Brendan Shanahan
The return of Brendan Shanahan was even more surprising than the return of Lemieux. He signed an offer sheet to leave what was the lowly Devils back in 1991. Shanahan was about to become a superstar. He was a second-overall pick who was still just 23 years old and already had a 30 and 29-goal season under his belt.
The Devils saw Shanahan sign an offer sheet with the St. Louis Blues. The rest is history, and it built the future of this franchise in New Jersey. Lamoriello demanded Scott Stevens from the Blues, who the team just signed to an offer sheet the season before. It was a fight in the courts, Stevens refused to report to the Devils, he eventually did play for New Jersey, and he continued his Hall of Fame career and won three Stanley Cups.
Shanahan would be traded a few years later for Chris Pronger, finally giving the Blues the superstar defenseman they were looking for. The Hartford Whalers then traded Shanahan to the Red Wings where he became an NHL legend. Shanahan would spend the next nine years in Detroit. He won Stanley Cups, and he solidified a spot in the Hall of Fame. He then signed with the New York Rangers during the twilight of his career, and he had a couple of productive seasons.
Shanahan was reportedly waiting for a contract offer from the Rangers when the Devils came calling in January 2009. Lamoriello wanted a veteran presence on a team with aspirations. Shanahan signed a deal, and he played the last 34 games of his career with the team that drafted him second overall more than two decades prior. He liked it so much, he decided to re-sign with the Devils that offseason, but weirdly the two sides decided to part ways after Shanahan played for preseason games with the Devils. He ended up scoring on one of the last shifts he ever played on NHL ice. One might not call it a successful signing since the Devils lost in the first round in very disappointing fashion, but it’s not like the signing was bad.