A Little Perspective

[devilsrule33]

Tonight in the NBA, perhaps the greatest franchise going in professional sports advanced to the NBA finals (its the Spurs). A lot of people are talking about (and rightfully so), the relationship between Head Coach Greg Popovich and Tim Duncan. They are back in the NBA finals for the second straight year and 15 years from the first time they made the Finals in 1999. It's a very special and unique relationship in the sporting landscape.

 

It got me thinking about the Devils. Now, it hasn't been the same coach for 15 years, although Lemaire was around 18 years apart on his 3rd different stint with the team, but the Lamoriello-Brodeur relationship made the finals 17 years apart from 1995 to 2012. Pretty insane when teams change goalies every year and switch GMs every three years. Pretty insane any way you look at it. As the Rangers made the Finals 20 years from their last title, what's their last connection, Messier in 2004? And even that was after he left for a few seasons. When the Canucks got back to the Finals 17 years later, you couldn't find link a thing between the two. That's fine, and that's the norm.

 

So, I guess while we talk about Lou losing his fastball and his inability to realize where Brodeur is in his career..and my goodness I am as guilty as anyone about that, these guys together made the Stanley Cup Finals 17 fvcking years apart. That's incredible. While it bugs me to no end now, when I step away and think about it, well I guess I can see why Lou is still enamored with Marty. It's a long history together, a very special relationship in sports and a lot of success.  Really transcends anything we see in sports other than the aforementioned Spurs. Between those two Cup Finals, there have been 3 other Finals and two Stanley Cup wins.

 

While times might suck right now, especially for those dealing with Rangers fans and the Rangers success, we've had it so damn good for two decades. And Brodeur and Lamoriello have been the constants through it all.

Edited June 4, 2014 by devilsrule33

[HellOnICE]

Very true. But unlike Rangers fans still talking about 1994 ad nauseum, a lot of Devils fans want to move on.

[2ELIAS6]

i think thats the problem for a lot of use devils fans.. the team has been solid for so long and now theyre not very good.. its hard to deal with because you become spoiled.. especially when you start to see some of the other teams that have sucked for so long (rangers) now having success

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

dr33, I think most people appreciate Lou and Marty, and their body of work, even if it doesn't always seem like it.  Anyone who's watched sports for many years knows that for fading superstars, it rarely ends gracefully, and for GMs who've been on the job for multiple decades, it's almost impossible to avoid a downturn. 

 

You'll always have the second-guessers and sniveling complainers and fans who think they have all of the answers, especially among those who've known nothing but winning. 

 

Anyway, clearly they've had a phenomenal run together (all one has to do is look at the Flyers and all of the goalies they've tried out during Marty's career), but in Marty's case, it's definitely time to move on, and for Lou, I really hope he shows some creativity this offseason, because I think the team needs him to...in other words, don't bring back Brian Gionta. 

[slasher72]

Clearly they've had a phenomenal run together (all one has to do is look at the Flyers and all of the goalies they've tried out during Marty's career), but in Marty's case, it's definitely time to move on, and for Lou, I really hope he shows some creativity this offseason, because I think the team needs him to...in other words, don't bring back Brian Gionta.

+1 it's obvious we all appreciate what Lou and Marty have done...it's a tremendous accomplishment. But Lou has to stop this love affair for all things ex-devils and get with today's NHL. Ever since the lockout Lou has seemed to be one step behind.

As for Marty he's HOF without question but we can't afford to lose Schneider. I say invite Marty into the organization at either a coaching or management level and get the process of keeping Schneider here long term into full gear.

[Triumph]

Nice piece dr33, and yeah, it ia virtually unheard of.  What Tim Duncan is doing is incredible.  What Brodeur did in 2012 was also pretty incredible.

 

+1 it's obvious we all appreciate what Lou and Marty have done...it's a tremendous accomplishment. But Lou has to stop this love affair for all things ex-devils and get with today's NHL. Ever since the lockout Lou has seemed to be one step behind.

As for Marty he's HOF without question but we can't afford to lose Schneider. I say invite Marty into the organization at either a coaching or management level and get the process of keeping Schneider here long term into full gear.

 

The Devils used one player that was an ex-Devil and returned to the organization last year, that was Cam Janssen.  He's going to run out of ex-Devils very soon because the team hasn't drafted all that well in the last 10 years and there's a lot fewer ex-Devils floating around the league.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Triumph

[DJ Eco]

Lou and Marty have done a lot for each other over the years, an immeasurable amount. You can see this is evident through Marty's hometown discounts he gave Lou and his last "legacy contract" that Lou gave him. I remember him saying something this year that Marty had all the qualities you look for in a son. Super interesting and revealing soundbyte there for sure.

[point]

+1 All of the above.

[Onddeck]

i actually might have to disagree with this thread.. I wouldn't necessarily say Marty and Lou made it "together."  Theres no way the relationship between a coach and a GM can be that similar.  Just look at Pop- he has spent time with Duncan every day of the season for the last two decades (almost).  that relationship is as solid as any, a very personal and professional relationship. 

