New Jersey Devils Should Honor Brian Gionta In Some Way
By Nick Villano
A former New Jersey Devils star is coming to the end of the line on his career. The team should find a way to honor Brian Gionta‘s time in the Garden State.
It may seem like ages ago, but there was a time that Brian Gionta was the superstar on the New Jersey Devils. Then, in 2009, it all ended in one free agency period. Gionta decided to take a deal with the Montreal Canadiens for five years and $25 million.
Gionta will never have his number retired. He only spent seven seasons with the Devils. He was a fan favorite, a la Adam Henrique, but he did not spend enough time to have the number 14 raised to the rafters. In fact, Henrique may be the more iconic number 14 after what he did in the 2012 playoffs.
Still, the Devils should find a way to honor the contributions of Gionta to the Devils. He remains the Devils record holder for goals in a season. He scored 48 goals in 2005-06, which if you’re young enough to remember then you know it was one of the most fun individual seasons to watch until this past season from Taylor Hall. It came directly after the NHL Lockout, so Devils fans needed something to get them excited about hockey again.
Gionta may have done more in other aspects of his hockey life, but the Devils will always be the biggest part of his career. He may have been captain in Montreal, but he won his only Stanley Cup in New Jersey. He may have led Team USA to the Olympics, but he received his only Hart Trophy votes in New Jersey. There may be years of scoring goals for Buffalo, Montreal and a few with Boston, but the only time he ever broke 30 was with the Devils.
So how could the Devils honor Gionta?
Gionta may be looking for a job in the NHL, but nobody is calling. He’s finally considering hanging up his skates for good. He told NHL.com that something has to be really good to even consider moving his kids for another gig.
"“I feel completely content whether I play again or not. I’ve loved the game and loved being at the top level for a long time. I feel very fortunate that I was able to do that for so long, especially when a lot of people wouldn’t have expected me to be here for even a game.”"
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Were in the dog days of hockey right now. What could it hurt to have Gionta throw on the NJ crest one more time. No, not in a real game. That isn’t in the best interest of the team as a whole. However, giving Gionta his own day, where Devils fans can watch as he goes back to where it all started. He heads to the Prudential Center, despite never playing there, but seeing a familiar banner in the rafters. He helped the Devils put one of those banners up.
Sure, this would go better during the season. However, the Devils don’t have precedent for this. Do you really want to invite the former players and make it a huge deal if there’s no number retirement?
I mean, you can, but then do you do the same for Bobby Holik? What about John MacLean? Where would this trend end?
I’m being a little dramatic. Gionta deserves his own night if the Devils are willing to use it to sell tickets. People will come to watch Gionta get a plaque or whatever the Devils want to do. Either way, with Gionta’s career coming to it’s end, the Devils should recognize his contributions. He was a very good player at just 5’7. He changed the game with how he played. He deserves a little recognition.