Ultimate Standings 2009: No. 38
New Jersey Devils
Last Year's Rank: 40
Title Track: 13
Ownership: 30
Coaching: 44
Players: 33
Fan Relations: 24
Affordability: 79
Stadium Experience: 18
Bang for the Buck: 75
CEO Lou Lamoriello runs a first-rate hockey program, collecting three Cups since 1995. A climb of 16 points in overall ranking the past two years is proof that the rest of the operation is following the on-ice lead. The team's crown jewel? Surprisingly, its not the Devils' future-HOF goaltender, Martin Brodeur. No, it's Newark's dazzling two-year-old Prudential Center, featuring excellent sight lines, a 300-seat restaurant overlooking the rink and an adjoining practice facility. Unis of New Jersey high school teams adorn the corridors, and concession stands sell hand-rolled stogies and Italian hot dogs topped with peppers and potatoes. "This place is second to none," crows Lamoriello. All that excellence (not to mention the agita) doesn't come cheap, but the team also made a nine-place leap in Affordability, thanks in part to Thursday-night discounts for college students and $10 tickets for all games. Like their boss, the Devils are so old-school, they don't even sell alternate jerseys, the only NHL franchise never to do so. "We have two jerseys," Lamoriello says emphatically of the home and away sweaters. That's Lou. To him, everything is red-and-white.

