NEWARK, NJ — The New Jersey Devils inducted John MacLean into their Ring of Honor earlier this week before falling to the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 at the Prudential Center. In the 1983 NHL Draft, the Devils selected MacLean in the first round at sixth overall.
Jacques Lemaire, who coached New Jersey to their first Stanley Cup in 1994, said, “The first thing that comes to my mind, he’s a guy that loves the game. He wanted to play. He wanted to be on the ice. He tried to do the best he could every night and he was fun to be around.”
MacLean, with a right-handed shot who played left wing, was responsible for some of the most crucial goals in the franchise’s history. On April 3, 1988, at Chicago Stadium, against the Blackhawks, he scored the tying goal at 11:57 to make the score 3-3. Then, in overtime at the 2:21 mark, he saw them win 4-3, clinching the Devils’ playoff berth, their first.
“To be honored by the Devils is a 100% accomplishment,” he said, becoming the fourth member of the Devils Ring of Honor, joining Dr. John McMullen, Sergei Brylin, and Lemaire.
“I thought it was funny, somebody once said, from Mickey Mouse to Cinderella, covering the Disney characters. It’s a nice closure to my Devils career.”
MacLean had three straight 40-goal seasons for New Jersey from 1988-91, finishing with 842 points (413 goals, 429 assists) in 1,194 games. He played 14 seasons with the Devils, three campaigns with the New York Rangers, two with the Dallas Stars, and one with the San Jose Sharks.
After MacLean retired as a player in 2001, he became an assistant coach for the Devils from 2002-03 to 2008-09 prior to becoming the head coach of the Lowell Devils in 2009 and head coach of New Jersey in 2010. Since then, he has spent time with the Arizona Coyotes, Sharks, as well as New York Islanders.
Lastly, MacLean’s son, Kyle, currently plays for the Islanders and is in his third-career NHL season.
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