Hockey people always have had the knack for clever commentary and that includes the Devils and assorted folks who have been associated with the club. Here are my twenty-five favorite New Jersey one-liners from personalities past:
1. EX-DEVS COACH TOM MCVIE ON HOW FAST HE'LL TAKE HIS NEXT JOB: "I can be out of town in twenty minutes; thirty if I have stuff at the cleaners."
2. HERB BROOKS ON HIS BITTER-SWEET JOB COACHING IN NEW JERSEY: "Coaching is like being king; it prepares you for nothing."
3. EX-G.M. LOU LAMORIELLO PUTTING KEN DANEYKO IN HIS PLACE: "A hockey team is like an orchestra. Ken, don't think you're in the violin section; you're on bass drum!"
4. DEVILS 1995 PLAYOFF HERO CLAUDE LEMIEUX ANSWERING CRITICS OF THE DEVILS DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUES: "If you don't like our style, well, too bad, go watch a show somewhere else."
DEVILS OVER THE DECADES: Ch. 26 - Best Devils Quotations
Stan Fischler presents his favorite one-liners from players, coaches, staff and media associated with the Devils.
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PAST CHAPTERS
Ch. 1 - The Birth of Hockey in Jersey
Ch. 2 - How it all Began
Ch. 3 - The First Devils Roster
Ch. 4 - The Milestone First Season
Ch. 5 - The Great Gretzky Uproar
Ch. 6 - Getting Even with Gretzky
Ch. 7 - A New Coach, A New Era
Ch. 8 - The Birth of a Rivalry
Ch. 9 - A Showdown Season
Ch. 10 - Carpenter's Last Stand
Ch. 11 - Enter Lou, Enter Changes
Ch. 12 - Exit Carpenter, Enter Schoenfeld
Ch. 13 - Devils Over the Decades
Ch. 14 - The Hot Homestretch
Ch. 15 - Showdown with the Rangers
Ch. 16 - A Classic Win
Ch. 17 - Playoff Bound - Almost!
Ch. 18 - First Playoff Berth
Ch. 19 - First Playoff Win
Ch. 20 - Washing the Capitals
Ch. 21 - Meadowlands Melodrama
Ch. 22 - Goodbye Caps, Hello Boston
Ch. 23 - Taking on the Bruins
Ch. 24 - Yellow Sunday in East Rutherford
Ch. 25 - Close but no Cigar
Ch. 26 - Best Devils Quotations
Ch. 27 - Build-Up to a Letdown
Ch. 28 - The Russian Invasion of New Jersey
Ch. 29 - Slava and Sergei Arrive
Ch. 30 - Evolution of the Russians
Ch. 31 - 1990s Playoffs or Bust
Ch. 32 - Adding Muscle on top of Muscle
Ch. 33 - Coaching Change; Cunnif to McVie
Ch. 34 - McVie for Victory
Ch. 35 - Bring on the Penguins
Ch. 36 - Chasing the Elusive Penguins
Ch. 37 - Building a Champion - Get Stevens!
Ch. 38 - Explosive Devils of 1991-92
Ch. 39 - Breezing Along with the Breeze
STANLEY CUP WINS
2003 - Devils Stanley Cup Run
2000 - Lucky Seven
2000 - Winning in Dallas
1995 - Built off a Lockout, Cup Champs
SPECIAL EDITIONS
Devils Cavalcade of Coaches
Coaches Sidebar
Best Devils Quotations
WHAT'S NEXT
A new Devils Over the Decades article will be published every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday morning. Check NewJerseyDevils.com to continue reading!
5. DR. JOHN MCMULLEN ON HIS FIRST YEAR OWNING THE DEVILS: "When we lose, I get letters from religious organizations. They say, until you change the name of the Devils to the Angels, you'll keep on losing."
6. NEWARK NEWS' BEAT WRITER WALT MCPEEK ON THE DEVILS EARLY 'BROTHER' PICKS GONE WRONG: "They've got the wrong Larmer (Jeff), the wrong Trottier (Rocky) and the wrong Broten (Aaron.)"
7. CHICO RESCH ON BEING NEW JERSEY'S GOALTENDER: "I guess if I let in a bad goal, I can shake it off by saying the Devil made me do it!"
