One of the most common what-if scenarios in NHL history involves the New Jersey Devils and the St. Louis Blues.
For that, we have to go all the way back to the early 1990s. The league and its contract rules were different at the time, though not that dissimilar from today.
In particular, there was an episode involving a defenseman, Devils’ fans know well, Scott Stevens. Stevens was the terror that patrolled the ice during New Jersey’s Stanley Cup runs in 1995, 2000, and 2003.
Stevens was originally drafted fifth overall by the Washington Capitals in 1982. However, the Blues signed Stevens to an offer sheet in 1990, leading the team to fork over the required draft picks as compensation for the move.
The following season, the Blues were at it again. This time, they targeted a young Devils forward, Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan had been the Devils' second-overall pick in the 1987 NHL Draft.
What if the New Jersey Devils were never gifted Scott Stevens?
By 1991, Shanahan was a three-time 20-goal scorer and had once topped 30 goals. That was the sort of player St. Louis wanted. But there was a catch: The Blues had already spent the requisite draft picks on Stevens.
That’s why the Blues couldn’t technically sign Shanahan to an offer sheet. Instead of backing out of the deal, the Devils and Blues went to arbitration.
And here’s where the timeline could have radically changed. The Blues offered Curtis Joseph, Rod Brind’Amour, and picks in exchange for Shanahan.
At face value, that deal didn’t make any sense. The Devils already had Martin Brodeur. So, Joseph wasn’t really a necessity. Brind’Amour, as good as he was, wasn’t really going to replace Shanahan.
The Devils wanted Stevens. It was like something scripted out of a Seinfeld episode.
In the end, the arbitrator agreed that Stevens should go to New Jersey in exchange for Shanahan.
Stevens made sense as the compensation for the Shanahan offer sheet
At the time, the decision seemed perplexing. It’s highly irregular to see an arbitrator side with one party instead of finding a middle-ground solution.
But the outcome actually made sense. The Blues had spent the required draft picks on Stevens, the same draft picks that would have been necessary for Shanahan. By giving Stevens to the Devils, it’s as if the Blues had spent those draft picks on Shanahan.
Instead of getting the draft picks, however, the Devils got the player the Blues had spent those picks on.
In the end, the deal worked out for the Devils. They would go on to win their first Stanley Cup in 1995, with Steven being an absolute horror on the ice. We all recall how he pretty much destroyed Eric Lindros’ career in the 2000 playoffs.
While Stevens wasn’t solely responsible for those Cups, the Devils’ path would have been much harder without him.
Would Devils have won without Stevens?
In short, yes. The Devils were a deep team that made good use of the Neutral Zone Trap. They were a tight-checking, solid defensive team that got timely scoring when needed.
The Devils would have won at least one Cup. There’s also an argument to be made that they could have beaten the Colorado Avalanche in 2001.
What would be doubtful is the Devils winning multiple Cups without Stevens. Perhaps the 1995 or 2000 Cups would have been possible without him. But those runs in 2000 and 2001 wouldn’t have happened without him.
Anyhow, this entire scenario is one of the main reasons why the NHL tightened up its rules regarding offer sheets. Since then, teams have been wary of offer sheets, particularly as it pertains to having the necessary pieces for compensation.
As bizarre as the Scott Stevens-Brendan Shanahan situation was, the Devils came out ahead. Incidentally, the Blues managed to win their first Stanley Cup in 2019.
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