The Marty Night thread

[mfitz804]

 

Is it me or does it always seem like Rangers fans go out and get a fresh haircut before every Devils-Rangers game? I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's something I've noticed for years, like 80% of the Rangers fans at a Devils-Rangers game of a certain age ( at MSG.

Exactly. There's no way #26 isn't retired. I don't think there's anyone else thus far who warrants retirement. But let's hope some of our boys have epic careers and 15-20 years down the line, there's more worthy candidates. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

 

You show me one person who says Elias doesn't deserve to have his jersey retired, and I'll show you one person who doesn't deserve to call themselves a Devils fan.

He's the most productive player in Devils history and it's not like he's the leader in a meh-ish kind of way...over 1200 GP and 1000 points.  He's a guy that doesn't even have to have a case made for him, so I'll just stop here. 

After Elias...who knows?  Maybe Greene in a Daneyko kind of way (it's still early, but he could wind up with 1000 GP as a Devil if he continues to be an iron man), but that conversation can't be started for several years...right now it's clearly a no.  To suggest anyone else (like Schneider) would be just throwing names out there at this point.

And I agree, if you start retiring guys like Brylin, then it starts cheapening the whole retirement thing.  I like Brylin a lot, and it's great that he was part of the Three Cup crowd and made contributions, but you gotta draw the line somewhere...if you retire his number, then I think you can start to make a case for MacLean/Langenbrunner...and though I don't agree with this at all, suddenly guys like Holik and Gomez seem less outlandish, and that's what I'd rather not see...cases being made for maybes.  Let this honor be for THE most deserving players only.  Make sure every player on the list is 100% non-disputable.

Edited February 11, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[GIANTS79]

 

So Elias is the the next natural choice to have his number retired, but who would be after that? I really think it should be Sergei Brylin.

I can't wait to see #26 up there too.  It's hard to say for the rest.  Personally I would love to see a banner for Lou and Doc Emrick (Doc's has the devils logo, a microphone, his name, and years there, the Lakers did this for Chick Hearn and it looks amazing at Staples, Doc has the same type of importance to the Devils that Chick had for the Lakers.  Lou would have his name/devils logo/years there and maybe total wins, 5 conference titles and 3 cups listed on the banner (of course have both as sga's too)

As far as old devils, I was always such a huge fan of Claude Lemieux.  It's too bad he left after 95 (not only did that possibly cost the devils a cup, but I wish he finished his career with the devils from the early 90's until he retired.  He would have been a no brainer, but his leaving in that 5 year gap and also leaving again after the 2000 cup hurt his chances.

John Mclaine was also a special devil and had one of the most important goals in devils history.  Those are 2 that I would have strongly considered.

Parise and Kov would have had a chance if they both didn't screw the devils over a few years ago and finished their careers in NJ, now no way on both and no fan would want to see it anyway.  Almost all fans hate those 2 now, as do I.

as far as guys on the team now, I think Henrique and Schneider have a chance if they play the rest of their careers in NJ and continue to play on the level they have.  I would only want to see #14 and #35 there though if they both play at least another 8 to 10 years with NJ, continue to be as productive as they have been and also win a cup.  I think the Devils should only retire jerseys from players that win a cup with them.  But I think #35 is an amazing goalie and hopefully he'll keep this up another 8 plus years and will actually get goal support one day so the devils can get on a run with him and #14 already has huge big time goals just like Elias, Lemieux and Mclane have had in years past.

['7']

 

He's the most productive player in Devils history and it's not like he's the leader in a meh-ish kind of way...over 1200 GP and 1000 points.  He's a guy that doesn't even have to have a case made for him, so I'll just stop here. 

After Elias...who knows?  Maybe Greene in a Daneyko kind of way (it's still early, but he could wind up with 1000 GP as a Devil if he continues to be an iron man), but that conversation can't be started for several years...right now it's clearly a no.  To suggest anyone else (like Schneider) would be just throwing names out there at this point.

