Daniel Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 http://www.theplayerstribune.com/sheldon-souray-retirement-letter/ Some funny Devils' relevant lines: Lou Lamoriello: Thank you for pulling me into your office when I was an out-of-shape 20-year-old kid at his second New Jersey Devils training camp and saying, “If you ever embarrass this organization again by coming in overweight, you will never pull on a Devils sweater.” That was just the ass-kicking that I needed, and the tone you set for the Devils organization is why it is one of the most respected in hockey. Scott Stevens: Thank you for being the most professional player I’ve ever witnessed. I still can’t believe you jumped in and fought Eric Lindros for me in a freaking preseason game my rookie year. I just wanted to prove to you that I had your back. When I was traded to Montreal in 2000, it was a complete shock. I will never forget that you came to my hotel room and sat and bullsh!tted with me for hours until I had to leave for my flight out. You are the definition of what a captain should be. Jacques Lemaire: Thanks for being the best coach I ever played for, and for developing a system that was so simple and brutally effective. 29 teams fvcking hated the trap. But we won a lot of hockey games with it, and we didn’t have to go over it 100 times a day on the whiteboard. It was always black and white with you, which is the way it should be. Ken Daneyko: What kind of guy gets called into the GM’s office and is told he’s being sent to down to the minors and replies, “No … No, I’m not.” Then goes out for practice and convinces the brass to send somebody else down instead. You’re a legend, King. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William D'Aquila Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Stevens will be a great HC one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RizzMB30 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Stevens will be a great HC one day. Then why isn't he a head coach? Right, the big Penguinization of our once great organization. William asisde, this is an awesome article. I love every single one of those quotes by Souray, a lot of little gems in that article from our history. This is exactly how I imagined Stevens, Lou, and Dano to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil Dan 56 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 (edited) Of course the first response is Beezlebub spinning it to his anti owners bull. Great article. Nice to see how much he respected Lou and Stevens Edited July 11, 2015 by Devil Dan 56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Great stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William D'Aquila Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Then why isn't he a head coach? Right, the big Penguinization of our once great organization. William asisde, this is an awesome article. I love every single one of those quotes by Souray, a lot of little gems in that article from our history. This is exactly how I imagined Stevens, Lou, and Dano to be. Needs experience, but he is already a leader of men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSC Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Love the Daneyko anecdote, further cements our collective need for Dano to write a memoir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil Dan 56 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Needs experience, but he is already a leader of men. Leader and coach are not the same. He lead by example most times. That doesn't mean he can inspire with words or set up winning strategies in the ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 Needs experience, but he is already a leader of men. Messier was as much as a leader as you can get, but there's little indication he'd be a good coach or good executive. And then of course you've had great coaches who never played professional hockey, one of whom happened to be the head coach that won the Cup in 2003. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William D'Aquila Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Leader and coach are not the same. He lead by example most times. That doesn't mean he can inspire with words or set up winning strategies in the ice. He certainly helped Larsson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 (edited) Isn't this why beetlesh!t got suspended last time? He makes this forum practically unreadable. EVERY thread is him with a tin foil cap on and scratching his ballsEvery single one. Literally every thread, he comes in a derails it..Ignore function is totally useless when everyone replies to his nonsense. Maybe he's DM's stupid little nephew or something and his hands are tied as a result. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Edited July 11, 2015 by Devilsfan118 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William D'Aquila Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 What did I say to derail the thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfitz804 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Great article. Maybe the toughest guy named Sheldon ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim777 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Cool article Liked reading the peewee stuff too LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Seems like a very down-to-earth (and also funny) guy. SSDD with beetle...just another troll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'7' Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 The Dano story is a bit curious, unless predated Souray's tenure here and he heard it 2nd hand, and no point during Souray's time in NJ would Dano be in danger of being sent to the minors...unless it was a post injury conditioning stint. Interesting little story on old hard-ass Lou. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonNala370 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Great read, nice guy I enjoyed him as a player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonNala370 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Stevens will be a great HC one day. Where is he now? You need to find a new team to root for, the owners aren't destroying this team, it's history or past players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Eco Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 If Lou doesn't get a mega offer to write a tell-all book after he retires, the sports memoir book industry is doing it wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanity_gallops Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 What did I say to derail the thread? As someone who's been an outsider for months (years?) now and coming back in - I don't see anything you did in this particular thread to derail it. Seems to be carryover from previous arguments and issues coming into this thread, of which I am unaware. It wasn't exactly the most on-topic response in the eyes of many, but I don't think anyone would take offense to the statement, "Wow, Scott Stevens will be a great head coach one day." That aside... I love getting anecdotes like this from players, coaches, GMs, refs, scouts... I can't get enough of legit insights like these that can add some extra spice and personality to the names and faces we already know. And The Players Tribune has had some great hockey articles this past year. Kevin Shattenkirk's take on elite defensemen springs to mind, and Logan Couture's article on elite centers. Fascinating stuff. Thanks for sharing this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'7' Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Stevens will be a great HC one day. They said the same thing about Bryan Trottier and Willie Randolph too. Stevens has never been in high demand as a HC candidate anywhere. And now he's 51 with only one brief co-coaching stint under his belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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