Long before the debacle that is becoming the Ilya Kovalchuk contract and before the Devils won three Stanley Cups from 1995 until 2003, the New Jersey Devils previously played in two different stops: in Kansas City as the Scouts and in Colorado as the Rockies (not to be confused for the baseball team of the same name). The team we know now as the Devils began play in 1974, and were quite terrible, both on the ice and in the box office. The number of captains in team history is sixteen, with many of those coming in the years prior to New Jersey.
PRE-DEVILS ERA
The franchise's first captain was Simon Nolet, a journeyman who was nearing the end of his career. From the beginning until his trade to Pittsburgh in 1976, he was the team captain. After his trade, Guy Charron would finish the season as captain. After the season, the team moved to Colorado and Nolet was re-acquired to be the first captain at the Colorado stop. He would be captain for that season before retiring. The longest tenured captain in the Colorado era was Wilf Paiement, who held the role from 1977 until 1979. The next three seasons were a mess, as the team still couldn't find success, and had five captains in that time. Gary Croteau would hold the C in the beginning of the 1979-80 season. However, he would not finish the season as captain, giving way to Mike Christie. The following season, Rene Robert would try his hand as captain, but would not finish the season as captain, giving way to Lanny McDonald. The captain in the team's final season in Colorado was Rob Ramage.
THE DEVILS ERA
The Devils moved to New Jersey in 1982 and Don Lever was named the first captain in that stop. He would have the captaincy from 1982 until 1984. Mel Bridgman would take over, holding the role from 1984 until 1987. The consolation prize from the 1984 draft, otherwise known as Kirk Muller, would hold the captaincy from 1987 until 1991, in which the Devils will be known best for the "Have another doughnut" game. Bruce Driver would hold the captaincy after Muller's trade to Montreal in the 1991 offseason, wearing the C for a season. The 1992 season began the Scott Stevens captaincy, and he would not let go of the C until 2004, when injuries ultimately forced him to relinquish the C to Scott Niedermayer, who would finish as captain in 2004. Before that happened, Stevens became the second most important Devil in history (after Martin Brodeur), establishing himself as a hard hitter who made many nights for offensive players miserable. The first season after the lockout saw the team go without a captain. The 2006-07 season saw a season of Patrik Elias as captain before current captain Jamie Langenbrunner took over after the season.
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