And I agree, if you start retiring guys like Brylin, then it starts cheapening the whole retirement thing.  I like Brylin a lot, and it's great that he was part of the Three Cup crowd and made contributions, but you gotta draw the line somewhere...if you retire his number, then I think you can start to make a case for MacLean/Langenbrunner...and though I don't agree with this at all, suddenly guys like Holik and Gomez seem less outlandish, and that's what I'd rather not see...cases being made for maybes.  Let this honor be for THE most deserving players only.  Make sure every player on the list is 100% non-disputable.

Greene overall will retire as a better overall player than Daneyko but will not be loved/remembered by the fans (he's not an original Devil either...I mean Dano was here wearing Rockies gear in his first training camp before the Devils uni's were even ready) plus he hasn't had 3 Cups and 4 trips to the finals. Overall I think he'll end up in the somewhat forgotten/under appreciated pile like Aaron Broten and Randy McKay.

MacLean would have have that number hanging there right now if he didn't throw his "trade me" sh!t fit.

[Satans Hockey]

Elias is gonna be the last for a very long time. This is why I've always liked the ring of fire idea or taking a spot on the main concourse where you can celebrate the players who meant a lot to us but weren't retired number worthy. 

There is a lot they could do with this, players face on a wall, maybe tvs showing clips of all these players, etc etc. They have the room and capabilities to do it but I just don't see it happening. 

[Daniel]

After Elias, the only possible number retirement I see would be Schneider.  I don't even think they need to win the Cup while he's here.  Maybe so long as he continues to be a top five goalie for the length of his contract and maybe a few years after that.  That's the sort of career that gets you into the Hall of Fame, which usually results in your number being retired.

The only thing that might change matters is if the Devils go on a run of success like '94 through '09.  Whoever the owners are at that point might decide to be like the Yankees and retire the numbers of almost anyone that contributed to that success.

[Daniel]

 

 

MacLean would have have that number hanging there right now if he didn't throw his "trade me" sh!t fit.

I really don't think so.  By the time the Devils started really winning, he was very meh.  And he didn't have the same cache as someone like Mattingly -- who's best years were behind him when the Yankees started winning again -- had to the Yankees who in his prime was one of the best players in baseball.  Plus, when it comes to retiring numbers, the Yankees make the Rangers look like a model of restraint.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

 

Greene overall will retire as a better overall player than Daneyko but will not be loved/remembered by the fans (he's not an original Devil either...I mean Dano was here wearing Rockies gear in his first training camp before the Devils uni's were even ready) plus he hasn't had 3 Cups and 4 trips to the finals. Overall I think he'll end up in the somewhat forgotten/under appreciated pile like Aaron Broten and Randy McKay.

MacLean would have have that number hanging there right now if he didn't throw his "trade me" sh!t fit.

Right now Greene for me is a no.  I think it would take him playing in at least 1000 games and for him to be a part of at least one Cup winner to feel differently.  Dano was a special case in a lot of ways, and you illustrated why...original Devil, here for the slow rise to the glory days, played in a ton of games and played them all as a Devil, ultimate lunchpail guy, etc.  Greene might just wind up being a guy who was here for most or all of his career and seemed to be here forever, for mostly mehish kind of seasons...a little like Teppo Numinen with Winnipeg/Phoenix. 

It's like I said...any names we throw out there are just that...names being thrown out there.  As it stands in 2016, no current Devil outside of Elias is a serious candidate to have his number retired.  Too many uncertainties at this point. 

[SterioDesign]

hopefully Zacha is our next one lol 

[BlueSkirt]

 

You show me one person who says Elias doesn't deserve to have his jersey retired, and I'll show you one person who doesn't deserve to call themselves a Devils fan.

That would be me.  

Elias is fantastic as a player & person.  However, I suspect that one day all of his team records, especially the cumulative ones, will be surpassed by yet another great Devil.  My perspective is that at one other point in time, Johnny MacLean was the greatest Devil to date, and could've had his jersey number retired.  Today I do not think there are many people who would consider retiring # 15.

