Langenbrunner retires

[Marshall]

Per Twitter. Hate how it ended, appreciated him while he was here.

 

 

Interesting to see where this ends up.

[2ELIAS6]

was one of my favorites for a long time.. have a good retirement jamie

[devils102]

Prototypical Devils player in my opinion. Too bad it ended the way it did. But he was great in the 2003 cup run.

[Devilsfan118]

And here I was hoping for a reunion tour.

 

Will always respect and appreciate what he did in the 03 cup run.

 

He sure left as a whiny bitch though, man oh man.

[MadDog2020]

Enjoy retirement Langs. All the best.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Most of his career here was good.  Had his best seasons here, definitely surpassed expectations on a number of occasions.  Devils don't win the 2003 Cup without him.  Ended ugly, real ugly, but sh!t happens.  385 points in 564 GP as a Devil.  Best of luck to him.   

[Devil Dan 56]

I have the same thoughts as pretty much everyone else. Great Devil, 2003 Cup doesn't happen without him, great mentor and leader. Sadly, it ended ugly here.

[Aznjsn]

Good ol ZZPops seems like a distant memory, but good career for him. Happy Retirement Langenbrunner!

[DJ Eco]

Looking back (Monday morning quaterbacking, I know), our last good captain... Enjoy retirement, Jamie!

[ThreeCups]

I have the same thoughts as pretty much everyone else. Great Devil, 2003 Cup doesn't happen without him, great mentor and leader. Sadly, it ended ugly here.

 

 

Will always remember Lags for the monster 2003 Cup run

 

He was a complete animal for that whole playoffs

 

Man I love that 03 team

[devilsrule33]

Most of his career here was good.  Had his best seasons here, definitely surpassed expectations on a number of occasions.  Devils don't win the 2003 Cup without him.  Ended ugly, real ugly, but sh!t happens.  385 points in 564 GP as a Devil.  Best of luck to him.   

 

Did it really end that ugly? He wanted out and hated Lemaire.  But so did most of the players. It was a bad coach/captain relationship. He asked for a trade. sh!t does happen, but not sure if there is any hostilities between Lou and Langenbrunner. If there is...then maybe it did end ugly. I do remember that right after he was traded, he hosted the entire team for the Super Bowl party and many Devils have spoken glowingly about him since then. Whatever happened, it didn't bother his teammates.

 

I doubt it ended any worse than when Pandolfo was scratched in the playoffs by text message day of game and told to dress with the rookies in the practice locker room. He was bought out during the off-season.

 

Moving on...loved Jamie as a Devil. Incredible 2003 playoffs -- 2 goals in game 7 against Ottawa. Part of an excellent line with Zajac and Parise for multiple years. Lot of awesome moments. 

Edited January 15, 2014 by devilsrule33

[mfitz804]

I didn't really recall an ugly end either. 

[thefiestygoat]

One of my favorite Devils. Always remember how shocked I was when the Devils got him because it meant giving up Arnott and McKay so I was a bit sad at first. However, Langenbrunner quickly grew on me for his dedication. Always going to remember his monster 2003 playoff run.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Did it really end that ugly? He wanted out and hated Lemaire.  But so did most of the players. It was a bad coach/captain relationship. He asked for a trade. sh!t does happen, but not sure if there is any hostilities between Lou and Langenbrunner. If there is...then maybe it did end ugly. I do remember that right after he was traded, he hosted the entire team for the Super Bowl party and many Devils have spoken glowingly about him since then. Whatever happened, it didn't bother his teammates.

 

I doubt it ended any worse than when Pandolfo was scratched in the playoffs by text message day of game and told to dress with the rookies in the practice locker room. He was bought out during the off-season.

 

Moving on...loved Jamie as a Devil. Incredible 2003 playoffs -- 2 goals in game 7 against Ottawa. Part of an excellent line with Zajac and Parise for multiple years. Lot of awesome moments. 

 

So did it end pretty then?

 

Anyway, my point with the "sh!t happens" comments is that I don't hold any of how it ended here for him against him, or judge him on it.  A lot of Devils fans were killing him at the time, calling him a cancer (among other things).  I was one of the fans defending him at the time, based on his track record.  We'll never know the full story, but things clearly soured for him here.        

[grcenter47]

One of my favorite Devils. Always remember how shocked I was when the Devils got him because it meant giving up Arnott and McKay so I was a bit sad at first. However, Langenbrunner quickly grew on me for his dedication. Always going to remember his monster 2003 playoff run.

