thumb|The Devils celebrate moments after defeating the Detroit Red Wings in the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals. The victory brought the club its first Stanley Cup.|alt=Teammates mob Martin Brodeur moments after the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals Despite the setback, the team returned to the conference finals during the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers four games to two. They swept the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings to win the team's first-ever Stanley Cup, as they brought the Cup across the Hudson River from New York, after the Rangers had won it the year before. The 1994–95 Devils team became the first to give the players a day with the Stanley Cup, a tradition that lives on with each Cup winner. Claude Lemieux was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP. The success came amid constant rumors that the team would move for the third time in its history to Nashville. Staring at the prospect of losing the team, the state agreed to fund a renovation of the Devils' arena. Nashville eventually received an NHL franchise three years later, when the Nashville Predators joined the league as an expansion team.
thumb|The Devils celebrate moments after defeating the Detroit Red Wings in the 1995 Stanley Cup F,inals. The victory brought the club its first Stanley Cup.|alt=Teammates mob Martin Brodeur moments after the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals Despite the setback, the team returned to the conference finals during the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers four games to two. They swept the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings to win the team's first-ever Stanley Cup as they brought the Cup across the Hudson River from New York, after the Rangers had won it the year before. The 1994–95 Devils team became the first to give the players a day with the Stanley Cup, a tradition that lives on with each Cup winner. Claude Lemieux was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP. The success came amid constant rumors that the team would move for the third time in its history to Nashville. Staring at the prospect of losing the team, the state agreed to fund a renovation of the Devils' arena. Nashville eventually received an NHL franchise three years later, when the Nashville Predators joined the league as an expansion team.