What past devil....

would help the devils of today the most?

its no secret that our beloved devils usually struggle at scoring more than 3 goals a game, which doesnt really bother me too much as long as we keep playing solid D and of course having marty in net eases any concern:D. I know i will probably get busted on for this because of who my pick is but i think i would take almo circa 2001, he had a great finishing touch that year and i think that it would really boost the offense.

let me know what you think

Mike Peluso :bow:

would help the devils of today the most?

its no secret that our beloved devils usually struggle at scoring more than 3 goals a game, which doesnt really bother me too much as long as we keep playing solid D and of course having marty in net eases any concern:D. I know i will probably get busted on for this because of who my pick is but i think i would take almo circa 2001, he had a great finishing touch that year and i think that it would really boost the offense.

let me know what you thinkBrendan Shanahan or John MacLean would add a scoring touch. Shanahan is still scoring at a high level in the NHL today. John MacLean of the late '80's to early '90's would be great for the Devils team.

However, I wouldn't care about goal-scoring if I could have mid-1990's Scott Stevens on the team. He could be paired with Rafalski again, and the Devils defensive corpse would go from good to great.

Special mention: Hall of Fame wing Lanny McDonald played for the Colorado Rockies for parts of three seasons before being traded to Calgary for the man the would become the first Devils captain, Don Lever, when the Rockies relocated to New Jersey. Lanny was one of the best two-way wings in the league. He was like Bobby Holik was with the Devils, but with much more scoring ability. For a long time, I have wished that he was never traded from the franchise.

My vote goes to a healthy Patrik Sundstrom. Anyone remember that 8 point game against the Caps in the playoffs?

Scott Stevens No question--simply for the leadership

honorable mention to:

Forwards

Randy Mckay = Speed and toughness

Brian Rolston = Speed and shot

Steve Sullivan = Speed and scoring touch

Defense

Bruce Driver = Would have been PERFECT in the new NHL.

Scott Niedermayer = Obviously

My vote goes to a healthy Patrik Sundstrom. Anyone remember that 8 point game against the Caps in the playoffs?

My first ever playoff game...will always be ingrained in my memory. Still one of my all time favorite Devils. Still think he was the best 2 way center to ever put on a Devils uniform.

Otherwise I mostly agree with Jim's list, Rolston for the power play point and add some offense to the third line, Shanahan or Johnny Mac in their prime on Zajac and Parise's wing, McKay in front of the net on the powerplay, Stevens, Driver and Nieder on the blueline. One other player I would add on the blue line is Tom Kurvers, he had an amazing year his last season in NJ before the Devils traded him, that Kurvers would fit very well in this NHL.

Jason Arnott.

We still need a big, #1 center.

My first ever playoff game...will always be ingrained in my memory. Still one of my all time favorite Devils. Still think he was the best 2 way center to ever put on a Devils uniform.

Otherwise I mostly agree with Jim's list, Rolston for the power play point and add some offense to the third line, Shanahan or Johnny Mac in their prime on Zajac and Parise's wing, McKay in front of the net on the powerplay, Stevens, Driver and Nieder on the blueline. One other player I would add on the blue line is Tom Kurvers, he had an amazing year his last season in NJ before the Devils traded him, that Kurvers would fit very well in this NHL.

lol, but aren't you glad we traded him???

Scott Stevens No question--simply for the leadership

honorable mention to:

Forwards

Randy Mckay = Speed and toughness

Brian Rolston = Speed and shot

Steve Sullivan = Speed and scoring touch

Defense

Bruce Driver = Would have been PERFECT in the new NHL.

Scott Niedermayer = Obviously

Rolston would have quite an impact, i think. He is great for the Devils' style of play because his speed breaking out of the defensive zone would cause a lot of problems for the opposition and create the odd man rushes that the Devils live by.

Good call.

(obviously, Stevens (of old) and/or Nieds would make this team darn near unbeatable but i like the thought of Rolston)

lol, but aren't you glad we traded him???

oh definitely. Sorry Tom. :D

Since the biggest need right now is a good shot from the point, my vote goes to Sheldon Souray.

If it was a general choice, then it would be Stevens, Neidermayer then Rolston.

Scott Stevens. Definitely.

Former Devil who is still in the NHL (other than Scott Niedermayer): Brian Rolston. I know trading him helped win us the 2000 cup, but I still miss the guy.

Gotta be Stevens. Then Niedermayer. Then Rolston.

I voted for S. Niedermayer and Rolston on the Western ballot.

i figured there would be a lot of stevens and nieds, which is absolutly right, i think if we had nieds last yr we would have made it to the finals. Another name to throw out there is Claude Lemeuix, maybe wouldnt fix the big problems in the time being but in the playoffs he is an absolute monster!

I voted for S. Niedermayer and Rolston on the Western ballot.

me too. :)

Berglund
Suglobov
Larionov
Malakhov
Tverdovsky
Smehlik

Bill Guerin at forward. Sheldon Souray at defense. Power forward on the Devils? Unthinkable.

Berglund
Suglobov
Larionov
Malakhov
Tverdovsky
Smehlik

Bill Guerin at forward. Sheldon Souray at defense. Power forward on the Devils? Unthinkable.

Oh, but how about Sean O'Donnell?

