Franchise Best: New Jersey Devils 1999-2000 Season

[LastWordArmy]

The Franchise Best Series comes to you to dive into the all-time best single season for every organization. This, of course, includes post-season results. Join us for a look back at some of the most memorable moments in each franchise’s history. Here is the New Jersey Devils best season.

Franchise Best: New Jersey Devils 1999-2000 Season - Last Word on Hockey

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[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

the 2000-01 team was better than the 1999-2000 team IMO

 

[blood gin]

the 2000-01 team was better than the 1999-2000 team IMO

That it was, though Brodeur was much better in the 2000 playoffs than he was in the 2001 playoffs. 2001 he had a .897 save percentage. Somehow he threw in 4 shutouts in 2001 but other than that he was pretty bad. But the team was so damn good it didn't matter most of the time

That 2001 team was so good it would get a bit sloppy and cocky at times. Game 2 vs the Leafs. Game 4 and 5 vs the Hurricanes.

 

[njdevils1982]

the 2000-01 team was better than the 1999-2000 team IMO

lead the league in GF (295), but people will still cry "boring trap"…….the final that season was the last time the top 2 teams from each conference faced off for the cup….just happen to run into the avs who had even better season…and bourque the cup chaser …blegh

 

[New Jersey]

yeah i gotta agree with the 2001 team being better.

i vaguely remember being six years old and not knowing shit about sports in general other than my dad was/is the biggest yankees fan on earth new jersey had its own team and they were really good, and asking my dad like a week after game seven, "wait, they lost the cup?"

 

[Devils Dominion]

If McKay doesn't break his hand in Game 1 we win the series vs Col

He was a huge key player for us that season and playoffs

 

[Cage Helmet]

If McKay doesn't break his hand in Game 1 we win the series vs Col

He was a huge key player for us that season and playoffs

That was McKay’s last leg. He was shot by the very next season. I think if Marty played like he did almost any other playoffs during that time we probably easily win. The 00-01 team was better because we had Mogilny for a full year. Only had him from the deadline the year prior.

 

[Devils Dominion]

That was McKay’s last leg. He was shot by the very next season. I think if Marty played like he did almost any other playoffs during that time we probably easily win. The 00-01 team was better because we had Mogilny for a full year. Only had him from the deadline the year prior.

Randy was having a great season in 2000-2001

 

[Blender]

The 2000-2001 team was better in every way, except they lost in the Cup finals instead of won.

 

[Team Concept]

What hurt us in '01:

1. Domi's hit on Niedermeyer in Round 2.
2. Taking too long to dispatch of the Hurricanes.
3. Marty's shaky play in the Final.

The 1993-1994 team was really good too. I remember during the season pretty much every time they were nursing a one goal lead they would score and coast on to the win. Unlike today when their one goal leads comes down to the final seconds.

In 93-94 we finished 2nd in the entire league in goals scored. Right when we were in the thick of playing the trap!! Using SRS to determine the best team in the league we were #1.

1993-94 NHL Summary | Hockey-Reference.com

 

[Devils Dominion]

The 2000-2001 team was better in every way, except they lost in the Cup finals instead of won.

Why we lost?

McKay Game 1 series ending injury
Sean O'Donnell stunk
Marty had a sub-par Finals by his standards

But it was a tremendous team

 

[devsman84]

I agree with many of you that the 2000-01 team was indeed overall better than 99-00 team. I remember going into almost every game that season sort of expecting at least 4 goals to be scored. I can't remember a time since that has happened though 08-09, 11-12 and last season were somewhat in the ballpark.

There were many factors why the Devils lost in the finals that year, but the biggest ones were in no particular order:

1) Marty being bad. He had a shaky regular season as well but was propped by the fact that the Devils were an offensive juggernaut and could score 4 or 5 goals when the other team scored 3-4 on Marty.
2) Injuries. I remember McKay getting hurt and I think a few other key guys were playing a little wobbly by that time too. Also, keep in mind, the Devils did play a ton of hockey between the previous season and this season as well so fatigue was showing.
3) Mogilny disappearing after the second round. He did this in the previous postseason but this was more pronounced in the drop off. First 2 rounds: 13GP, 4G 8A 12P. Last 2 rounds: 12GP, 1G 3A 4P.
4) Devils getting cocky. I remember going to game 6 in 2001 and seeing the limos lines up outside for the Devils players. From what I have heard several times over the years, they were even setting up the locker stalls with protective screens for the champagne before the game even started.

