2010–11 New Jersey Devils season

The 2010–11 New Jersey Devils season was the 37th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and 29th season since the franchise relocated from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season.

The Devils posted a regular season record of 38 wins, 39 losses and 5 overtime/shootout losses for 81 points, failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 1995–96 season, ending their 13-season playoff streak. This was the first time the Devils finished the season with a losing record since the 1990–91 season. Their 174 goals scored were the lowest ever amount for the Devils in a non-lockout shortened season.

Off-season

On April 26, 2010, Jacques Lemaire announced that he would retire from coaching. On June 17, the New Jersey Devils announced that John MacLean would become the 19th head coach in the franchise's history. On June 29, the Devils announced that former NHL player Adam Oates will be the assistant coach for the team for the 2010–11 season.

On July 19, Ilya Kovalchuk re-signed with the Devils to a 17-year, $102 million contract. The contract was front-loaded with minimal payments in the last few seasons, when Kovalchuk would be in his 40s and unlikely to play. The deal was subsequently rejected by the NHL as a circumvention of the NHL collective bargaining agreement. The Devils stated after the NHL rejection that they would appeal the decision under the "collective bargaining agreement" process. On August 8, arbitrator Richard Bloch upheld the NHL's rejection of the contract, rendering Kovalchuk an unrestricted free agent again. On September 4, the Devils re-submitted another contract to the NHL worth $100 million to be paid over 15 years. The deal was approved by the NHL the following week as part of an NHL–National Hockey League Players' Association agreement concerning contracts over five years in length.

Regular season

An injury to Bryce Salvador allowed the Devils to avoid a major trade before the start of the regular season. They opened their regular season at home on October 8 with a 4–3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars with only 20 players on the roster. Subsequent injuries to Anton Volchenkov and Brian Rolston, as well as a one-game suspension of Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond after a 7–2 loss to the Washington Capitals, dropped the roster size to 17. The team and management have been under scrutiny for the decision to dress as few as 15 men (and two goaltenders) as a result of having too few funds for an average-sized roster.

After an NHL-worst 9–22–2 start to the season, John MacLean was fired as head coach, and Jacques Lemaire, who had retired as the Devils' head coach in the off-season, was hired as interim head coach.

Following the trade of captain Jamie Langenbrunner, the Devils managed an astonishing turnaround. After the start of the second half of the season, the Devils saw a dramatic increase in offensive production, in addition to the outstanding performance by backup goaltender Johan Hedberg. The Devils turned their record around from 10 to 29–2 on January 9 to 32–32–4 by March 12, with a point percentage of over 80% during their 22–3–2 stretch. Following a win against New York Islanders on March 12, the Devils found themselves six points out of the final playoff berth with a game in hand on the eighth-placed New York Rangers, and a hope of making the playoffs for a 14th consecutive season had been renewed among the fans. The team faded, however, finishing 12 points behind the Rangers.

With the injured Zach Parise missing 69 of the Devils' 82 regular season games, the team struggled offensively, finishing 30th overall in goals scored with just 171 (excluding three shootout-winning goals). They also finished 30th overall in power-play goals scored, with 34, and power-play opportunities, with 237. However, the Devils were the most disciplined team in the league once again, with only 241 power-play opportunities against, and they tied the Los Angeles Kings for the fewest power-play goals allowed with 40.

At the conclusion of the season, head coach Jacques Lemaire announced that he would not return to coach the Devils in the 2011–12 season.

Playoffs

Following a 3–1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on April 2, the Devils were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 1996.

Media

This season was Mike Emrick's final season as the television play-by-play announcer for the New Jersey Devils since he moved to NBC Sports. Steve Cangialosi would replace Emrick the following year. However, Chico Resch continued to be a TV color commentator. Radio coverage was still on WFAN with Matt Loughlin and Sherry Ross.

Standings

Divisional standings

Conference standings

bold – qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Placed first in conference (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

Schedule and results

Pre-season

  Win   Loss   Overtime/Shootout Loss

Regular season

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Goaltenders

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Devils. Stats reflect time with Devils only.
^‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Devils only.

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Milestones

Transactions

The Devils have been involved in the following transactions during the 2010–11 season.

Trades

|}

Lost via waivers

Player signings

Draft picks

New Jersey's picks at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles.

Farm teams

The Albany Devils (relocated from Lowell) of the American Hockey League and the Trenton Devils of the ECHL remain the New Jersey Devils' minor league affiliates for the 2010–11 season.

See also

• 2010–11 NHL season

References

External links

• 2010–11 New Jersey Devils season at ESPN
• 2010–11 New Jersey Devils season at Hockey Reference