 

i had the same reaction hahaha..... i was in NY to see some opera that was required by my college class and there was an electronic scrolling marquee that gave the news. i remember looking at it and it said the DEVILS ACQUIRED LANGENBRUNNER and NIEUWENDYK via trade. My mouth dropped hhaha

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

i had the same reaction hahaha..... i was in NY to see some opera that was required by my college class and there was an electronic scrolling marquee that gave the news. i remember looking at it and it said the DEVILS ACQUIRED LANGENBRUNNER and NIEUWENDYK via trade. My mouth dropped hhaha

 

I was actually pissed when I heard it on the WFAN...I was like "WTF?!"  What was interesting about it, looking back, is that Lou thought the '01-'02 team was probably broken beyond repair and couldn't be turned around as is (especially since Marty and others apparently weren't fond of Kevin Constantine, despite the fact that they had a pretty good record under him once he replaced Larry Robinson)...I don't think he thought that team had another deep run in them.  I think he was already looking to '02-'03. 

[Devils Pride 26]

I was actually pissed when I heard it on the WFAN...I was like "WTF?!"  What was interesting about it, looking back, is that Lou thought the '01-'02 team was probably broken beyond repair and couldn't be turned around as is (especially since Marty and others apparently weren't fond of Kevin Constantine, despite the fact that they had a pretty good record under him once he replaced Larry Robinson)...I don't think he thought that team had another deep run in them.  I think he was already looking to '02-'03. 

I remember I was 8 years old coming home from soccer practice and my dad telling me in the car. I think it was one of the first times cursing. The thought of Arnott leaving seemed so impossible to my eight year old self.

[devilsrule33]

So did it end pretty then?

 

Anyway, my point with the "sh!t happens" comments is that I don't hold any of how it ended here for him against him, or judge him on it.  A lot of Devils fans were killing him at the time, calling him a cancer (among other things).  I was one of the fans defending him at the time, based on his track record.  We'll never know the full story, but things clearly soured for him here.        

 

I just don't remember it being that ugly. Did Langs throw a grenade at the organization when he left? I don't think so. To me...that's when it gets really ugly.

 

What did get ugly was so much of the fanbase taking out all their frustrations of a sh!tty collapse and next season on one guy. That wasn't fair at all. Could he have handled things better? I'd say probably, but it also wasn't that bad. He quietly asked for a trade in the off-season. I forgot how that came out in the end.

 

I'm with you on the sh!t happens. It just goes to show how sh!tty players have it. People talk about players being loyal or not loyal, but fans rarely show loyalty themselves. We don't get to know what happens behind the scenes. The fact that the end of his career here could make fans sour on what was a great career in Jersey...well it flat out sucks.

 

EDIT: He was asked to waive his no trade clause in the off-season.. Thanks DD56. 

Edited January 15, 2014 by devilsrule33

[Devil Dan 56]

I didn't really recall an ugly end either. 

 

Just for the sake of history, it did get pretty bad. He spent over a year moping, especially after Kovalchuk showed up. He played like he didn't care, most glaringly in the playoffs against Philly in 2010. He just wasn't happy here anymore, hated Lemaire, and didn't do much to hide how miserable he was. He reportedly refused to waive his no-trade in the summer of 2010. The team was awful, Lemaire came back, and 3 weeks later, Langs was gone. There were other things, like he reportedly refused to go out for a shootout. It's a shame, especially considering the run we went on when he came in and Lemaire left.

 

It became a constant joke here about him always complaining on and off the ice.

 

But that makes up a small portion of his time here, and I find it better to focus on the good times, like 2003 and ZZPops.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I just don't remember it being that ugly. Did Langs throw a grenade at the organization when he left? I don't think so. To me...that's when it gets really ugly.

 

What did get ugly was so much of the fanbase taking out all their frustrations of a sh!tty collapse and next season on one guy. That wasn't fair at all. Could he have handled things better? I'd say probably, but it also wasn't that bad. He quietly asked for a trade in the off-season. I forgot how that came out in the end.

 

I'm with you on the sh!t happens. It just goes to show how sh!tty players have it. People talk about players being loyal or not loyal, but fans rarely show loyalty themselves. We don't get to know what happens behind the scenes. The fact that the end of his career here could make fans sour on what was a great career in Jersey...well it flat out sucks.

