1987–88 New Jersey Devils season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1987–88 Devils garnered the first winning record in the franchise's 13-year history. On the final day of the regular season, they were tied with their nemesis, the Rangers, for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. After New York defeated the Quebec Nordiques 3–0, all eyes were on the Devils, who were playing the Blackhawks in Chicago. The Devils were trailing 3–2 midway through the third period when John MacLean tied the game, and with two minutes left in overtime, he added the winning goal. Although the Rangers and Devils both finished with 82 points, the Devils had one more win, sending them to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.^[1]

[edit] Offseason

Hoping to light a spark under the team, John McMullen hired Providence College coach and athletic director Lou Lamoriello as team president in April 1987. Lamoriello appointed himself general manager shortly before the 1987–88 season. This move came as a considerable surprise to NHL circles. Although Lamoriello had been a college coach for 19 years, he had never played, coached, or managed in the NHL and was almost unknown outside the American college hockey community.

[edit] Draft picks

See also: 1987 NHL Entry Draft

Rd #	Pick #	Player	Nat	Pos	Team (League)	Notes
1	2	Brendan Shanahan	Canada	LW	London Knights (OHL)
2	23	Ricard Persson	Sweden	D	Leksands IF (Elitserien)
3	44	No third-round pick[2]
4	65	Brian Sullivan	United States	RW	Springfield Olympics (NEJHL)
5	86	Kevin Dean	United States	D	Culver Military Academy (Indiana)
6	107	Ben Hankinson	United States	RW	Edina H.S. (Minnesota)
7	128	Tom Neziol	Canada	LW	Miami University (CCHA)
8	149	Jim Dowd	United States	C	Brick Township H.S. (New Jersey)	[3]
9	170	John Blessman	Canada	D	Toronto Marlboros (OHL)
10	191	Pete Fry	Canada	G	Victoria Cougars (WHL)
11	212	Alain Charland	Canada	C	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
12	233	No twelfth-round pick[4]

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Season standings

[edit] Sean Burke

Sean Burke was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the second round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He earned national attention from his international play. He backstopped Canada's junior team to a silver medal in the 1986 World Junior Championships and a fourth-place finish for the national men's team at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

Burke went from the Olympics to the Devils. He started 11 games for the Devils in the 1987–88 NHL season, including an overtime victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on the final night of the season that qualified the Devils for their first playoff series.

Dubbed a "rookie sensation", Burke helped the Devils go on a playoff roll, defeating the division-leader New York Islanders in the first round in six games and then the Washington Capitals in seven games. Burke was one game away from the Stanley Cup Finals but lost in Game 7 of the Wales Conference finals to the Boston Bruins.

[edit] Playoffs

The team made it all the way to the conference finals, but lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games. In that series, head coach Jim Schoenfeld verbally abused referee Don Koharski, screaming obscenties and screaming, "Have another doughnut, you fat pig!" The incident resulted in a suspension for Schoenfeld, which the franchise appealed to the New Jersey Superior Court. This unprecedented appeal to authority outside the NHL gave the Devils a preliminary stay of the coach's suspension. In protest, referee Dave Newell and the assigned linesmen boycotted the next game. After more than an hour's delay, amateur officials were tracked down in the stands and worked the game wearing yellow practice sweaters. To resolve the incident, the NHL suspended Schoenfeld for the next game. Schoenfeld later admitted he regretted his comments.^[5]

[edit] Patrick Division semi-finals vs. New York Islanders

[edit] Patrick Division finals vs. Washington Capitals

[edit] Prince of Wales Conference Finals vs. Boston Bruins

[edit] Player stats

[edit] Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

[edit] Goaltending

Note: GP= Games played; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against

[edit] References

• Devils on Hockey Database

1. ^ http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/nj/njdevils.html New Jersey Devils on SportsEcyclopedia
2. ^ The Devils traded their 1987 third-round pick (used on Mathieu Schneider) to Montreal for David Maley on June 13, 1987.
3. ^ First New Jersey native to play for the Devils; scored game-winning goal in Game 2 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals against Detroit. Jim Dowd's profile on the official New Jersey Devils site
4. ^ The Devils traded their 1987 12th-round pick (used on Neil Eisenhut) to Vancouver for Shane Doyle on June 1, 1987. Shane Doyle's career statistics at the Internet Hockey Database.
5. ^ Jim Schoenfeld: The Koharski Incident. HockeyDraftCentral.com.