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Elias Announces Retirement


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Yup, didn't want to come in 1991, didn't want to stay in 1994. Probably the 2nd or 3rd best player in the history of the franchise. 

Elias wanted to sign with the Rangers also. 

It happens. The point was, you don't necessarily write people off when they express that. 

I'd still trade Morrison/Pederson for Mogilny all day long as I said in my initial post. 

 

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8 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Also remember that Morrison didn't want to be a Devil at that point.  He had demanded a trade. 

Morrison was a nice player who had a pretty good career, but not someone I regret the Devils losing too much...especially since he didn't want to be here.

morrisson actually held out with elias - they both went and played in czech during that time. elias talks about it in interview.

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6 hours ago, NJDfan1711 said:

The very end of the article said Stevens was unaware of the illegal dealings, which I find very hard to believe, but at the same time I can see why Lou said "fvck it" and not make a big deal about it and decide not to make his life hell.  Maybe he knew ahead of time Stevens was going to be one of the saviors of our team, and a leader for decades.  Maybe he was also really confident he would win the case too, and that as enough compensation.  Why go after a guy who is your own player at that point, which just ends up hurting you and your team, when you can go after the people who caused it?

With all of that said, I find it extremely comical to the utmost degree, that Lou wanted 5 1st round picks lol.  I mean how much more cut throat does it get?  That's such a Lou move.  I mean, sure it was a sh!tty thing to do and was definitely against the rules, but c'mon, it's a business.  I think some money and a 1st round pick was plenty fair.  

Part of the penalty was how the Devils were able to draft Parise. 

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15 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

Yup, didn't want to come in 1991, didn't want to stay in 1994. Probably the 2nd or 3rd best player in the history of the franchise. 

Elias wanted to sign with the Rangers also. 

It happens. The point was, you don't necessarily write people off when they express that. 

I'd still trade Morrison/Pederson for Mogilny all day long as I said in my initial post. 

 

Agree that Stevens didn't want to come initially (not like he tried to hide it, and I can understand why he must've been in full "WTF?!" mode at first), but I don't necessarily buy that he wasn't into staying in 1994.  Guys sign offer sheets that get matched by their original teams...it happens...hell, Joe Sakic signed a 3-year, $21 million offer sheet with the Rangers back in 1997.  Doesn't mean that he fully wanted out of Colorado.  That being said, as far as Stevens goes, I think for a long time there was probably a bit of "What if?" with him, and the Blues.  He chose to go St. Louis, and after one season, through absolutely no fault of his own, it's taken away from him, and he's forced to go elsewhere.  Under the circumstances, I admire him for somehow sorting through his emotions relatively quickly, and for accepting his fate and then making the very best of it, and giving his new situation a real chance...never once did I feel that Stevens wasn't giving his best here.  And for him to accept a less offensive role from '95-on after having put up his most productive season, with no complaints...it wasn't always smooth sailing for him here, but the guy was truly a special player, in so many ways.  We were so lucky to have him. 

I pretty much agree that you don't write off unhappy players by default (though it can reach a breaking point...I think Muller was an example of that).  As far as Morrison and Peterson for Mogilny goes, and Guerin for Arnott...you can argue that Morrison and Guerin being pissy about their contract situations may have played a factor, but those deals really were just old-fashioned hockey trades...I remember the Arnott deal looking like a disaster initially, and what's kind of funny is that Mogilny really didn't make that much of an impact from a pure production standpoint in 2000...in 35 games as a Devil (regular season and playoffs combined) he put up 7 goals and 6 assists...he even joked a bit about his lack of scoring, constantly referring to himself as a "plumber".  That's what made 2001 such a surprise...he scored 7 goals in his first 28 games that season (giving him an underwhelming 14 in his first 63 games as a Devil)...then just like that...BAM!  36 goals in his next 47 GP (40 in 55 GP if you go into the 2001 playoffs a bit).  But in all three cases (Muller, Guerin, and Morrison), Lou at least made deals that did help the Devils...even though Mogilny did pretty much disappear in the 2001 playoffs after Round 2 Game 2 (just 1 goal over his last 17 playoff games that year), he had a hell of a run. 

