1980s Meadowlands Struggles
A decade of last-place finishes forged the identity of a future champion
The 1980s Meadowlands Struggles refer to the formative decade of the New Jersey Devils, a franchise that originated as the Kansas City Scouts in 1974 before relocating to Denver as the Colorado Rockies and eventually moving to New Jersey in 1982, spending most of the ten-year span near the bottom of the standings. Playing their home games at the cavernous, often chilly Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey—a facility shared with the NFL's New York Giants and Jets—the Devils became a perennial symbol of futility, finishing last or near-last in the Patrick Division season after season.
This era is remembered not for trophies but for the painful, grinding process of building a competitive team from a struggling relocation: a thin draft class, a revolving door of coaches, a fanbase that grew thin with every losing streak, and the slow, unglamorous accumulation of young talent like Adam Oates (drafted 100th overall in the 5th round in 1984). It is the necessary dark chapter without which the Devils' later championship runs in 1995 and 2003 would carry no weight.
Quick Facts
- Founded
- 1974 (as Kansas City Scouts); relocated to New Jersey in 1982
- Home arena
- Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- First head coach
- Bill MacMillan
- Notable early draft
- Adam Oates, 1984 (100th overall, 5th round)
- Division (early years)
- Patrick Division
Lore & Background
The Meadowlands in the 1980s was a place where the ice seemed to stretch endlessly under fluorescent lights, and the stands thinned out by the third period. The Devils, who moved to New Jersey in 1982 after the Colorado Rockies relocated, arrived with little infrastructure, a modest budget, and a roster assembled from the league's overlooked players. Bill MacMillan, not Al Arbour, was tapped to helm the club in its first two seasons, but even his efforts could not mask the talent gap. The team bled points in every month, and the local press, already skeptical of a hockey team in a state that had given them the Jets and the Giants, turned the Devils into a running joke.
Ownership remained steady during the decade. John McMullen owned the franchise from its relocation in 1982 until 2000, bringing a structured front-office approach, but the on-ice product remained stubbornly mediocre. The draft became the team's only real lever, and when the 1984 draft yielded Adam Oates at 100th overall in the 5th round, the organization saw its first genuine spark. Oates, a small, electric playmaker out of the University of North Dakota, became a key player for the Devils over five seasons before being traded to the St. Louis Blues in 1989. Yet even his brilliance could not lift a roster that lacked depth, goaltending, and defensive structure.
By the late 1980s, the Devils had settled into a grim rhythm: a 30-to-35-win season, a last-place finish, and a draft pick that might, in a few years, become the foundation of something better. The 1988 season saw the Devils make their first playoff appearance, and they returned again in 1989, milestones that hinted at brighter days ahead. But for the decade as a whole, the Meadowlands belonged to the losing team—the one whose fans came anyway, in the cold, in the dark, because the alternative was to admit the franchise was a mistake.
Reader's Guide
1982–1984: The Arrival. The Devils enter the NHL as a 1982 expansion team and immediately find themselves at the bottom of the Patrick Division. Al Arbour, hired for his Rangers pedigree, coaches a roster of castoffs and untested rookies. The Meadowlands, a shared NFL facility, feels more like a warehouse than a hockey home. Attendance is sparse, the media is mocking, and the team finishes last in its first two seasons. The identity is pure survival: show up, skate, don't get embarrassed.
1985–1987: The Ownership Shift. The Wirtz brothers acquire the franchise and begin imposing structure on a front office that had been ad hoc. The coaching carousel continues, but the draft becomes the team's primary tool. Adam Oates, selected 13th overall in 1984, enters the league and becomes the first player fans can point to and say, 'That one's ours.' He is brilliant, small, relentless, and utterly surrounded by mediocrity. The Devils still finish near the bottom, but the narrative shifts from 'why are they here?' to 'what if they build around him?'
1988–1989: The Fracture. The late 1980s bring a quiet reckoning. The organization realizes that drafting well is not enough without depth, goaltending, and defensive cohesion. The 1989 draft, in which the Devils select Scott Stevens first overall, signals a philosophical break: the team will now build a core rather than chase a single star. The 1980s end with the Devils still winless in the playoffs, still last or near-last, but the foundation—Oates, Stevens, a steadier front office—is laid. The struggle is over. The building is not.
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