 

[ScottyK]

Didnt martys ex wife file the court papers the day the finals started ? I remember reading something like that in his book

 

[NJDevs26]

Didnt martys ex wife file the court papers the day the finals started ? I remember reading something like that in his book

That was 2003.

 

[njdevils1982]

Didnt martys ex wife file the court papers the day the finals started ? I remember reading something like that in his book

i read it also and oh man, that book was not very good at all

 

[NJDevs26]

i read it also and oh man, that book was not very good at all

I'm sure it had to be watered down a bit because of the Lou factor, and him still being active. I'd love to see a followup book now, but perhaps he still feels sworn to secrecy about certain things as long as Lou's alive. It was amusing how he told that Lou would sometimes throw out a bunch of different players and solicit Marty's opinion on them without letting on which ones were of particular interest. At that point the book seemed great cause it was literally about all we got as a window into the inner workings, but now it seems a bit tame.

The one guy who wouldn't give a **** and would write a good book is Holik. Elias might also be colorful.

 

[njdevils1982]

I'm sure it had to be watered down a bit because of the Lou factor, and him still being active. I'd love to see a followup book now, but perhaps he still feels sworn to secrecy about certain things as long as Lou's alive. It was amusing how he told that Lou would sometimes throw out a bunch of different players and solicit Marty's opinion on them without letting on which ones were of particular interest.

The one guy who wouldn't give a **** and would write a good book is Holik. Elias might also be colorful.

i just thought it wasnt well written, zipped through it on a road trip from here to jersey and felt, 'meh'…and yes, holik would be interesting with his no holds mouth

 

[Nubmer6]

i just thought it wasnt well written, zipped through it on a road trip from here to jersey and felt, 'meh'…and yes, holik would be interesting with his no holds mouth

I have a signed copy of it somewhere. Unfortunately, I really never read, and that book was not an exception.

 

[LastWordArmy]

the 2000-01 team was better than the 1999-2000 team IMO

That may be true. It is the best season though, not the best team. A season where they won the cup has to be better than the one that they did not.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

I think the 2000-2001 Devils team was the best in franchise history. Hell, I think that team is a top 5 team in NHL history. Along with 2000-01 Colorado, 2001-02 Red Wings, 1983-84 Oilers, 1981-82 Islanders.

 

[Brodeur]

At least for me, the roster in June 2000 was better than the one we iced June 2001 (basically Lemieux/Malakhov instead of Corkum/O'Donnell). The 1999-00 season just saw a lot of roster movement which you wouldn't normally see a contender deal with. Took most of the season to sort things out. The 2000-01 was an extension of the team when things were finally balanced and after Arnott/Niedermayer ended their holdouts, the lineup was relatively stable. In 1999-00, Morrison/Pederson held out and demanded trades, Gomez/Madden usurped their spots, Rolston/Lemieux happened pretty early on, Sharifijanov was dealt due to team depth and the impending expansion draft, and then finally the Mogilny/Malakhov deadline acquisitions.

 

[Bleedred]

That may be true. It is the best season though, not the best team. A season where they won the cup has to be better than the one that they did not.

I totally get your rationale here. The 99-00 team won the cup and the 00-01 team didn’t, despite being the better team than the 99-00 one. So I agree with placing that team above the 00-01 team.

@Brodeur also makes a great point though. The team we were icing in June 2001 wasn’t really as good as the we iced in June 2000. McKay was injured (that was his last good year) and we were icing Bob Corkum in his absence. Sean O’Donnell was worse than Ken Sutton, who was up in press box more often than not. And while he may not have been effective or any good by the Summer of 2001 had we retained him, not having Claude Lemieux that year really hurt us. He may not have helped much in 2001, but he was still pretty damn good in 2000.

 

[MadDevil]

I'll always have a soft spot for the 1999-00 team because that Cup run was essentially what made me a Devils fan (yes, I was one of those spoiled fans that boarded the train at the height of glory). I didn't really start following hockey at all until the late 90's, and only casually followed it for the first couple years. It was really Stevens being the absolute beast that he was, and Marty that got me into following the Devils, and I've been hooked ever since.

 

[sabremike]

I will always love Holik because he always talks about how great the Whalers fans were and how it was a disgrace how we lost our team.

 

[LastWordArmy]

I think the 2000-2001 Devils team was the best in franchise history. Hell, I think that team is a top 5 team in NHL history. Along with 2000-01 Colorado, 2001-02 Red Wings, 1983-84 Oilers, 1981-82 Islanders.

I think any list of top 5 teams in nhl history that leaves out the 76-77 canadiens is making a big mistake