We know the story by now: the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins were neck-and-neck for the first overall pick in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. The prize: one Mario Lemieux. Legend has it that the Pens tanked games at the stretch to secure the right to pick first. Let's just say that the Pens chose very wisely.
Think back for a moment. What if Pittsburgh didn't "struggle" to finish out 1983-84? New Jersey would have been gifted with the talents of Lemieux (and in those days, not even the then-"Mickey Mouse" franchise would have screwed that one up). On top of that, they were beginning to secure the future foundations of their team, adding Patrik Sunstrom, Sean Burke, Ken Daneyko, Bruce Driver, John MacLean, and others into the mix. Would a Lemieux have made the Devils a contender sooner? What would have become of the Penguins? Would they even be in Pittsburgh today if history was changed?
2007-09-05 14:52:37 · 11 answers · asked by Snoop 5 in Sports ➔ Hockey
Like I'm Telling You...- Interesting question. Mario liked playing defense the same as a vampire loves chewing garlic cloves. If Lemieux was there during the Rise of the Trap, there would have been a public outcry, followed by a Lemieux trade. The most far-fetched idea yet: what if Mario was the Lemieux who ended up in Colorado instead of Claude? Would the Roy trade have been necessary in lieu of "Four Lines Of Thunder"?
2007-09-05 16:11:43 · update #1
Excellent question.
As for the Penguins tanking games...........don't believe all the legends. Lemieux was adamant he didn't want to play in Pittsburgh, and from the All-Star break onwards, Pittsburgh made up 7 points on New Jersey. Both teams were really bad though. March 22, 1984 was a low point though as Rick Kehoe got 4 points.....while Pittsburgh got shelled 13-4 at the Spectrum. Great game to watch......if you were a Flyer fan.
Now, had Lemieux become a Devil, I think the Devils become contenders in 1988 or so. Over the next few years the Devils drafted well. They had Verbeek and Daneyko and Driver in the fold, but they were very weak on offense and defense. It took a few years for them to shore up the holes.
Now, to put your question back on you. The Devils became the juggernaut they were on the back of the Left Wing Lock and Martin Brodeur. How does Mario change that under Jacques Lemaire?
Oh, and no Mario in Pittsburgh? They would have been saved by Sundin and Lindros. The Penguins actually made money in the early 80s prior to Lemieux's arrival.
Hmmmmmm, tie your two questions together!
Mario to Colorado instead of Claude. Based on the Oilers run in the late 80s, I think the addition of Mario to the Avalanche line-up would have been the icing on the cake and Roy would have been unnecessary.
Watching Sakic and Lemieux at the 2002 Olympics was mesmerizing when they played together. Imagine what it would have been like in the mid 90s...................
Of course, there is one last piece to the puzzle...........what if the Colorado Rockies never moved to East Rutherford? Where would Mario AND the Nordiques have ended up?
2007-09-05 15:38:36 · answer #1 · answered by Like I'm Telling You Who I A 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm guessing devils4history is quite high, lol. Lemieux wouldn't have fit as well into the Devils system, but, would the Devils have turned into a lef-wing lock, defense-first team with Lemieux? I think not, they would have brought in more offensive players to help him out, they probably would have won an extra Cup to add to the ones they won in the 90s. The Penguins would have probably gone bankrupt in the next 2 seasons. After all, Mario saved them 3 times during his life. If the Devils drafted Lemieux, I would have never gotten into hockey (maybe I would have, but it was Lemieux's comeback that made me start watching games, and the rest is history).
2007-09-05 17:10:43 · answer #2 · answered by N/A 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I tried to figure that out once, and believe it or not, the Devils would have been pretty much the same: 3 Cups, 21 (or whatever the number was when I figured it out) Playoff series won. What I decided was, if the Devils had Mario, they probably would've won the Cup in 1988, and the Pens might not have won in 1991, which might've opened the door for a second Cup. But then the Devils would've kept Brendan Shanahan, which means they wouldn't have gotten Scott Stevens. Which means their defense is reduced. And with all Mario's injuries, the Devils might still have won Mario's real-life second Cup in 1992, giving them three, but remember he was out for all of 1995, so without Mario or Scottso the Devils don't win that one. And by 2000, their real-life second Cup, Mario is finished. And they probably don't win in 2003, either. Maybe the earlier success gets the Prudential Center built a few years sooner, and maybe winning three Cups before the Rangers win in 1994 gives them a few PR points and converts a few more fans. But other than that, really, they'd have been no better off drafting Mario Lemieux instead of Kirk Muller -- who, don't forget, was the trade bait to get Stephane Richer and Tom Chorske, two key figures from the 1995 Cup. And if the last Devil Cup is before the Rangers' '94 win, then they have the edge over us, instead of the other way around. As for the Pens, they probably get moved to a Sun Belt city that otherwise got an expansion team. And Shanahan probably doesn't stay with the Devils forever, so maybe he ends up in Detroit and helps them win 3 Cups anyway.
2016-05-17 17:04:16 · answer #3 · answered by lennie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1984 Nhl Draft
2016-11-11 23:53:21 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The pittsburgh penguins would have been gone years ago. The New Jersey devils would probably have been a dynasty team with lemieux on offence and Brodeur stopping the pucks.
2007-09-06 16:22:41 · answer #5 · answered by Gary P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hey Bro, We Definatly Didnt win Lemieux, But im so Goddamn proud of that fact, we picked an even better star in brodeur a few years later!
Our team was full of heart and trust me if we had picked lemieux, we probably wouldn't have gotten stevens and i would pick scotty over lemieux anytime anywhere! hes a much more useful guy!!! Leadership, warrior, and playmaker and outsanding d-man!
Even with Mario, the pens Didn't turn out as succesful as us even though they had a longer career!
Thank God We Didn't Pick Mario!!!!!!, i would pick stevens over gretzky, sounds weird eh, gretzky would never have led us to 3 cups and never would lemieux the best couple that changed a team in Sports History has to Be Brodeur and Stevens!!! whn they arrived, it was lights out!!!!!!!!
2007-09-05 16:03:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
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2014-07-01 15:11:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Pens would have folded or moved and we may have all been spared from watching the trap for a decade. The NHL might have been a very different league had Pittsburgh not taken that swan dive.
2007-09-05 15:30:45 · answer #8 · answered by zapcity29 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the devils would have been the montroel canadians of the 90's, a team that wins or gets to the stanley cuos finals every year.
2007-09-05 14:57:30 · answer #9 · answered by Butters 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What if...you stopped asking inane questions and just built your time machine & brainwashing devices already so you can go back, change history, and see what would have happened.
2007-09-06 17:21:24 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