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Favorite veteran player to join the Devils


grcenter47

Veteran players joining the Devils  

43 members have voted

  1. 1. Who was your favorite veteran player to join the NJ Devils?

    • Bernie Nicholls
    • Dave Andreychuk
    • Doug Gilmour
    • Igor Larionov
    • Neal Broten
    • Joe Nieuwendyk
    • Phil Housley
    • Sergei Nemchinov
    • Alexander Mogilny
    • Other


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I was just wondering who was everyone's favorite veteran of all time to join the Devils (midseason or offseason)? and why?

The only reason why I ask because I remember reading an article that stated many veterans liked joining the Devils because they were always in playoff contention and wanted to sign there to hopefully get a shot to get the Stanley Cup. I tried coming up with a list above, but I am sure there are others people can think of as well.

With me, I would have to say I am split between Bernie Nicholls or Dave Andreychuk. Bernie was my first favorite Devil and I always loved Dave Andreychuk as a player.

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Too hard to pick one

I liked Andreychuk...he did a lot to help the team, and he didn't want to leave as soon as possible...like some of the other vets we brought in.

Feel that way about Nieuwendyk too

And I liked A-Mo....he was something the Devils never had before...a real flashy goal scorer.

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Broten seemed like a "What the hell, why not?" kind of move at the time, but he went on a tear offensively the second he put on a Devils jersey.

For me, it was Gilmour, though he never quite lived up to what I was hoping for once he got here (though the offense went on an immediate tear when he first came to the Devils). I was listening to the WFAN, and John Davidson was on, when right in the middle of his interview he suddenly said, "and the Devils just got Doug Gilmour"...I was like, "Yessssssssssssssssssssssssss!"...I couldn't have been more thrilled.

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I voted for Killer, but Nieuwendyk & Mogilny are close seconds..

..though he never was meant to be more than anything but a back-up insurance policy, I absolutely freaked when we traded for Vanbiesbrouck. As a teenager in the 90's (and with the influx of American hockey) I grew up idolizing guys like Richter, Barrasso, and Vanbiesbrouck. Although it was during the twilight of his career, to see Beezer play for the Devils in any capacity was very special for me.

EDIT: Honorable mention.. Shanny's farewell tour. :D

Edited by Beezer34
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When is a player a veteran for this poll? My vote has to be for Scott Stevens.

I think we forget he was a 9 year vet before coming to the Devils for 13 years.

Good point, though I was taking the poll to mean deadline deals and in-season trades. I remember being so shocked when I read in the paper that Stevens had been awarded to the Devils...though I'm pretty sure no one was more shocked than Stevens himself...was he PISSED!

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I voted Mogilny. I thought he filled a spot that the team very much needed at the time. Solid second line scoring with Mogilny was huge, in my opinion. Although now, looking at the numbers, it doesn't appear that he contributed too many points in the playoffs that year.

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Turner Stevenson. He quietly played a solid game and was a big part of our cup year. Very physical and good leader. Loved the Madden-Pandolfo-Stevenson unit and to this day one of my favorite 4th lines that had a little bit of everything in 03...Brylin-Rheaume-Stevenson.

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Good point, though I was taking the poll to mean deadline deals and in-season trades. I remember being so shocked when I read in the paper that Stevens had been awarded to the Devils...though I'm pretty sure no one was more shocked than Stevens himself...was he PISSED!

I would think that, but the question was "I was just wondering who was everyone's favorite veteran of all time to join the Devils (midseason or offseason)?"

Off this list, I'd go with Mogilny... but I'd go with Arnott, Langenbrunner...

If we're talking short term; Let's go Joe Nieuwendyk

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I voted Mogilny. I thought he filled a spot that the team very much needed at the time. Solid second line scoring with Mogilny was huge, in my opinion. Although now, looking at the numbers, it doesn't appear that he contributed too many points in the playoffs that year.

That was his tendency in both playoff years. It was not like his scoring went down, he just disappeared.

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Nieuwy. The leadership on the '03 cup team helps a lot. Also, and I know this is stupid, the first stick I played with was a Nieuwendyk Hespeller, and I loved that stick (even though it was stiff as all hell).

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It did not work out, but Doug Gilmour.

I still remember the day that trade was done and how excited we were. The papers were all making references to Happy Gilmour the next day after the trade was done.

After years of seeing the Rags get star player after star player, it really felt like the Devils have finally become a big player. I know with the cup in 95 we arrived, but I remember my brother and his friends teasing me about how the Devils won it with a bunch of nobodies (wouldn't that make the accomplishment even more amazing then?). With Gilmour, now we had a big name to put up there and shove in their faces.

I did also feel at the time that Gilmour was only going to be short-term. Did anyone else feel that way too? I really don't think any Devils fan figured he would be here for the rest of his career or anything long-term.

It's not stupid.

And Joe was a terrific acquisition, and it's really too bad that he got hurt during the Cup run.

As much as I admire Nieuwendyk as a player, I still get the impression after all this time that he never wanted to be here. He still put on his best face though so I have to give him credit for that.