8. CENTER BOBBY CARPENTER ON WINNING HIS FIRST CUP AS A DEVIL IN 1995: "In the face-offs, I'm going to call everyone a loser, which is what they were calling me for fourteen years."
9. JACK O'CALLAHAN COMPARING HIS DEVILS DEFENSE CAREER WITH WORKING ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE: "I'm down on the floor, working in the pit. It's like being a defenseman standing in front of the net -- a lot of pushing, shoving, elbowing, sweating and cursing going on."
10. SYLVAIN TURGEON TALKING ABOUT DEVILS TEAMMATES SLAVA FETISOV AND ALEXEI KASATANOV WHO DIDN'T TALK TO EACH OTHER.
"They can both help the team as long as they don't kill each other."
11. DEVILS ASSISTANT COACH LOU VAIRO DEFENDING AGAINST MEDIA CRITICS: "When jockey Bill Shoemaker wins the Kentucky Derby on a mule, then I'll concede that you can win without the horses."
12. BOBBY HOLIK ON HIS FIRST GAME AGAINST THE BLACKHAWKS: "Chicago -- the home of Michael Jordan, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and Al Capone."
13. GOALIE CRAIG BILLINGTON DURING A DEVILS SLUMP: "I'd kill for a win. We must have one. If there was a doctor in the house, the prescription for what ails us is victory."
14. ONETIME DEVILS RADIO ANALYST FRED SHERO ON TOUGH HOCKEY: "If you keep the opposition on their asses, they don't score goals."
15. COACH TOM MCVIE'S BIRTHDAY WISH: "What I want is a Mike Bossy doll. Wind it up and it scores sixty goals."
16. DEVILS FORWAFD AARON BROTEN ON WHY HE DIDN'T WATCH HOCKEY ON TV: "Postmen don't go out for a walk on their day off."
17. DEVILS COACH DOUG CARPENTER ON HIS SALARY: "We'd all love to have a lot of money in the bank. But i'm so poor, I can't afford to pay attention."
18. DEVILS DEFENSEMAN KEN DANEYKO ON WINNING; "The money's great; the accolades are great, but all we want is our name on the Cup."
19. LITTLE DEVILS FORWARD RICK MEAGHER ON SHADOWING BIG MARIO LEMIEUX: "I feel like Spud Webb going against Abdul-Jabbar when I'm shadowing Mario."
20. HANDSOME DEVIL BRENDAN SHANAHAN ON DOING A FASHION LAYOUT FOR A MAGAZINE: "The photographer doesn't say 'give us your best side.' He says 'give us your least damaged side..'"
21. DEVILS DEFENSEMAN -- NOW BROADCASTER -- BRYCE SALVADOR ON HIS FAVORITE HOCKEY MEMORY: "The whole year; 2012. I missed the previous season with a concussion. I come back and we go to the Cup Final. And I score a game-winning goal!"
22. MSG NETWORKS' PLAY BY PLAY MAN, STEVE CANGIALOSI'S FAVORITE LOU LAMORIELLO QUOTE: "I sat across the office from Lou and he said, 'I told MSG that we want you.'"
23. EX-COACH JACQUES LEMAIRE ON WHY HE CHOSE CHRIS TERRERI OVER MARTY BRODEUR IN PLAYOFF GAMES IN BOSTON: "This guy (Terreri) is better in Boston Garden. I'm going to play him. I don't care who my number one goalie is."
24. DEVILS RADIO PLAY BY PLAY MAN MATT LOUGHLIN ON HIS MOST UNFORGETTABLE BROADCASTING MOMENT: "The picture I take out of my career is going on the air after we beat out Detroit in four straight. It's the Devils first championship and the place is going crazy. We were on our way to becoming an elite team."
25. THEN DEVILS TV PLAY BY PLAY MAN MIKE EMRCIK ON HIS 1995 CUP PREDICTION: "Before Scott Niedermayer scored his spectacular goal in Game Two of the '95 Cup Final at Detroit, I was standing with (analyst) Peter McNab and I told him I thought the Devils would win The Cup. And I added, 'It could be a sweep!'"
With special thanks to Glenn Liebman's definitive hockey quote book, "Hockey Shorts," as well as Matthew Blittner's "Unforgettable Devils," plus, kudos to my personal memory bank.
