Devils All-Decade Lists: Favorite / Least Favorite / Most Talented

[DevsMan84]

So lately I have been seeing a lot of all-decade lists on social media.  I decided to make three on here for just fun.  They are your favorite players, your least favorite players, and most talented players.  The most and least favorite can be for any reason under the sun.  The most talented list is something I think should be a little more objective, but again you can have your own opinion.  Not looking for fights, but just seeing what everyone else thinks.

Also, I am not going to split hairs on the date part.  Most of the lists I have seen consider 2010-2019 as the timeframe for their decade list so I will go with that.

Here are mine:

Most favorite players:

1) Elias

2) Greene

3) Palmieri

4) Hischier

5) Hall

6) Vatanen

7) Kovy

8. Parise

9) Coleman

10) Zajac

 

Least favorite players:

1) Kinkaid

2) Tootoo

3) Farnham

4) Wood

5) Gelinas

6) Mueller

7) S. Gionta

8. Rooney

9) Clarkson

10) Boucher

 

Most Talented Players

1) Kovy

2) Hall

3) Parise

4) Elias

5) Palmieri

6) Hischier

7) Vatanen

8. Jagr

9) Henrique

10) Hughes

 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I don't think I'm passionate about enough players from this past decade to go 10 deep on these lists, so I'll just go with 5 or so each (so much for that):

Faves:

1) Palms

2) Hischier

3) Marty (that "rest of his best" run in 2012 was a lot of fun)

4) Zajac

5) Hall (that MVP season was just too memorable)

6) Coleman (had to find room for him)

 

Least Faves:

1) Subban

2) Ryder

3) Ruuttu

4) Havlat

5) Severson (I'm just tired of waiting for Minus Man to put it together)...he knocked Killjoy off my list

6) Gelinas (knocked Killjoy down a little further)

7) Mueller (maybe I don't dislike Killjoy as much as I thought)

 

Most talented:

1) Kovy, though it's a shame that he was never properly coached until Lemaire got a hold of him

2) Parise

3) Hall

4) Hischier

5) Elias

6) Hughes...you can see it with this kid, it WILL happen

 

Player I feel sorriest for:

One Cory Schneider.  Good man whose game simply deserted him too early.  Was painful to watch. 

 

[DevsMan84]

The one re-vision I would make to my list is Schneider tied at #10 for my most favorite and probably either 9 or 10 on most talented.

Before his injury he really was a top 5 goalie in the league.  He also took way more sh!t from a sizeable portion of our fanbase than he ever deserved simply because of whom he followed.

[mfitz804]

Favorite:

1. Brodeur

2. Stevens

3. Niedermayer

4. Elias

5. About 50 guys tied, can’t decide

 

Least Favorite:

1. Zacha

2. Josefson

3. Gelinas

4. Mueller

5. Tedenby (not sure if he even counts)

Most talented:

1. Brodeur

2. Hall

3. Niedermayer

4. Parise

5. Elias

[MadDog2020]

4 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

He also took way more sh!t from a sizeable portion of our fanbase than he ever deserved simply because of whom he followed.

Trying to replace a legend is a thankless job. I’m a Dolphins fan, and while Jay Fiedler was never anything spectacular, he was better than he got credit for being- his biggest fault was that he wasn’t Dan Marino. 

[DevsMan84]

4 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

Favorite:

1. Brodeur

2. Stevens

3. Niedermayer

4. Elias

5. About 50 guys tied, can’t decide

 

Least Favorite:

1. Zacha

2. Josefson

3. Gelinas

4. Mueller

5. Tedenby (not sure if he even counts)

Most talented:

1. Brodeur

2. Hall

3. Niedermayer

4. Parise

5. Elias

Technically the lists are for players who played on the Devils from 2010-2019 timeframe but I don't dislike your list:)

[DevsMan84]

3 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

Trying to replace a legend is a thankless job. I’m a Dolphins fan, and while Jay Fiedler was never anything spectacular, he was better than he got credit for being- his biggest fault was that he wasn’t Dan Marino. 

It is as we all found out with Schneider almost immediately.  Even when Cory was posting .920+ sv pct there were fans who found any and all reasons to dislike him.  The biggest common thread with his biggest detractors then and now were that they were all big Marty fanboys.

[Nicomo]

Favorite:

1. Marty

2. Elias

3. Nico

4. Hall

5. Kovy

 

Least Favorite:

1. Josefson

2. Zacha 

3. Mueller 

4. John Q

5. Matteau (Worst. Pick. Ever)

 

Most Talented:

1. Kovy

2. Hall

3. Parise

4. Elias

5. Hughes 

[mfitz804]

7 hours ago, DevsMan84 said:

Technically the lists are for players who played on the Devils from 2010-2019 timeframe but I don't dislike your list:)

Yeah I guess I ignored that. 

[aylbert]

I don’t see Parise as more talented than Elias, I guess I’m in the minority.  But Parise was a fave.

[Nicomo]

2 hours ago, aylbert said:

I don’t see Parise as more talented than Elias, I guess I’m in the minority.  But Parise was a fave.

During this decade he was. Otherwise I’d have both Marty and Jagr on my most talented list if we’re going overall. 