[MadDog2020]

You show me one person who says Elias doesn't deserve to have his jersey retired, and I'll show you one person who doesn't deserve to call themselves a Devils fan.

That would be me.  

Elias is fantastic as a player & person.  However, I suspect that one day all of his team records, especially the cumulative ones, will be surpassed by yet another great Devil.  My perspective is that at one other point in time, Johnny MacLean was the greatest Devil to date, and could've had his jersey number retired.  Today I do not think there are many people who would consider retiring # 15.

Elias will have been a career Devil with two Cups and never whined to be traded because he didn't like the way the coach used him. He's also eclipsed 1,000 points and played over 1,200 games in a Devils uniform. Don't insult Elias by comparing him to MacLean.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

 

That would be me.  

Elias is fantastic as a player & person.  However, I suspect that one day all of his team records, especially the cumulative ones, will be surpassed by yet another great Devil.  My perspective is that at one other point in time, Johnny MacLean was the greatest Devil to date, and could've had his jersey number retired.  Today I do not think there are many people who would consider retiring # 15.

Exactly 75 players in the entire HISTORY of the NHL have put up more points than Elias.  Exactly 91 players have played in more games.  And it's looking more and more like Elias will have spent all (if not the vast majority) of his career with the Devils, where his glamour numbers took a bit of a hit over the years, partly because he played most of his career in the Dead Puck Era, and partly because the Devils didn't always set him up with the best talent to work with...what he did with the 2003-04 team was pretty amazing.  And even if his numbers do get surpassed one day, does that possibility somehow cheapen what Elias did?  How is he not worthy of having his number retired?  It feels like you're setting the bar absurdly high if you don't think he deserves it. 

I'm a huge Johnny Mac fan and he'll always be my favorite Devil and I've explained why he was important in bridging the gap between the Mickey Mouse Devils and the perennial contending version (really was justice that he and others from the gloomier days were a part of the '95 team).  But I felt that once he demanded a trade after the Devils wanted to transition him to a different role (when Scott Stevens did it without complaint earlier), that hurt him from a jersey retirement standpoint.  As much as I loved him as a player, I think he falls just a bit short (there's been times in the past where I felt differently, but I think the four guys who've all gotten their numbers retired were all pretty much no-brainers.  Ditto Elias.  About MacLean, I just don't have that same feeling). 

[John Wensink]

Patrick won 2 cups and to 4 finals. He was a big part of those teams too. Also finished third in NHL scoring in 00-01. He lead the team in points 8 times! Johnny did it twice and Elias was elite longer than Johnny Mac and he was/is loyal. 26 is a no brainer! I want the Devils HOF too for #15 and other shorter term player who had BIG impact

Edited February 11, 2016 by John Wensink

[BlueSkirt]

 

Elias will have been a career Devil with two Cups and never whined to be traded because he didn't like the way the coach used him. He's also eclipsed 1,000 points and played over 1,200 games in a Devils uniform. Don't insult Elias by comparing him to MacLean.

Not comparing him to MacLeans "stats', simply the role they played on the team...at the time they played.  I'm optimistic that we'll have a greater player one day !

[BlueSkirt]

 

Exactly 75 players in the entire HISTORY of the NHL have put up more points than Elias.  Exactly 91 players have played in more games.  And it's looking more and more like Elias will have spent all (if not the vast majority) of his career with the Devils, where his glamour numbers took a bit of a hit over the years..., and partly because the Devils didn't always set him up with the best talent to work with...what he did with the 2003-04 team was pretty amazing.  And even if his numbers do get surpassed one day, does that possibility somehow cheapen what Elias did?  How is he not worthy of having his number retired?  It feels like you're setting the bar absurdly high if you don't think he deserves it. 

 

This is a persuasive argument.

