John MacLean will take his rightful place in the New Jersey Devils‘ Ring of Honor, becoming the fourth member, as announced by the team on Thursday.
MacLean is a 1995 Stanley Cup Champion as a player and 2003 Stanley Cup Champion as an assistant coach with New Jersey. MacLean will be honored during a pregame ceremony on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, when the team hosts the Winnipeg Jets.
In a surprise phone call, Hall of Fame Goaltender Martin Brodeur, 3-time Stanley Cup team champion Ken Daneyko, and 2024 Ring of Honor Inductee Sergei Brylin informed the former Devils forward he’s set to become the next inductee.
Along with Brylin, MacLean is joining Dr. John J. McMullen, inducted January 6, 2017, and Jacques Lemaire, inducted January 22, 2025. Per the press release, “the selection of MacLean was made by the ‘Ring of Honor Committee.’ The committee, who decides all future inductees, includes all five players who have their number retired by the organization (Scott Stevens, Ken Daneyko, Scott Niedermayer, Martin Brodeur, Patrik Elias) and the three Ring of Honor inductees (Peter McMullen, on behalf of The McMullen Family, Brylin and Lemaire).”
All fans in attendance will receive a limited-edition Ring of Honor commemorative pin courtesy of Citizens. This marks the third Ring of Honor induction in a five-year program presented by Citizens. Fans are asked to be in their seats by 6:45 PM for the start of the ceremony.
“We are proud to name John MacLean as the club’s fourth-ever inductee into the Ring of Honor,” said David Blitzer, Managing Partner, New Jersey Devils. “As one of the original Devils, ‘Johnny Mac’ was an integral part in transforming this franchise from an also-ran to a Stanley Cup Champion. He will forever be remembered by fans for scoring one of the most famous goals in team history, and now he will be acknowledged for all that he meant to this organization. We look forward to celebrating with him and his family.”
MacLean will be honored in an on-ice ceremony with his wife, Adrienne, and two sons, Kyle and John Carter.
MacLean played for the Devils from the 1983-84 season through 1997-98, wearing the team’s sweater throughout that span, and served as an alternate captain from 1989-90 until his departure in 1997-98. His 934 regular-season games rank fifth in franchise history, trailing only Ken Daneyko (1,283), Patrik Elias (1,240), Travis Zajac (1,024), and Scott Stevens (956) in games played for New Jersey. Following his retirement from the NHL in 2001, MacLean returned as an assistant coach with the Devils from 2002-03 to 2008-09, contributing to the team’s third Stanley Cup championship in June 2003. He later served as head coach of the club’s AHL affiliate in Lowell during the 2009-10 season and took over as New Jersey’s head coach at the beginning of the 2010-11 campaign.
MacLean played a pivotal role on the 1994-95 Devils team that captured the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship. He accumulated 18 points (5 goals, 13 assists) during the playoff run, ranking third among all Devils skaters in postseason scoring. Nicknamed “Johnny Mac,” he contributed five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in the four-game sweep of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1995 Stanley Cup Final, placing second on the team in that series.
In total, MacLean appeared in 88 career playoff games with New Jersey, recording 75 postseason points (31 goals, 44 assists), a mark that still ranks second in franchise history.The right-handed shooter etched his name across numerous franchise regular-season statistical leaderboards. He became the first player in Devils history to reach 300 career goals with the team, and his 701 points ranked as the all-time franchise record until Patrik Elias surpassed it on March 17, 2009.
As a former first-round draft pick, MacLean remains the only player in franchise history to post multiple 40-goal seasons, achieving that feat in three straight campaigns from 1988-89 through 1990-91. His 45 goals in 1990-91 stood as the third-highest single-season total by a Devils skater until Brian Gionta set the franchise record with 48 goals in 2005-06, at which point MacLean’s mark moved to second all-time.
