Bored at work so here I go:
Player: Marty. NHL's All Time Winningest goaltender, all time shutout leader, 3 Cups, tons of awards and medals that I won't bother listing. He IS the franchise. Sucks he couldn't get the elusive Conn Smythe this June. Runner Up: Scotty. Fearless leader. Gutsy warrior. Nothing more to say about that man who will forever live in Devils lore.
Season: 1994-1995. Hard to say otherwise. Bounce back from a deflating end to the 94 campaign, and raise our first Lord Stanley. Runner Up: 1999-2000. Powerhouse team, proved we were for real. Won the Cup, and followed it up with another appearance in the Cup Finals the very next year...only to lose to the Avs and the Ray Bourque MISSION 16W lovefest.
Game: Game 4 1995 Stanley Cup Finals. "THE CHAMPIONSHIP WILL GO TO NEW JERSEY!!!" As a massive underdog, sweep the mighty Wings. Runner Up: Game 6 2000 Cup Finals. Arnott's thriller captures NJ's second championship.
Goal: Game 6 2000 Stanley Cup Finals. Arnott forever immortalized as a franchise hero. Stanley #2 for the Devs. Runner Up: TIE between Elias' goal late in Game 7 of the 2000 ECF vs Flyers and Friesen's goal late in Game 7 of the 2003 ECF vs the Sens. Both were on the road, and absolutely CLUTCH. Both men sent us to a Cup Final, which we won. Huge, huge goals in the history of the franchise. Honorable Mention: Game 6 2012 ECF Adam Henrique sends the Rangers packing, and sends the Devils to the CUP FINALS! Will never forget that one either....
Trade: Tough call, may have to go with the Arnott to Dallas deal which brought us Lags and Nieuwy. Without Jamie we most likely do not win the 2003 Cup. He was a BEAST that postseason. Runner Up: The Friesen to NJ deal for Sykora, IIRC. Jeff was instrumental during the 2003 run as well.
Unsung Hero: Director of Scouting, DAVID CONTE. Look at what he has done over the last 20+ years. Brodeur and Nieds alone could make him the unsung hero. Not to mention all of his other picks. Hate to say the name, but Parise was a steal where we took him. Henrique is looking to shape up into Conte's latest GRAND SLAM selection. Runner Up: Sarge. One of only 5 guys on all 3 Cup winning teams. Played with heart and never put up flashy numbers. Just an excellent guy to have on your squad.
Franchise Villain: I will have to give a tie to Mark Messier and Stephane Matteau. The ghosts of 94 have finally been exorcised this May, but that was painful to live with for nearly 2 decades. Messier always seemed to bring his A game against us, but the guarantee nonsense for Game 6 combined with the Matteau goal in Game 7 makes me want to cry. Thank you ADAM HENRIQUE. THANK YOU!
Coach: JACQUES. Is there a close second? Honorable mention to the late Pat Burns for the incredible 03 run.
Fight: I'll just go with any one of Mike Peluso's lengthy bouts. He had so many, and is my favorite enforcer of my Devils fan career. Krys Oliwa is the second.
Broadcaster: Doc. Obviously
Arena Behavior: Rock and Roll Part 2 after a goal. The "you suck" thing is moronic, and I hope it eventually stops. (I won't hold my breath)
Food: The old Brendan Byrne/CAA tailgate. Nothing like playoff time in May, rolling up to the parking lot and seeing the grills out in full force. The single most missed thing for me from that place. (I also miss getting out of the arena immediately. Who the hell designed the clusterfvck that is Prudential Center in terms of exiting? The architect should be shot)
Arena: Brendan Byrne/CAA. Tough to argue with 3 Championships during our tenure there, including 2 Lord Stanley's hoisted on that ice surface in the SWAMP!
Swag: I guess I'll go with the Cup Champions and retirement night mini banners. Pretty cool to hang them all up and make it look like the rafters of the arena. Honorable mention: Bobbleheads. The old school Brodeur, Stevens, Dano and NJ Devil giveaways from the CAA days were awesome. The Prudential Center era set of Brodeur, Elias, Parise and Lags was decent as well.
Edited by ThreeCups, 09 August 2012 - 10:11 AM.