Jay Pandolfo, who teamed with John Madden in New Jersey as penalty killing extraordinaires during their Stanley Cup years, has officially retired. In 15 seasons he scored exactly 100 goals and 226 points in 899 regular season games. He twice lifted the Stanley Cup above his head.
Pandolfo will always be remembered as a very solid defensive forward and penalty killer with the New Jersey Devils. He briefly played with the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins, too. But in NJ he played a nice role on championship teams, regularly asked, along with linemates Madden and Sergei Brylin, to shut down the other team's top line and playing with a man short.
Claude Julien coached Pandolfo in both New Jersey and Boston, and appreciated his efforts more than anybody.
“He was such a smart player. His strength was always hockey sense. I know he had scoring skills and put up big offensive numbers in college, but then he came to the pro level and was a little bit like Guy Carbonneau for that matter. He modified his game and became a really good defensive-minded player that you knew was going to be reliable against top lines.”
"Pando" was from Winchester, Massachussetts and led the Boston University Terriers to a NCAA national championship. He finished his career as a bit player with the Bruins but will always be remembered as a New Jersey Devil stalwart.
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