Edited December 27, 2019 by Nicomo

[AEWHistory]

On 12/26/2019 at 3:21 PM, MB3 said:

For a bonus, here's a list of my favorite DEvils teams of the DEcade 2010-2019

1. 2011-2012, because duh.
2. 2010-2011, because there was a long stretch in the season that felt like it was impossible for the Devils to lose. And it set up the next year.
3. 2017-2018, the only other year where I could pretend to like the hockey team.
4. 2012-2013, because there were a few fun moments and my misery was only short lived.
5. 2013-2014, we sucked but at least we didn't embarrass ourselves.
6. 2019-2020, because I still naively think we'll turn the season around and be in that "we suck but I don't totally hate every single player".
7. 2018-2019, ugh and ew but at least it got us Jack
8. 2015-2016, ugh and ew but at least it got us Nico
9. 2014-2015,  it is undoubtedly impossible to like a Devils team any less than this miserable group. 

A list of the best Devils teams of the last decade?  That might be even more masochistic than compiling a list of my favorite genital tortures.

[Satans Hockey]

28 minutes ago, AEWHistory said:

A list of the best Devils teams of the last decade?  That might be even more masochistic than compiling a list of my favorite genital tortures.

That's easy considering we have only made the playoffs 3 times since the 2009-10 season.

(1) 2011-12 - Made the finals and knocked out the Rangers in the conference finals in overtime

(2) 2017-18 - MVP Hall drags the team to the playoffs for the first time since 2012

(3) 2009-10 - awesome regular season and the last time we actually won the division but we got absolutely bitch slapped by the Flyers in 5 games(who did make it to the finals before losing to Chicago) 

(4) every other season because the team sucked and missed the playoffs

If we didn't have that run to the finals this last decade would have been worse than the first decade of this team's existence in NJ. 

[ilzz89]

Cant believe almo and gomer not making the list

[Nicomo]

1 minute ago, ilzz89 said:

Cant believe almo and gomer not making the list

The lists are just for this decade. 

Gomez played one season for NJ where he had 34 points...

Moginly is ineligible. 

[ilzz89]

Why is almo ineligible?

[NJDevs4978]

Well he hasn't actually played for the Devils since 2005 which was not in this decade.

[Guadana]

Favorite:

1. Zajac

2. Elias (thanks for all)

3. Nico

4. Kinkaid (I’m in really big thanks for 17/18, so fu all, ungrateful bastards)

5. Hall (17/18, mvp, that was very memorable)

6. Clarkson (I was a big fan what he did and I really happy he didn’t sign  big contract with Devs)

7. Bratt/Sami/Henrique... Jagr in his first season.

 

Least Favorite:

1. Kovy

2.

3. 

4. 

5. Ok may be Mueller 

 

Most Talented:

1. Elias

2. Kovy

3. Parise

4. Hall

5. Hughes 

Edited December 29, 2019 by Guadana

[Nicomo]

Elias more talented than Kovy...

[Guadana]

4 hours ago, Nicomo said:

Elias more talented than Kovy...

I hate Kovy. Cant put him in a first place on talent list. Because of hate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatred

Edited December 30, 2019 by Guadana

[Nicomo]

1 minute ago, Guadana said:

I hate Kovy. Cant put him in a first place on talent list. Because of hate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatred

Did you really include a wiki link to the definition of hatred? I love you Guadana lol

[Jerrydevil]

Having Parise and Kovalchuk here at the same time was nice. Electrifying players. I was a Kovy skeptic when we got him, but he won me over quickly.

[Guadana]

16 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

Did you really include a wiki link to the definition of hatred? I love you Guadana lol

when i was ending with all job projects today and ended my study project my feeling of humor magically came back. May be because we win against ott or may be because my 37 days of vacation start tonight!

Edited December 30, 2019 by Guadana

[Lateralous]

18 hours ago, Nicomo said:

Elias more talented than Kovy...

If this weren't limited to the last decade, I would say yes and it's really not even that close for me.  For some reason, Elias never really got the credit for his insane offensive ability and Kovy couldn't hold a candle to prime Elias.  With that in mind: 

Favorite:

1. Elias

2. Zacha

3. Hischier

4. Hughes

5.  Jagr 

6. Larsson 

7.  Ponikarovsky    

8.  Zidlicky - He was exactly the type of defenseman we needed at the time of the trade

9.  Zubrus - This probably is wrong because I think all of the playoffs where he was one of the teams best players was before this decade 

10. Henrique - It's Over!   

HM - Schneider - He really was the only thing worth watching during some of those ugly years     

 

Least favorite:

1.  Brodeur - This won't be popular but keep in mind we're only talking the last decade for this list.   He was a marginal, then terrible goalie with a terrible attitude.

2.  Miles Wood - He just looks brain dead out there

3.  Clarkson -  A more effective version of Wood.   I know a lot of people found him lovable but he was an absolute black hole for his linemates.    That was fine when he was on the lower lines but I hated watching him in the top 6.  It got to the point that my dad and I drank every time he fell.   Went home on the train pretty buzzed a few times.      

4.  Jacob Josefson 

5.  Stefan Matteau - Totally unfair to him, but he came to symbolize everything that was wrong with the end of the Lou/Conte era for me    

6.  CamJam - Totally useless 

7.  Volchenov - Learn to do something other than chip the puck up the boards 

8.  Eric Gelinas

 

Talented

1.  Hughes

2.  Hall 

3. Kovy 

4. Parise

5. Hischier

6. Elias

 

[DevsMan84]

I was this close to putting Marty on my least favorite list as well.