Quote:
Originally Posted by powderjunkie
Lamoriello is the first one that comes to mind:
Trading down to get Brodeur (helps offset the 'luck' factor there)
Traded for Stevens, Richer, C Lemieux, Holik, Broten, Albelin (key members of 95 cup)
Drafted Niedermayer 3OA, Guerin 5OA, Rolston 11OA.
Maclean and Daneyko were picked before he started there, but would have emerged under his watch.
The Devils got to pick 2, 3, 3, 2 from '84-'87, but didn't pick top 10 again from 1992-2011 (A Larsson). He seems to have drafted and dealt to build a lot of great teams without lucking into super-duper generational talents (though Brodeur, Stevens (via Shanahan), and Niedermayer aren't far off).
Then helped to correct Burke's mess in TOR, and got NYI back on track, too.
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Lou would be who I would pick, gun to my head. I’m not sure what his budgets generally were.
He didn’t trade for Stevens though. He was awarded him by the NHL as compensation for the Blues offersheeting Shanahan. He was the guy Lou wanted though. The Blues offered Cujo or Brindamour.
And then the Blues offersheeted Stevens the next year and he signed, but NJ matched and later successfully accused the Blues of tampering. The Blues had to give NJ 2 first rounders and $1.5M and the Devils still kept Stevens.