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976
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17 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Yeah, Stevens signed an offer sheet in 1994 with the Blues, and Lou (a little begrudgingly) matched it.  Blues later got busted for tampering with Stevens, as a result of events that preceded the offer sheet:

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/05/sports/hockey-devils-get-1.4-million-and-draft-pick-in-tampering-case.html 

I'll admit, most of the stuff talked about in this article was before my time as a fan - I really hopped on board in 1995 with my Dad (well, as much as a 6 year old could) but its fascinating for me to read about this stuff going on.  To a fan that didn't really live through those times, you always assume that guys like Stevens, Dano, Marty and Patty were 100% Devil from the get-go.

It makes you wonder though where the franchise would be today if we didn't have a guy with absolute balls of steel like Lou Lamoriello at the helm during those tumultuous years.  Makes you really thankful for everything he did here, even if it kinda ended on a sour note.

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I'll admit, most of the stuff talked about in this article was before my time as a fan - I really hopped on board in 1995 with my Dad (well, as much as a 6 year old could) but its fascinating for me to read about this stuff going on.  To a fan that didn't really live through those times, you always assume that guys like Stevens, Dano, Marty and Patty were 100% Devil from the get-go.
It makes you wonder though where the franchise would be today if we didn't have a guy with absolute balls of steel like Lou Lamoriello at the helm during those tumultuous years.  Makes you really thankful for everything he did here, even if it kinda ended on a sour note.

Without Lou, I can tell you where the franchise WOULDN'T be: New Jersey.


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Elias on the open practice today: "It was an easy practice for them (the Devils) and a hard one for me."

They got their work in and had a lot of fun with each other and the crowd.

It actually had the feeling of an old South Mountain practice.B)

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Since there's been a bunch of "Lou" chatter in the Elias, thread, I hope no one minds if I post this interaction from an interview with Allan Walsh: 

ESPN.com: All right, I don't want to end this without at least a couple of lighter questions. Who is the general manager you most enjoy engaging in contract negotiations with?

Walsh: Lou Lamoriello.

ESPN.com: What was your favorite negotiation with Lou?

Walsh: Every negotiation with Lou has been my favorite. I've always enjoyed my interaction with him. I've always enjoyed those negotiations. They're colorful. They're interesting. I've always considered Lou to be a man of his word.

ESPN.com: Any Lou Lamoriello stories that stand out?

Walsh: Only after I retire will I share any of those stories.

:evil:

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On 4/6/2017 at 4:41 PM, mfitz804 said:

Yup, didn't want to come in 1991, didn't want to stay in 1994. Probably the 2nd or 3rd best player in the history of the franchise. 

Elias wanted to sign with the Rangers also. 

It happens. The point was, you don't necessarily write people off when they express that. 

I'd still trade Morrison/Pederson for Mogilny all day long as I said in my initial post. 

 

Well I don't think Elias necessarily wanted to...he was just considering the offer.

Stevens definitely wanted out for a while. But post 1994 he was a committed Devils. Something about the lure of St. Louis and...whatever they have in St. Louis.

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1 minute ago, '7' said:

Well I don't think Elias necessarily wanted to...he was just considering the offer.

Stevens definitely wanted out for a while. But post 1994 he was a committed Devils. Something about the lure of St. Louis and...whatever they have in St. Louis.

the arch thing is neat I guess.

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17 minutes ago, '7' said:

Well I don't think Elias necessarily wanted to...he was just considering the offer.

Stevens definitely wanted out for a while. But post 1994 he was a committed Devils. Something about the lure of St. Louis and...whatever they have in St. Louis.

All you can drink Budweiser beer.  And pretty good BBQ.  Unfortunately, they have a ton of fat chicks that result from all that beer and BBQ.

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All you can drink Budweiser beer.  And pretty good BBQ.  Unfortunately, they have a ton of fat chicks that result from all that beer and BBQ.

I've never been to St. Louis, but I'll be damned if players don't seem to like living there.... A lot of former Blues have settled permanently in the area, and it's becoming a hotbed of youth hockey talent- five dudes from St. Louis chosen in the first round last year, and two of them sons of former Blues (Tkachuck and Brown). https://www.nhl.com/blues/news/5-st-louisans-selected-in-first-round/c-887281

 

 

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