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I would think that, but the question was "I was just wondering who was everyone's favorite veteran of all time to join the Devils (midseason or offseason)?"

Off this list, I'd go with Mogilny... but I'd go with Arnott, Langenbrunner...

If we're talking short term; Let's go Joe Nieuwendyk

No, you're right, I missed that part...yeah, strange to leave Stevens off such a list, though maybe the OP was trying to avoid a landslide vote.

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yea i was having trouble wording it but I was just mostly looking for everyone's favorite veteran player who was acquired midseason or offseason

once i started compiling the list, i began to notice that the amount of players would be big (Stevens, Langs...etc)

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I still remember the day that trade was done and how excited we were. The papers were all making references to Happy Gilmour the next day after the trade was done.

After years of seeing the Rags get star player after star player, it really felt like the Devils have finally become a big player. I know with the cup in 95 we arrived, but I remember my brother and his friends teasing me about how the Devils won it with a bunch of nobodies (wouldn't that make the accomplishment even more amazing then?). With Gilmour, now we had a big name to put up there and shove in their faces.

I did also feel at the time that Gilmour was only going to be short-term. Did anyone else feel that way too? I really don't think any Devils fan figured he would be here for the rest of his career or anything long-term.

As much as I admire Nieuwendyk as a player, I still get the impression after all this time that he never wanted to be here. He still put on his best face though so I have to give him credit for that.

The whole Gilmour thing was strange...first, from what I remember, Andreychuk and Gilmour didn't play together nearly as much as I was expecting them to...they were terrific together in Toronto, as many will recall. It was almost as if Lemaire was having an "Airplane!" moment, and was saying "That's just what they'll be EXPECTING us to do!"

What was clearly a bit sad was that it became obvious that Gilmour was clearly on the decline once he came to the Devils...had he shown more in his brief time here, I think Lou would've tried to bring him back, but once the Blackhawks overpaid for him it was pretty much a no-brainer for Lou to let him go...I was bummed when Gilmour left, but that's because I was seeing Gilmour as the 127-point monster he had been as a Maple Leaf, and not what he truly was as a Devil.

One guy who CLEARLY did not want to be here was Broten...from all accounts, he did not like anything about New Jersey, and was even more bitter when Lou basically told him (before letting him go) that he thought Broten's attitude sucked.

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The whole Gilmour thing was strange...first, from what I remember, Andreychuk and Gilmour didn't play together nearly as much as I was expecting them to...they were terrific together in Toronto, as many will recall. It was almost as if Lemaire was having an "Airplane!" moment, and was saying "That's just what they'll be EXPECTING us to do!"

What was clearly a bit sad was that it became obvious that Gilmour was clearly on the decline once he came to the Devils...had he shown more in his brief time here, I think Lou would've tried to bring him back, but once the Blackhawks overpaid for him it was pretty much a no-brainer for Lou to let him go...I was bummed when Gilmour left, but that's because I was seeing Gilmour as the 127-point monster he had been as a Maple Leaf, and not what he truly was as a Devil.

One guy who CLEARLY did not want to be here was Broten...from all accounts, he did not like anything about New Jersey, and was even more bitter when Lou basically told him (before letting him go) that he thought Broten's attitude sucked.

At the time when Gilmour left, the Devils had Holik, Arnott, and Morrison as centers. I don't think they needed Gilmour, nor do I think they had much of an intention to sign him.

More than Broten I think was Steve Thomas - god that guy sucked here.

My favorite pickup was Mogilny, not really close. I don't think I had seen him very much, but someone who had scored 76 goals in a season? Sign me up.

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At the time when Gilmour left, the Devils had Holik, Arnott, and Morrison as centers. I don't think they needed Gilmour, nor do I think they had much of an intention to sign him.

More than Broten I think was Steve Thomas - god that guy sucked here.

My favorite pickup was Mogilny, not really close. I don't think I had seen him very much, but someone who had scored 76 goals in a season? Sign me up.

It was a combo of things for sure...Devils having fairly young centers and depth at that position, Gilmour clearly not being very good anymore.

Don't know if you remember, but Mogilny actually started pretty slow in 2000-01 (after not really scoring much the previous season with the Devils)...I think he had something like 7 goals through the Devils' first 30 GP that season...supposedly Lou was just about to explore trading him, but then he went crazy, scoring 36 goals the rest of the way.

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As much as I admire Nieuwendyk as a player, I still get the impression after all this time that he never wanted to be here. He still put on his best face though so I have to give him credit for that.

I can understand loving Nieuwendyk for his body of work, but as for his time as a Devil, I never got the adoration for the guy.

He had one full season as a Devil, put up a respectable (but not spectacular by any means) 45 points, got hurt when we needed him the most in the playoffs, then left at the first opportunity.

People tend to talk about his great leadership skills, but aside from being a hard worker on the ice (of which the Devils typically had several players like that, especially during that three-Cup heyday), I figured out why I was supposed to be so damn impressed.

Oh well.

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