 

I just feel like you're trying to force the connection

[devilsrule33]

i actually might have to disagree with this thread.. I wouldn't necessarily say Marty and Lou made it "together."  Theres no way the relationship between a coach and a GM can be that similar.  Just look at Pop- he has spent time with Duncan every day of the season for the last two decades (almost).  that relationship is as solid as any, a very personal and professional relationship. 

 

I just feel like you're trying to force the connection

 

I'm not saying the Brodeur-Lamoriello relationship is the same as Pop-Duncan, and if it is...I doubt we'll ever know since Lou is a private guy, and there are probably few witnesses to their relationship unlike a Coach-Player relationship or any relationship that doesn't involve Lou (basically, you won't see an article like this written: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10955188/gregg-popovichtim-duncan-stories)

 

My point was just there is clearly a special relationship, and their success together spanned about 17-18 seasons. That's a lot of years where Brodeur knew Lou would build a winner and Lou felt very comfortable in nets. It's easy for us to say that Lou should pull a Ted Thompson with Brett Favre and Kick Marty aside, but Lou has been there with Marty from day 1. When Lou won Stanley Cups, he did it with the great goaltending from Brodeur. So, it's a unique relationship in sports, and one where the right answer or the easy decision isn't so easy, and we have to remember that. If it's Lou being blinded by the past or his admiration for Brodeur being an issue...it's more complicated than other things.

 

My other point was just to admire the stability and success this franchise has had in some positions. While many were raving about the Spurs longevity...the Devils were right there if not greater (unless the Spurs win the title this season). I'll disagree with your comment because Brodeur and Lou definitely made it together.

Edited June 4, 2014 by devilsrule33

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I'm not saying the Brodeur-Lamoriello relationship is the same as Pop-Duncan, and if it is...I doubt we'll ever know since Lou is a private guy, and there are probably few witnesses to their relationship unlike a Coach-Player relationship or any relationship that doesn't involve Lou (basically, you won't see an article like this written: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10955188/gregg-popovichtim-duncan-stories)

 

My point was just there is clearly a special relationship, and their success together spanned about 17-18 seasons. That's a lot of years where Brodeur knew Lou would build a winner and Lou felt very comfortable in nets. It's easy for us to say that Lou should pull a Ted Thompson with Brett Favre and Kick Marty aside, but Lou has been there with Marty from day 1. When Lou won Stanley Cups, he did it with the great goaltending from Brodeur. So, it's a unique relationship in sports, and one where the right answer or the easy decision isn't so easy, and we have to remember that. If it's Lou being blinded by the past or his admiration for Brodeur being an issue...it's more complicated than other things.

 

My other point was just to admire the stability and success this franchise has had in some positions. While many were raving about the Spurs longevity...the Devils were right there if not greater (unless the Spurs win the title this season). I'll disagree with your comment because Brodeur and Lou definitely made it together.

 

There is definitely a special relationship between Marty and Lou (this is made pretty clear in Marty's book).  I think the turning point came when Marty canned his agent and started negotiating his contracts mano a mano with Lou.  Marty's first big contract negotiation (after the '95 Cup, with Gilles Lupien representing him) got ugly (he was a holdout), and I remember Marty saying something to the effect of that he would never sign another contract with the Devils.  He clearly got over it by the time he was due for his next contract, but as anyone who read the book knows, Lou didn't...he basically told Marty he refused to deal with Lupien again.  Think about that...in a way, Lou was being a complete dick here...Lupien was doing his job in trying to get his client the best deal, and Marty actually would've been justified in thinking to himself "WTF, who the hell is Lou to tell me he won't deal with my agent?"  There are definitely certain players who would've taken major offense to such a thing.  For Marty to bypass his agent (which caused them to go their separate ways, as Lupien was furious with Marty for what he had done) and simply reach a deal with Lou face-to-face, I think Lou probably respected that a lot (though Lou did kind of bully Marty into it).

 

Though Lou and Marty clearly enjoyed a lot of winning years together, it remains Jacques Lemaire who brought in the blueprint for winning in the first place.  Lou tried a number of coaches prior to '93-'94 (during this time, despite having a pretty nice collection of talent, the Devils were often roughly .500 and middle-of-the-pack in GF and GA, which illustrated that they didn't really have an identity yet), and though it's largely been forgotten, he thought Herb Brooks ('92-'93) was going to be the Jacques Lemaire of the Devils...Brooks had coached the Utica farm team in '91-'92 in preparation.  As those who watched the Devils during the '92-'93 season know, Brooks was a loose-tongued loose cannon, and it was obvious by the end of his one and only season as the Devils' head coach that he was simply not the right man for the job.  I strongly suspect that, at the time, Lemaire was Lou's last chance...if the Devils had not shown significant progress quickly, I think McMullen would've shown Lou the door.  McMullen was already uttering little blurbs here and there in the press that he wasn't really happy with the job Lou had been doing prior to Lemaire's arrival ("Is Lou THE judge on hockey talent?  NO!").  

Edited June 4, 2014 by Colorado Rockies 1976