jersey and becoming the Devils in 1982. In just their time as the Devils, the team has been home to players like Martin Brodeur, Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Eliáš. With such a tumultuous history, how many Stanley Cups have the New Jersey Devils won?
The New Jersey Devils have won 3 Stanley Cups in the franchise’s history. The first Cup came in 1995, and they added the other two in 2000 and 2003. Despite not finding success in their early years, the Devils were able to put together three successful Cup runs in under 10 years.
Stanley Cup Finals 1995: New Jersey Devils vs Detroit Red Wings
The Devils first found success in 1995, much to the thanks of a young Martin Brodeur in goal. Facing Sergei Fedorov and the Detroit Red Wings, the Devils were able to find the right mixture of defensive prowess, offensive consistency and stellar goaltending. Brodeur played all 4 games in the sweep, allowing 7 goals on 75 shots against for a .907 save percentage.
Veteran center Neal Broten led the team with 3 goals and added 3 assists. Right winger John MacLean led the Devils in assists with 4, while young defenseman Scott Niedermayer added 3 assists. The Devils came to life especially in Games 4 and 5, scoring 5 goals in each game to secure their first Stanley Cup.
Stanley Cup Finals 2000: New Jersey Devils vs Dallas Stars
After not finding success for a few years, the Devils once again found themselves playing for a Stanley Cup in 2000. Patrik Eliáš, a 23-year-old left winger for New Jersey, tied for the playoff lead in assists with 13. Brodeur was again the netminder for the Devils, allowing 9 goals on 147 shots against for a .939 save percentage. Eliáš notched 5 assists in the Finals, while another young winger, Petr Sykora added 3 goals and 2 assists.
Center Jason Arnott led the team with 7 points (4 G, 3 A). The big story for New Jersey was veteran defenseman Scott Stevens, who won the Conn Smythe with 3 goals and 8 assists in the playoffs. Stevens notched 1 goal and 2 assists in the Finals, which went to 6 games. The Devils clinched their second Cup in a 2-1 Game 6 that went to 2 overtimes.
Stanley Cup Finals 2003: New Jersey Devils vs Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
The Devils won the Conference Championship in 2001, the year after winning their second Cup. However, they were denied their back-to-back Cups by the Colorado Avalanche, who defeated them in 7 games. Not to be dismayed, the Devils worked their way back to the Finals in 2003, winning their most recent Stanley Cup. Facing the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Devils had to go to 7 games to win their third Cup in less than a decade.
New Jersey was led by Niedermayer, who led the playoffs in assists (16) and tied teammate Jamie Langenbrunner for the playoff-lead in points with 18. Langenbrunner also led the playoffs in goals with 11. The Ducks were led by Conn Smythe winner goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, making this Cup Finals a duel of netminders. Giguere allowed the Devils 18 goals on 201 shots against, while Brodeur allowed 12 goals on 160 shots against.
Most notably, Brodeur had 3 shutouts in Games 1, 2 and 7. Eliáš led New Jersey with 7 points (3 G, 4 A). Niedermayer and right winger Brian Gionta led the team with 5 assists each, while left winger Jeff Friesen led the team with 5 goals. Langenbrunner finished the series with 2 goals and 1 assist.
Watch: The New Jersey Devils win their 3rd Stanley Cup in Game 7 on the 2003 Finals.
The Devils have been unsuccessful in winning a Stanley Cup since 2003. However, they were able to win the Eastern Conference Championship in 2012. They faced the Los Angeles Kings in the Finals and lost the series in 6 games. This was their last appearance in the Finals.
Check out other teams and players NHL Stanley Cup wins:
Jamie is the founder of Hockey Response and he is the chief writer/ lead editor. Jamie has been playing hockey for over 20 years. He was the defenseman of the year in NL and has played Jr A level hockey. Jamie has coached several kids hockey camps and he was the assistant coach of the Western Kings.