 

I think most fans have gotten past how things ended, and if they were pissed at Langs before, they're not now.  I think most fans now see his contributions and everything he did while he was here and realize whatever went wrong at the end pales in comparison to all that went right.  And sadly, he was one of those guys who seemed to lose it very quickly. 

 

 

Just for the sake of history, it did get pretty bad. He spent over a year moping, especially after Kovalchuk showed up. He played like he didn't care, most glaringly in the playoffs against Philly in 2010. He just wasn't happy here anymore, hated Lemaire, and didn't do much to hide how miserable he was. He reportedly refused to waive his no-trade in the summer of 2010. The team was awful, Lemaire came back, and 3 weeks later, Langs was gone. There were other things, like he reportedly refused to go out for a shootout. It's a shame, especially considering the run we went on when he came in and Lemaire left.

 

It became a constant joke here about him always complaining on and off the ice.

 

But that makes up a small portion of his time here, and I find it better to focus on the good times, like 2003 and ZZPops.

 

I remember that too, the 2010 playoff sleepwalk, what seemed like general unhappiness near the end, and him invoking his no-trade that summer.  The latter I don't hold against him...I've always felt that if GMs deep-down don't want players to invoke their no-trades, they shouldn't offer them in the first place.  I know GMs often get so desperate to sign someone that they often throw in the no-trade to make the deal happen, but guess what?  If that decision comes back to haunt you, it's not the player's fault...it's on the GM. 

Edited January 15, 2014 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[mouse]

IMO Langs time isn't easy to capture. The great moments (most of the time, especially '03 and ZZPops, in a big way after Marty got hurt) were really great, but the last year or so was really bad, made worse because he was the captain. In the end, I can't ignore either. He was one of my favorite Devils for a long time, but he'll never be one of my all time favorites again. I still wish him the best, and I'm grateful for all he did right.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

It doesn't seem likely that it will ever happen, but I would like to see a "Ring of Fire" someday (many have suggested this), for memorable Devils.  Guys like MacLean (the player), Langs, Pandolfo, Madden, Richer, Muller, Rafalski, Brylin.  Clearly none of those guys will ever see their numbers up in the rafters with 4, 3, 27, 30 and 26, but it'd still be cool to see them get their due, in a way that people my age can take our kids to see some exhibits and tell them about guys that were also an important part of the Devils' past.   

Edited January 15, 2014 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Devil Dan 56]

 

 

 

 

I remember that too, the 2010 playoff sleepwalk, what seemed like general unhappiness near the end, and him invoking his no-trade that summer.  The latter I don't hold against him...I've always felt that if GMs deep-down don't want players to invoke their no-trades, they shouldn't offer them in the first place.  I know GMs often get so desperate to sign someone that they often throw in the no-trade to make the deal happen, but guess what?  If that decision comes back to haunt you, it's not the player's fault...it's on the GM. 

 

I agree on the no-trade. I'm not a fan of them. A GM willing to give one out probably wouldn't trade a player that means that much to them without asking the player first anyway. They tend to just screw the next GM that inherits the contract. Of course, if he was that unhappy, I don't know why he would refuse to leave. Maybe the team Lou had lined up wasn't somewhere he wanted to go? We'll never know.

[devilsrule33]

I agree on the no-trade. I'm not a fan of them. A GM willing to give one out probably wouldn't trade a player that means that much to them without asking the player first anyway. They tend to just screw the next GM that inherits the contract. Of course, if he was that unhappy, I don't know why he would refuse to leave. Maybe the team Lou had lined up wasn't somewhere he wanted to go? We'll never know.

 

I think Lemaire retired right after the season, so Jamie thought he could have a fresh start with a new head coach. 

[Devil Dan 56]

It doesn't seem likely that it will ever happen, but I would like to see a "Ring of Fire" someday (many have suggested this), for memorable Devils.  Guys like MacLean (the player), Langs, Pandolfo, Madden, Richer, Muller, Rafalski, Brylin.  Clearly none of those guys will ever see their numbers up in the rafters with 4, 3, 27, 30 and 26, but it'd still be cool to see them get their due, in a way that people my age can take our kids to see some exhibits and tell them about guys that were also an important part of the Devils' past.   

 

It really would be nice to have a little area in the arena for that, with some photos or plaques.

I think Lemaire retired right after the season, so Jamie thought he could have a fresh start with a new head coach. 

 

Good call, you're right, he did retire. That definitely would be a big reason for him to stay.