The bar isn't absurdly high, Elias is right there, but perhaps just under it..for me.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

 

This is a persuasive argument.

The bar isn't absurdly high, Elias is right there, but perhaps just under it..for me.

Man...you're a tough grader then.  I'll give you that for the Hall Of Fame, I think Elias is borderline (though it helps his cause if you don't compare him to Live Puck guys).  But as far as a number retirement candidate goes, there's really not any debate.  He doesn't fall short on any front. 

And as others have brought up...this franchise is damned near screaming for a Ring Of Fire.  MacLean, Brylin, Langenbrunner, Pandolfo, Madden, Driver, Richer, Lemieux, others...there's guys here who fit into something like that quite nicely. 

It's really been great to see this franchise build up a history it can truly be proud of, and to have been there to witness it all, almost from the beginning (in NJ, anyway)...where the banners in the rafters aren't for guys and teams that I've only seen in grainy old movies and black-and-white photos, who I never truly saw play, whose accomplishments came long before I was born.  For so long, we had that lone banner in the corner of Brendan Byrne Arena that read "1987-88 Patrick Division Playoff Champions"...just the way it was worded made it sound like some weak excuse to have SOMETHING hanging in the rafters.  And as great as 1993-94 was, none of what was accomplished that season actually resulted in another banner.  Now to not only see so many Division, Conference, and Cup Championship banners hanging, but four (soon to be five) player banners up there, all of whom clearly deserved that honor, with three of them Hall-Of-Famers (Marty ain't yet, but we know he will be) who will be remembered mostly as Devils...during the (seemingly endless) minutes leading up to Marty's ceremony, I think for the first time, as much as I've always appreciated what this team has given me for so long, I really took a good long look at every last banner and soaked it all in and just thought to myself "Damn".  Rooting for this team has been a hell of a lot of fun...even when it wasn't.

[Chuck the Duck]

IMO, Elias is absolutely worthy of having his number retired by this organization.  2 time Stanley Cup Champion, leading scorer in franchise history, and borderline hall of fame numbers (for my money, he should get in).  I agree you don't retire numbers for good guys that were good players that stayed here a long time (Brylin, Langenbrunner, Greene), but Elias clearly wasn't that during his prime years. 

[DJ Eco]

#26 in the rafters shouldn't even be a debate. I understand you may not want to be the Rangers, but remember also, we are not the Red Wings or Canadiens. We don't have history outside of the players who are up there now and Elias (and maybe Brylin/Maclean, who are debatable). They ARE our history. They are Devils royalty, Elias included.

[GIANTS79]

 

Man...you're a tough grader then.  I'll give you that for the Hall Of Fame, I think Elias is borderline (though it helps his cause if you don't compare him to Live Puck guys).  But as far as a number retirement candidate goes, there's really not any debate.  He doesn't fall short on any front. 

And as others have brought up...this franchise is damned near screaming for a Ring Of Fire.  MacLean, Brylin, Langenbrunner, Pandolfo, Madden, Driver, Richer, Lemieux, others...there's guys here who fit into something like that quite nicely. 

It's really been great to see this franchise build up a history it can truly be proud of, and to have been there to witness it all, almost from the beginning (in NJ, anyway)...where the banners in the rafters aren't for guys and teams that I've only seen in grainy old movies and black-and-white photos, who I never truly saw play, whose accomplishments came long before I was born.  For so long, we had that lone banner in the corner of Brendan Byrne Arena that read "1987-88 Patrick Division Playoff Champions"...just the way it was worded made it sound like some weak excuse to have SOMETHING hanging in the rafters.  And as great as 1993-94 was, none of what was accomplished that season actually resulted in another banner.  Now to not only see so many Division, Conference, and Cup Championship banners hanging, but four (soon to be five) player banners up there, all of whom clearly deserved that honor, with three of them Hall-Of-Famers (Marty ain't yet, but we know he will be) who will be remembered mostly as Devils...during the (seemingly endless) minutes leading up to Marty's ceremony, I think for the first time, as much as I've always appreciated what this team has given me for so long, I really took a good long look at every last banner and soaked it all in and just thought to myself "Damn".  Rooting for this team has been a hell of a lot of fun...even when it wasn't.