Nieds -- his ability to get the breakout started would give us a much-needed offensive boost. He also could QB the top PP unit and, of course, serve more than capably in the defensive zone. Biggest all-around boost would come from a player with his diverse skills.

Shawn Chambers.

My vote goes to a healthy Patrik Sundstrom. Anyone remember that 8 point game against the Caps in the playoffs?

I was looking at his stats yesterday....this guy was beast, along the lines of a Bure, too bad injurys took control over a very talented skater finisher(and not to mention hed rip it up in "the new" nhl)

Sundstrom, good pick!:clap:

I was looking at his stats yesterday....this guy was beast, along the lines of a Bure, too bad injurys took control over a very talented skater finisher(and not to mention hed rip it up in "the new" nhl)

Sundstrom, good pick!:clap:

Just curious. You compare Patrik Sundstrom to Pavel Bure??? Sure he was very talented but that's kind of a stretch. No?

The Scotts are obvious, given the inconsistent state of the defense. But from a forwards standpoint, there's only one answer:

Claude Lemieux.

He'd give the team snarl, he'd give the team a nasty streak, and he'd give the team a ton of goals from either the second line or the checking line. He was a one-of-a-kind player...for many reasons.

Just curious. You compare Patrik Sundstrom to Pavel Bure??? Sure he was very talented but that's kind of a stretch. No?

No...it is easy to forget because it was so long ago.
1. Both careers were ended early
2. a)sundtrom played 9 full ones(he tried to come plack to play 17g 4 goals though)
b)bure played 9 full seasons(not counting lock out, 11g in Panthers, 2 years w/ Rags)
3. Although Bure achieved the highest point total of 110 to PS's 90, Sundstom's numbers were a little more stable always high 70's where as Pavel could have an injury year.

Bottom line they both kicked a$$.....i tend to see them along the lines of similar rather than different. Its to bad both their careers were ended early, Sundstrom could have even been a part of the 95 cup.

No...it is easy to forget because it was so long ago.
1. Both careers were ended early
2. a)sundtrom played 9 full ones(he tried to come plack to play 17g 4 goals though)
b)bure played 9 full seasons(not counting lock out, 11g in Panthers, 2 years w/ Rags)
3. Although Bure achieved the highest point total of 110 to PS's 90, Sundstom's numbers were a little more stable always high 70's where as Pavel could have an injury year.

Bottom line they both kicked a$$.....i tend to see them along the lines of similar rather than different. Its to bad both their careers were ended early, Sundstrom could have even been a part of the 95 cup.

Sundstrom was one of my favorite Devils when he played, he was a good player but not at the same level as Bure. Sundstrom was a good solid player who played both ends of the ice well but he didn't have the talent that Bure had. Bure was more dominant on the ice than Sundstrom was and was a more flashy player. I wish that Sundstrom was around when the Devils won the Cup because he was one of their better players when the Devils were not a top tier team and was deserving to have his name on the Cup.

No...it is easy to forget because it was so long ago.
1. Both careers were ended early
2. a)sundtrom played 9 full ones(he tried to come plack to play 17g 4 goals though)
b)bure played 9 full seasons(not counting lock out, 11g in Panthers, 2 years w/ Rags)
3. Although Bure achieved the highest point total of 110 to PS's 90, Sundstom's numbers were a little more stable always high 70's where as Pavel could have an injury year.

Bottom line they both kicked a$$.....i tend to see them along the lines of similar rather than different. Its to bad both their careers were ended early, Sundstrom could have even been a part of the 95 cup.

Agreed, but he wasn't a consistent goal scorer along the likes of a Pat Verbeek or Stephane Richer. If Richer could have matched his 50+ goal performance he reached twice in Montreal before he came to us, he probably would have been the closest sniper we ever had that could be compared to to a Pavel Bure.

lol, but beggars can't be choosers. I'll take a healthy Sundstrom on this team right now to spark some O.

I would love to have Steve Sullivan back. The first time I saw him play in person I was amazed.

Agreed, but he wasn't a consistent goal scorer along the likes of a Pat Verbeek or Stephane Richer. If Richer could have matched his 50+ goal performance he reached twice in Montreal before he came to us, he probably would have been the closest sniper we ever had that could be compared to to a Pavel Bure.

lol, but beggars can't be choosers. I'll take a healthy Sundstrom on this team right now to spark some O.

I hope his son can make the NHL.

Patrick Sundstrom is still my all-time favorite Devils player, and I still have an authentic Sundstrom 17 green-and-red jersey in my closet. I wore it to every game when I was a season ticket holder in the late 80's.

I hope his son can make the NHL.

Too bad we couldn't get Peter Stastny's son, but Colorado beat us to it. :shakehead

Too bad we couldn't get Peter Stastny's son, but Colorado beat us to it. :shakehead
At least we got J.P. Parise's son :)

At least we got J.P. Parise's son :)

and both of 'em at that. anyone following jordan's progress? he have a shot at being our goalie of the future when marty's riding off into the hall-of-fame sunset?

Comedy Ron Low option.

LarionovIf it could be at any point of the player's career, Larionov of the 1980's would be a pretty darn good guy to have on the team. The Larionov of 2003-04 was well past his prime, but in his days with the Sovet National Team, he was an incredible playmaking center. The KLM Line (along with Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov) and the Green Unit (add Slava Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov as the defensemen) were incredible, and he was a big part of that.