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Who To Pick For Nhl Draft?

What if...New Jersey won the first pick in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft?

  • 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?

  • Answer:

    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?

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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!!!!!!!!

devils4history

If "ifs" were "5ths" ... we'd all be drunk. Last time I checked its 2007 and nobody gives a spit about something that happened 23 years ago. What would have happened if Len Bias didn't snort coke ... what would have happened to the Celtics? Who cares? What would have happened if Elway had gone to the Colts instead of Denver? Who cares? What would have happened if Pelle Lindbergh hadn't gotten drunk and ran into a brick wall ... what would the flyers had been like? Who cares? What if Babe Ruth had stayed in Boston? or Baltimore for that matter? Who cares? While we both realize the Devils have no shot at winning the cup anytime soon and that's why you are thinking of the past, delving into the hypothetical is a complete waste of time.

eric

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).

N/A

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.

Keith

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.

Butters

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.

zapcity29

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.

Gary P

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