How the 1983-84 New Jersey Devils Season Ended With No Mario Lemieux
In 1984, Mario Lemieux was to be the number-one overall pick in that year’s draft but the Devils missed him by that much.
The NHL is coming back! However, the NHL’s return may be a little different. The NHL accepted a 24-team playoff format. The teams that will be involved are the leaders of each division, Wild Card teams, and even teams that don’t have enough points to get a wildcard spot. One of those teams that did not get in was the New Jersey Devils.
An offseason that filled with so much promise crashed and burned once the season started. On top of all of it, a virus wiped out their final games. Fans may assume this is the worst season in Devils’ history, but there is one season that is worse because of what they lost. This season not only features a bad record, but it will also feature the Devils losing their chances of drafting Mario Lemieux.
The 2-18 Start
How did the Devils, with an awful start to the franchise play the following season? Well, how about an even worse record. Folks this season hurts, and you’re about to see why. During the first 20 games of the season, the Devils only won two games. TWO GAMES! The last loss of that stretch was the infamous “Mickey Mouse” game against the Edmonton Oilers. The game saw Wayne Gretzky score 8 points. He wasn’t alone. Jari Kurri also scored 6 points including 5 goals. After that game, Billy MacMillan got fired as head coach and the team replaced him with Tom McVie, who managed to win 13 games but still managed to lose 20 more. Here is the biggest reason why the 1983-84 season is the worst in New Jersey Devils history.
The Devils Could’ve Drafted Mario Lemeiux?!
The standings showed that the Devils and the Pittsburgh Penguins had the worst records in the league that season. The Devils had a slightly better record than the Penguins, though. Both teams had an opportunity to pick 1st overall in the 1984 Entry Draft. At the end of the season, the Devils ended up with a better record than the Penguins. There was no NHL Draft Lottery in the 80s, so the Penguins automatically got to pick 1st in that year’s draft while the Devils got the 2nd pick.
While that may not seem like a big deal, this next fact will break Devils fans’ hearts everywhere. Do you want to know who the first overall pick in that year’s draft was? Mario Lemieux.
That’s right, the Devils had a chance to draft one of the greatest players in NHL history. While no one knew how Mario Lemieux would turn out, and the Devils did draft Kirk Muller in that year’s draft, this was still awful overall for the Devils franchise. Imagine how franchise-changing the Devils could’ve been if they had Mario Lemieux. That makes this season is the worst Devils season of all time.
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Conclusion
It may be true that none of the seasons ended with a virus spread all over the world. However, virus or no virus, the 1983-84 season is one of the worst seasons in New Jersey Devils history. There may have been some bright spots in some places for each season, but most of it is still pretty sad. Devils fans may not know how long they will have until the team is good again. But every time fans say a current season is worst; they may have to look at the beginning of New Jersey Devils hockey.