In NHL.com's Q&A feature called “Sitting Down with …” we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. This week, we feature John MacLean, a former NHL forward who played 18 NHL seasons, including 14 with the New Jersey Devils. MacLean won the Stanley Cup as a player with the Devils in 1995 and in 2003 as an assistant coach. He will be inducted into Devils Ring of Honor on Jan. 27.
NEWARK, N.J. -- John MacLean can recall "vividly" his overtime goal to secure the first Stanley Cup Playoff berth for the New Jersey Devils since the franchise relocated from Denver for the 1982-83 season.
So significant was the goal at Chicago Stadium on April 3, 1988, that many forget MacLean also tied the game 3-3 on a goal at 11:57 of the third period.
His OT goal at 2:21 was a franchise-defining moment.
"Patrik Sundstrom made a great play on the wall and gave it to Joey Cirella just over the blue line," MacLean said. "Joey makes a nice little move, takes a shot and Blackhawks goalie [Darren Pang], my buddy, says, 'Hey Johnny Mac, here you go' and threw a nice rebound to me. As soon as it hit my stick, I fired it right back and it went in.
"It was chaos after that ... the goal is awesome."
It was one of many special moments for MacLean in a Devils sweater. He will be inducted into the Devils Ring of Honor in a ceremony before the game against the Winnipeg Jets at Prudential Center on Jan. 27. He'll be the fourth member, joining Dr. John J. McMullen (inducted Jan. 6, 2017), Sergei Brylin (Jan. 20, 2024) and Jacques Lemaire (Jan. 22, 2025).
"I'm an old guy now (61), so it's a nice closure on my Devils career," MacLean said. "I'm a Devil. I mean, that's where I made my mark and for them to honor it, I'm extremely humbled and excited."
MacLean had three straight 40-goal seasons for the Devils from 1988-91. He finished with 842 points (413 goals, 429 assists) in 1,194 NHL games in an NHL career that included 14 seasons with New Jersey, three seasons for the New York Rangers, two with the Dallas Stars and one with the San Jose Sharks. He had 83 points (35 goals, 48 assists) in 104 NHL playoff games.
After MacLean retired as a player in 2001, he became a Devils assistant from 2002-03 to 2008-09, helping them win the Cup for the third time in 2002-03. MacLean also was head coach of Lowell in the American Hockey League in 2009-10 and New Jersey coach to begin the 2010-11 season.
He shared some insight on his playing career, coaching career, and current life as a hockey dad in a wide-ranging interview with NHL.com.
What do you remember about the 1983 NHL Draft when the Devils chose you in the first round (No. 6)?
"I didn't know a lot about Jersey as a new team, but at the draft, that's where I was going to fall. When Buffalo didn't take me (at No. 5), I knew there was a strong possibility New Jersey would. I also had conversations with the Toronto Maple Leafs (No. 7) and Winnipeg Jets (No. 8), so I had some idea where I might go. But New Jersey stepped up and took me."
You scored your first NHL goal against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena on Oct. 8, 1983. What memories do you have of that first season?
"I remember training camp was a lot for me as an 18-year-old. You're on the ice twice a day. I was rooming with forward Bobby MacMillan. 'Bobby Mac' was 30-something at the time and he was great to me but, I mean, you're staying at the Turtle Brook Inn (in West Orange, New Jersey) with a roommate. You get up, go to practice, come back, eat, and if you're lucky, get an hour's sleep, and then go back to practice again. You're getting in shape and it was a long process. I won't forget that first goal in Detroit. Dave Cameron assisted on it, and it came against Eddie Mio."
Wayne Gretzky called the Devils a 'Mickey Mouse organization' after scoring eight points for the Edmonton Oilers in a 13-4 win against New Jersey on Nov. 19, 1983. How did you and your teammates take this?
"It might have taken a day or two for us to hear about it. News didn't travel then like it does now. Knowing Wayne and how good of a person he is, he just felt bad for his buddy, goalie Ron Low, since Ronny was in net taking the shellacking that night. [Gretzky] lashed out because he felt bad for Ronny. We weren't very good in front of him but sometimes it happens. That was the beginning of the end though because Billy MacMillan got fired as our coach after that game.
"I do remember the following year when Edmonton came in, and we beat them (5-2 on Dec. 17, 1984). That was the one thing about the fans at the Brendan Byrne Arena ... they put up with a lot those first few years, but they appreciated that we were a group that always had a response to whatever happened."
After qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1988, you defeated the New York Islanders in six games and the Washington Capitals in seven before losing to the Boston Bruins in seven in the Prince of Wales Conference Final. How special a season was that?
"I scored the goal in Game 7 against the Capitals to win that series. [Coach Jim Schoenfeld] came in and gave us life. He had so much energy, so much passion for the game and we were the right age, the young guys combined with the older guys who knew who [Schoenfeld] was. He was a passionate player, tough guy, good defenseman, and he gave us that edge and kept pushing us to be better. We had a Hall of Famer like [Brendan Shanahan] ... I played with him, Patrik Sundstrom and Mark Johnson. All these guys just had a belief. And, of course, so did (general manager) Lou Lamoriello, who gave us that structure."
The Devils celebrated their first Stanley Cup championship in 1995, and you had 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 20 playoff games. Why is that group so revered?
"I think you just know. Once we got into the playoffs and got through the first round, there was just something about it. It was all business. We just did our job, played the roles we were told to play, intertwined with the decisions that were made. Goalie [Chris Terreri] going into Boston and winning two games in the first round; Jimmy Dowd and Sergei Brylin rotating, just switching the lines. I'm playing with Neal Broten] one game, then going with [Brian Carpenter], [Stephane Richer] or [[Valeri Zelepukin]. We knew we were well coached, but we had a solid room that understood that we were on a business mission. We wanted to get this done. To be there in '83 and to finally see it in '95 was just great. A lot of guys come and go, your friends get traded and then you end up, along with Ken Daneyko and [Bruce Driver] ... the three who saw the culmination of what we went through. The 13-4 loss to the Oilers, getting our [butts] kicked, the whole thing until we made the playoffs in '88. For us to be part of the Devils and see it all come to fruition was pretty special."
You still hold a Devils record for most multiple-goal games (62) and are second in most multiple-point games (169). What was the secret to becoming a prolific goal scorer?
"I was streaky. Ask anybody. I always shot the puck and my career balanced out pretty good with goals and assists, but I'm guessing that a lot of those assists were probably off the pad. If I was in a scoring slump, I would go out before every morning skate or practice and just shoot pucks from right wing, from the dot to the wall, from the goal line all the way to the blue line. That was my bread and butter."
You were an assistant to the late Pat Burns in 2003, when the Devils won the Stanley Cup for the third time. How talented a group was that one?
"Burns was a tremendous coach ... probably the best in-game coach I've seen handle a bench or knowing what to say, how to act. We had depth, the buy-in, and the goaltending. The egos were managed early in the year and then later in the year. I think [captain Scott Stevens] was great. There's not a more intense hockey player to play the game than Scotty in playoff hockey. Joe Nieuwendyk, the veteran who balanced the team out between the young guys and the veterans. You had Jamie Langenbrunner and Brian Gionta, so the talent and depth was there. It was no different than our '95 team."
Thoughts on the great young players today, like Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks and Matthew Schaefer of the Islanders?
"They're only going to get better. They're all good but what do those two kids have? They understand the game. They aren't one-trick ponies. I watch Schaefer every night. He can defend, play offense. He can get up and down the ice. He does wind sprints, is a beautiful skater. Celebrini, same thing. He's competitive, aware of everything on the ice. They're special and I think you're always going to have these talented kids, but what separates a lot of these guys and even the guys that maybe aren't as talented as them, is what's between the ears. They're both leaders, and they'll both be wearing the 'C' one day."
Would you like to get back into coaching in some NHL capacity and what has it been like as a hockey dad?
"This is my first year not being involved in the NHL and that's basically 42 years. I'm pretty happy with that. I was fortunate enough to do it for as long as I have, but is that it? If it is, it's OK, but there's a time and a place for everything, so you never say never. But it's 75 degrees where I am right now in Jupiter, Florida, so that's not bad either.
"My sons, (Islanders forward) Kyle and John Carter, are doing well. That's another reason why it's nice to go back to New Jersey because they're Jersey kids. They played their minor hockey there. I remember when there was just a handful of kids that maybe came out of Jersey ... Jimmy Dowd in Brick. But my kids grew up playing there, starting out with the Montclair Blues and then the Colonials on their paths to somewhere else. My first Islanders father's trip was great; I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm like a fan, at the game, cheering for Kyle and the team and there's no pressure. You meet all the other fathers and we're all the same. No matter what we do, we're the same -- we think our kid is the best player."
