Since 1982, the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils have been Turnpike rivals. The two have met during the Stanley Cup Playoffs on five occasions, including twice in the Eastern Conference Finals, with the Devils holding the series edge on the Flyers, 3-2. During the 1990s, the road to an Eastern Conference title, if not an old Atlantic Division title, would go through New Jersey or Philadelphia.
Below is a list of the top ten players who donned both the orange, black and white and the red, black (or green) and white.
10. Arron Asham (Forward)
Prior to the league’s latest realignment, Arron Asham had the distinction of playing with all five Atlantic Division clubs. The enforcer, played one season with New Jersey (2007-08) and two with Philadelphia (2008-10). Across 77 games with the Devils, Asham posted ten points and 84 penalty minutes and eight fighting majors. With the Flyers, Asham totaled 44 points across 150 contests, plus 281 penalty minutes, including 31 fighting majors. As a member of the Flyers’ 2009-10 Eastern Conference title team, Asham netted four goals across 23 postseason contests.
9. Peter Zezel (Center)
Starting his career with the Flyers, Zezel played parts of five seasons (1984-88) with Philadelphia and parts of two (1997-98) with the Devils. Across 310 games with the Flyers, Zezel notched 91 goals, 170 helpers and 261 points. Zezel helped Philadelphia reach the Stanley Cup Final twice and in 1986-87, set a career high with 33 goals in the regular season and 13 points in the postseason. Zezel posted six helpers across 23 playoff contests with New Jersey.
8. Glenn “Chico” Resch (Goalie)
The man they call “Chico,” played parts of four seasons (1982-86) with New Jersey, before being traded to Philadelphia, for a third round draft choice. In 198 games with the Devils, Resch won 49 games, posted one shutout and was named an All-Star in 1984. Resch ended his career with the Flyers, playing 22 games, and sported a 2.96 goals-against average. He was a member of their 1986-87 finalist squad, in his last season.
7. Sean Burke (Goalie)
Beginning his career with the Devils, Burke played four seasons (1987-91) with New Jersey and two (1997-98, 2003-04) across two tours with the Flyers. Burke won 62 games and registered four shutouts with the Devils. After helping the Devils reach the Wales Conference Finals in 1988, Burke was an All-Star in 1989. With Philadelphia, Burke won 13 games, recorded two shutouts and posted a .911 save percentage and 2.55 goals-against average across 26 regular season contests.
6. Jim Dowd (Center)
Starting his career with the Devils, Dowd played parts of six seasons (1991-96, 2006-07) across two tours with New Jersey and finished his career with the Flyers (2007-08). Dowd made his NHL debut along with Martin Brodeur and helped the Devils win the Stanley Cup in 1995. Dowd totaled 41 points across 121 games with New Jersey. In Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals at Detroit, Dowd netted the game-winning tally. With the Flyers, Dowd recorded five goals, five helpers and 41 penalty minutes, through 73 games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gZ6K8wkK5g
5. Jaromir Jagr (Right Wing)
Jagr has played for many clubs and the Flyers (2011-12) and Devils (2013-15) are among those included on the list. Returning to the NHL with Philadelphia, Jagr posted 19 goals, 35 helpers and 54 points. Jagr also added eight points for the Flyers in the postseason. In 139 games with the Devils, Jagr netted 35 goals, added 61 helpers and totaled 96 points.
4. Valeri Zelepukin (Left Wing)
Selected by the Devils in the eleventh round of the 1990 draft, Zelepukin played parts of seven seasons (1991-98) with New Jersey and played a pair (1998-00) with Philadelphia. He was a member of New Jersey’s 1995 Stanley Cup championship squad. Zelepukin netted the series clinching goal in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals against the Boston Bruins. Zelepukin accrued 218 points in 375 games with the Devils. In 151 contests with the Flyers, he notched 57 points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVULgAzxcSI
3. Eric Weinrich (Defenseman)
Selected by the Devils in the second round of the 1985 draft, Weinrich spent four seasons (1988-92) with New Jersey and parts of three seasons with the Flyers (2001-04). In 1990-91, Weinrich was named to the NHL All-Rookie First Team. Across 173 contests with New Jersey, Weinrich registered 79 points, 114 penalty minutes and was a plus-20. Playing 215 games with Philadelphia, Weinrich tallied 53 points, 98 penalty minutes and was a plus-54.
2. Dainius Zubrus (Center)
A first round draft choice of the Flyers, Zubrus spent parts of three seasons (1996-99) with Philadelphia and eight (2007-15) with the Devils. Zubrus helped the Flyers (1996-97) and Devils (2011-12) reach the Stanley Cup Final. During the Flyers’ run, Zubrus notched nine points in the postseason, including a series clinching game-winning marker in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Buffalo Sabres. Conversely, on the Devils’ run, Zubrus posted ten points, including a game-winning tally against the Flyers, in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Playing most of his 200 games with Philadelphia as a teenager, Zubrus recorded 62 points in 200 games. Along with registering six double-digit goal campaigns, Zubrus toatled 224 points across 554 games with the Devils.
1. Mel Bridgman (Center)
Drafted first overall in 1975 by the Flyers, Bridgman played parts of seven seasons (1975-81) with Philadelphia and four (1983-87) with New Jersey. Bridgman posted two seasons of more than 20 goals with the Flyers, recording 119 in all. Across 462 games with Philadelphia, Bridgman accumulated 324 points. Bridgman was part of Philly’s Stanley Cup Finalist squad in 1975-76, notching 14 points during their postseason run. Bridgman also recorded eleven points as part of the Flyers’ 1979-80 runner-up squad. With the Devils, Bridgman posted three seasons of more than 20 goals. Playing 288 contests with New Jersey, Bridgman totaled 224 points.