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Snap Wilson
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- Sep 14, 2003
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Devilsfanatic said:
Moderator, what is the standing on threads that are absolutely painful to fans of a certain team?
Christ, man, did you have to bring that up? That equalization provision was easily the most idiotic thing ever in the NHL CBA. As a Blues fan, I realised how dumb Sebastian Caron was when they kept making what seemed at the time like ridiculous compensation offers for Shanahan (of course both Brind'Amour and Joseph wound up turning out great). He then followed this up by exchanging Brind'Amour, Geoff Courtnall and Cliff Ronning for Garth Butcher, Ron Sutter and Murray Baron. That pretty much ended my tenure as a Blues fan.
Lamiorello's arguments, given the context, are entirely reasonable. What could have been...
GentlemanOfLeisure
Ride Space Mountain
moneyp said:
All the Blues had to do was add say a Jeff Brown to the Brind'Amour, and New Jersey would have been forced to take it. Instead, the Blues got greedy, and that was that.
Ted Hoffman
The other Rick Zombo
- Dec 15, 2002
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moneyp said:
You mean Sebastian Caron was calling the shots for the Blues at age 10? Damn, no wonder he decided to take up goaltending instead!
Snap Wilson
Registered User
- Sep 14, 2003
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Irish Blues said:
Whoops, Ron Caron. Brain fart.
I've never seen a good GM slip faster than "The Professor" Ron Caron. Through his wheeling and dealing, making shrewd deals for future HHOFers like Adam Oates and Brett Hull, he built a dynamite team. Then he signed Curtis Joseph as a free agent out of college, and brought in Geoff Courtnall and Stevens - the franchise defenceman St. Louis needed. The Blues responded by finishing with the second-best record in the league.
Then in March of 1991, the train started to derail. They dealt Courtnall, Cliff Ronning, Sergio Momesso, Robert Dirk and a pick to Vancouver for Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn. Butcher continued to be a solid, reliable defenceman for St. Lou, but Quinn continued to be inconsistent and frankly, a cancer in the locker room. Then they signed Shanahan. St. Louis would have been decimated with either package. Stevens was a massive blow. Joseph and Brind'Amour would have been big blows, too. Then he traded Brind'Amour and Quinn to Philly for Ron Sutter and Murray Baron. Brind'Amour grew into a star in Philly. Caron continued to seek high-priced free agents, botched the drafting of three Russians in 1992, and got fleeced for Petr Nedved in 1994.
Amazing that Stevens initially balked at reporting to the Devils. After all, the Blues were coming off a season in which they had the second best record in the league, while the Devils were a wildly inconsistent franchise nicknamed the United Nations for all their foreign content. Within a two-month span, the Devils drafted Scott Niedermayer and picked up Stevens. The groundwork for one of the most successful organizations in the league was in place. Add in Martin Brodeur, some shrewd draft picks (Elias in 1994, for example) and the acquisition of players with a knack for timely scoring - Lemieux, Arnott, Richer, Friesen, Langenbrunner, etc - and you have the makings of one of the greatest franchise turnarounds in NHL history - from perennial laughing stock to model organization.
As for Stevens, he was already an excellent two-way defenceman - a fearsome combination of skill and physical play - in Washington and St. Louis. He was the most feared hitter in the league even before arriving in New Jersey. Even though his offensive contributions diminished after his Norris Trophy calibre 1994 season, his physical play did not, and he became the standard for shut down defencemen. He earned two Norris Trophy nominations (1997 and 2001) as a defensive defenceman. He was fantastic for the Devils in all three Cup wins. One of the top 20 or 25 defencemen of all-time, and a sure-fire first ballot future HHOFer.
Tonight will be a special night in New Jersey. The first of many post-career honours for one of the best and most feared blue-liners ever.
Then in March of 1991, the train started to derail. They dealt Courtnall, Cliff Ronning, Sergio Momesso, Robert Dirk and a pick to Vancouver for Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn. Butcher continued to be a solid, reliable defenceman for St. Lou, but Quinn continued to be inconsistent and frankly, a cancer in the locker room. Then they signed Shanahan. St. Louis would have been decimated with either package. Stevens was a massive blow. Joseph and Brind'Amour would have been big blows, too. Then he traded Brind'Amour and Quinn to Philly for Ron Sutter and Murray Baron. Brind'Amour grew into a star in Philly. Caron continued to seek high-priced free agents, botched the drafting of three Russians in 1992, and got fleeced for Petr Nedved in 1994.
Amazing that Stevens initially balked at reporting to the Devils. After all, the Blues were coming off a season in which they had the second best record in the league, while the Devils were a wildly inconsistent franchise nicknamed the United Nations for all their foreign content. Within a two-month span, the Devils drafted Scott Niedermayer and picked up Stevens. The groundwork for one of the most successful organizations in the league was in place. Add in Martin Brodeur, some shrewd draft picks (Elias in 1994, for example) and the acquisition of players with a knack for timely scoring - Lemieux, Arnott, Richer, Friesen, Langenbrunner, etc - and you have the makings of one of the greatest franchise turnarounds in NHL history - from perennial laughing stock to model organization.
As for Stevens, he was already an excellent two-way defenceman - a fearsome combination of skill and physical play - in Washington and St. Louis. He was the most feared hitter in the league even before arriving in New Jersey. Even though his offensive contributions diminished after his Norris Trophy calibre 1994 season, his physical play did not, and he became the standard for shut down defencemen. He earned two Norris Trophy nominations (1997 and 2001) as a defensive defenceman. He was fantastic for the Devils in all three Cup wins. One of the top 20 or 25 defencemen of all-time, and a sure-fire first ballot future HHOFer.
Tonight will be a special night in New Jersey. The first of many post-career honours for one of the best and most feared blue-liners ever.
Ted Hoffman
The other Rick Zombo
- Dec 15, 2002
- 29,205
- 8,615
Don't worry. When Ron Jacober was calling Blues games and we had Steve Leach on the team, we had several plays where according to Jacober, Brian Leetch either scored, had an assist, or just made a good play for the Blues.moneyp said:
Stephen
Moderator
- Feb 28, 2002
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Irish Blues said:Don't worry. When Ron Jacober was calling Blues games and we had Steve Leach on the team, we had several plays where according to Jacober, Brian Leetch either scored, had an assist, or just made a good play for the Blues.
Heh, wishful thinking never hurt anyone!
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