All Time Lineup: New Jersey Devils

Originally, I thought that going filling out an All-Time roster for a team that had been around for only 26 years would be easy.  Little did I know, the short, but rich history of the New Jersey Devils would make it much more difficult than anticipated.  Here's how I got my roster, followed by the lines.

Filling out the first line was easy.  There is little doubt in my mind that Patrik Elias is the best offensive players in Devils history.  He plays a very solid 2 way game, and will be the teams all time leading scorer by the time he retires.  With his place solidified, I turned to his line mates, and who better to fill out those spots than Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora.  The reuniting of the "A-Line" gives the All-Times Devils an instant dominant line.

Also, based on point totals, there was no way I could leave off John MacLean, Kirk Muller and Aaron Broten.  Through mostly bad times, Broten, MacLean and Muller managed to put up enough points to all be on the Devils top 10 scoring list.  To fill out the 2nd and third lines, I went with two of the best power forwards and playoff performers in team history - Stephane Richer and Claude Lemuiex.  Future Hall of Famer Dave Andreychuk rounds out the top 9.

For the final three spots, I decided to (almost) reunite another great line in team history - The Crash Line.  But I made a bit of a change to it.  Instead of having Bobby Holik center the line, I removed him and added John Madden.  Madden has proven himself to not only be a better overall player, but truly bleeds Devils red, and would never do something as crazy as signing with a rival.

The defense was a bit easy, with Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, and Ken Daneyko all being obvious choices.  Being ninth on the teams scoring list and a solid 2-way defender was enough to give Bruce Driver a spot, leaving two openings in the top 6 for defensemen.

While he only played 22 games with the squad in 95-96, Phil Housley was the highest scoring American in hockey history until Mike Modano broke it this year.  Point totals like that are more than impressive enough for this squad.

Taking into consideration playoff performances along with overall ability, I couldn't pass on Shawn Chambers, who was a major part of the teams '95 cup run.

Another easy choice was Martin Brodeur in net.  But behind him I went with his 96-97 Jennings Trophy partner Mike Dunham, over former starters like Sean Burke or Chico Resch.  My reasoning is that Dunham has the second lowest GAA for Devils goalies who played over 25 games, and finished with a career GAA of 2.74 after stints with some awful teams.

The scratches were not easy, as is meant leaving off some talent for the right guys.  Zach Parise is a scratch only because he hasn't been with the team long enough, and the wingers in front of him are just too accomplished.  Sergei Brylin was added because of his ability to play in any role, making him a perfect injury replacement.  Sheldon Souray is the seventh defenseman because he has turned into an offensive machine, but has forgotten about the defensive end of the ice.

The head coach is Jacques Lemaire, who helped build the organization into a perenial contender and remains one of the leagues best coaches.

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