“He was a player who knew how to play the game and knew how to get success,” Jacques Lemaire explained about John MacLean. “He could play. Every time you put him on, you could have confidence that he would do the job.”

If ever a mere 36 words could perfectly sum up a former Devils player, it’s Lemaire’s assessment of Johnny Mac. And now his entire career has come full circle as he is just the fourth person to be inducted into the Devils’ Ring of Honor. 

The former New Jersey right-winger came to the Garden State in the Devils’ second season (1983-84) and went on to author a 14-year career with the franchise. During that time, MacLean was responsible for numerous highlight moments, perhaps none bigger than his overtime winner on the final day of the 1987-88 season, which sent the Devils to the playoffs for the first time since coming to New Jersey. 

That game, in Chicago, on April 3, 1988, was the turning point for the franchise. They went from being a “Mickey Mouse Club” in Wayne Gretzky’s words, to a Cinderella team, to, eventually, winning three Cups in the span of eight years. But none of that winning happens without Johnny Mac’s overtime heroics in 1988. 

“It was not just that game,” said Brendan Shanahan, who was a rookie in 1987-88. “It was the whole lead-up and it was three teams trying to get one last spot. All three teams, the Devils, the Rangers and Pittsburgh, were all playing really well and winning every night. Even on that particular day, I think our game was the last game of the day and everybody’s scoreboard watching and realizing that a tie wouldn’t be enough and that we had to win. So, it was a great relief to win it.”

“I didn’t even play in that game,” Shanahan continued. “Jim Schoenfeld told me I took too many stupid penalties. I was a bit player. I was a rookie. I was watching these guys. But John McLean, it wasn’t just one game and it wasn’t just one goal; it was a tear that he went on and it really changed the direction of the organization. It started with John MacLean.”

Yes. It all started with John MacLean. Well, it started with him, Ken Daneyko and Bruce Driver, the three young guns in those first couple of seasons who stuck it out during the bad times and eventually reaped the ultimate reward: lifting The Stanley Cup. 

“It was definitely a full circle moment,” MacLean said about winning their first Cup in 1995. “We went through a lot.”

“We were not good in the early ’80s,” MacLean continued. “But we had great character and we had a great work ethic. The talent that was here, it all went on to have accomplished careers…It was bedlam in the dressing room in ’95. We shared the training room with the New Jersey Nets. So we were able to go through the training room into the Nets’ room and have quiet time. We got The Cup and we wanted that picture. I don’t know if we ever talked about it, but we three knew that was (the) accomplishment. That was a sense of satisfaction that we were able to see. The light at the end of the tunnel. That was just pure joy for us.”

A light at the end of the tunnel indeed. 

“It’s great to see these guys get their recognition,” Scott Stevens said. “For what they’ve done for the organization and what they’ve done for the team. John’s been a guy that’s been here through the thick and thin and won our first Cup here with him. He’s a great teammate and a great player and he was a big part of our ’95 championship and a big part of turning the Devils around.

“It has to be really rewarding to start at the lowest and build up and make the playoffs the one year, get the big goal and then to finally win The Stanley Cup in ’95. That’s the way you want to do it if you’re drafted to that organization. That’s the way John did it to win his Cup.”

When Stevens was further asked about what made MacLean so special, he pointed to two factors – his leadership and his shot. 

“His shot was lethal,” said Stevens. “I mean, he could score off the wing from distance. He could score from close in. He could score from bad angles. It was almost funny. We’d always laugh at him where he’d shoot the puck from. But he found a way to score. He could be on the goal-line and he’d put it on net and he’d find a way to put it in. He had a sneaky shot, a very good shot.”

And regarding MacLean’s leadership, Stevens said, “(He would) lead by example, coming to play every night. A guy you can count on as a teammate. Those are the type of teammates you want and that’s what he did. He was a low-maintenance guy. He knew how to play any situation and he’d play any situation. He came in as a goal scorer and there was times where he changed his role. But he accepted it and did it very well and still produced and scored goals, but maybe more in the checking role. Those are the type of teammates you want; the guys that make sacrifices and commitments to winning.”

“Before Patrik (Eliáš) came along, he was the best scorer of the franchise,” Martin Brodeur chimed in. “And he’s a guy that loved to score. Trust me, I practiced enough against him that I know that that’s all he wanted is to try to shoot the puck through you and score goals. He never lacked effort. He was a two-way player. He played well on both sides of the ice and that’s what made him be really valuable to the hockey team.”

In the words of The Hockey Maven Stan Fischler, “anything more would be like gilding the lily.” 

Congratulations to John MacLean on an honor well deserved.

photo by Mike Morreale.