very well said.  I feel the same way and I couldn't have said it any better than you did.  This is my only favorite team where I feel like I grew up with them team.  I'm also a LA Lakers and NY Giants fan and I got to witness great things with both of those teams over the past 25 years, but they also did a lot well before I followed the team or was even born.  Where as you said I went to plenty of games where they only had 1 banner up there and I feel the same pride in the Devils by having witnessed all of their best players entire careers.  I remember how fun Niedermayer was to watch as a 19 year old rookie (and his whole career) how fast he was and it just looked effortless or when they first brought in Stevens or not liking Brodeur his rookie year (because I was a big Terrari fan and wanted him to continue being the main guy).

the 93/94 year was really special.  that was the first time I got to see the Devils as a legit contender.  All year them and the Rangers were the 2 best teams and that was one of the best series of all time that ended in heart break for us, but that also led to 95 and what was to come later.

It's truly amazing looking back on it and everytime I'm there I definitely make sure to soak up the banners.   You and myself and people our age have seen this team grow up over the last 25 plus years and that's an amazing experience.  Tuesday night made me proud to be a devils fan.  that was a first class ceremony in every way (only complaint was the sold out patches and center ice or photo like we had for the other 3), but a perfect night and like all of you there I was very emotional.  It was a great way to cap off the amazing run our team had (only the red wings matched them in that time period for reg season and playoff dominance)

there are still more nights to enjoy the great run (at least 2 more, but possibly 4 more)  Elias and Lou are no brainers, but the other 2 should get a special night too.

I still hope to have a Larry Robinson night and a Jacque Lemaire night honoring both of them (no banners, just a special night to celebrate them and their contribution to the devils).  and of course a night for Lou (which should have a banner for him) and then of course a night for #26.  and as I said before they should consider a doc emrick banner with a microphone and the devils logo on it.

[DevsMan84]

I would be down for a Ring of Honor for the Devils.  They def need it.

Hell the Flyers have been making a big stink out of that sort of thing for years.  Earlier this year they inducted Rod Brind'amour into their Flyers HOF and even had special patches made up for the players to wear on their jerseys and then auctioned those off.  His number wasn't retired but they made a big stink of it.

Oh BTW look at the patches they wore for his night too lol.  Look familiar?

http://auctions.nhl.com/iSynApp/auctionDisplay.action?sid=1100803&auctionId=898508

 

[redruM]

 

I agree you don't retire numbers for good guys that were good players that stayed here a long time (Brylin, Langenbrunner, Greene), but Elias clearly wasn't that during his prime years.

Dano

[redruM]

 

I can't tell if you're a troll, or if this is just who you are?

Troll.. really?  some people are clueless...

 

I love Dano but he is a good player who is a good guy who was a lifer and the fans loved him...

The guy said you donot retire a number for that reason, I'm saying that is not true, and I have NO problem w/ Dano's #3 being retired...

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

 

Dano

There's a difference between "long time" and "seemingly forever".  We're not talking about a guy who was here for 10 or 11 seasons...he was here for 20 (and was a stalwart for the final 17 of those seasons).  You know why Dano is up there, and it's not glamour numbers.  The guy played 1458 games as a Devil (1283 regular season and 175 playoff), which is an achievement in itself, as he was clearly was never the flashiest or most talented guy out there.  He was a guy who got a lot out of limited gifts and was here for every phase of the franchise.   

[Mike Brown]

Elias has a very strong case for making it to the HOF.  I see no reason why his number shouldn't be retired.

[CarpathianForest]

I think even though his stats aren't stellar Brylin should get a nod. He is the epitome of Devils: Loyal, hard working and willing to do anything to win. In addition, he has always been a fan favorite.