The Devil's Deal

While watching ESPN’s documentary on Tuesday night, Peter Berg’s “Kings Ransom,” I found myself wondering what if a similair situation had come across the Devils brain-trusts’ minds.

In case you did not catch the 60 minute show, the documentary covers nearly every aspect of the unforgettable Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles trade completed on August 9th, 1988. It was very well done and you can’t help but feel the emotions of both team’s general managers, the fans and even The Great One himself.

The wave of emotions felt on all sides is truly remarkable, and again, it got me thinking about if a similar situation would happen to the Devils.

On the active roster, I could only think of two players which would draw the type of notoriety as the Gretzky deal had: Martin Brodeur and Zach Parise. If either player were to be traded at this point in their careers, the community backlash against the team alone, could be astronomical, regardless of the pieces the Devils would receive in return.

Some fans could argue that at the moment, Brodeur being traded based upon his current performance, might not be a bad thing. I’d hesitate to agree simply because without Brodeur, the franchise has an even greater diminished place in the NHL spotlight. If you lose Marty, you lose the crowd and maybe the team.

The same can be true for Zach Parise. The Devils’ leading scorer for the past 2 seasons is undoubtedly the future of the franchise. He is to the team now as Brodeur was in the late 90s and early part of this decade. If he doesn’t go, the rest are standing still.

While it did not come as a result of a trade, but as the end result of a game of chicken, which has ultimately bit the Devils harder than it did the player, only the Scott Neidermayer signing with Anaheim comes as close to as big of a deal for a franchise as the Gretzky deal did to Edmonton.

Not even Bobby Holik nor Scott Gomez jumping ship to go play for the Rangers stung nearly as much as losing Neids did prior to the first year after the lockout. Losing Neidermayer left a gaping hole on the Devils’ blue line that the team’s general manager Lou Lamoriello, is still struggling to fill.

Couple the Neids signing with the retirement of Scott Stevens, and the loss is felt even greater. The physical and offensive presence on the backline was no longer there, and you can feel a sense of emptiness when thinking of what used to be and what there is now.

What was once one of the most dominant defensive corps of the NHL, has now become a rag-tag group of a pair of top-teir defensemen, a pair of middle of the road players, a handful of players who might not crack the lineup on even the weakest NHL teams, and one player who has not been the same since narrowly avoiding losing an eye almost 3 seasons ago.

To compare the loss Scott Neidermayer to the loss of Wayne Gretzky may seem outrageous, but it is the best example of how great an impact losing one player can have on a franchise.

In Edmonton’s case, however, they were able to rebound 2 seasons later, and return to the pinnacle of the NHL, proving that they could, if for just one season, overcome the loss.

We’re still waiting for that type of recovery to happen in New Jersey.