NHL: Why the New Jersey Devils should be stripped of their 95' cup

Welcome readers!

Nice to have you along as I make my first foray into the "True Crime" genre of writing.

But I will not be writing about an unsolved murder, rape, kidnapping or any of the like,

I will, however, tell you the sad tale of a robbery, a theft that took place in plain view of the authorities, Authorities who didn't know enough about what they were in charge of (or didn't care) to take action against it and right a wrong that would ultimately cost the NHL it's brand new, blue-puck-glowing TV deal with FOX, stunt the growth of the game and nearly turn hard-core fans away in disgust.

I write to you of the "Dead-puck" era, and the man single-handedly responsible for it, a man who STOLE the Stanley cup in 1995, by exploiting a flaw in the game.

Hockey has always been known as fast, violent and exciting, and for most of its history, it has been, but during the 1960's came a revelation that would forever change the game.

The Soviet Red Army

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not calling the Red Army boring, they were anything but, however, men of lesser skill were able to copycat one of their signature qualities and use it to the advantage of the less deserving.

That quality is this: That when the group of 5 skaters on the ice, operates as a single entity, they are bound to dominate a group of individuals, who may be more skilled, but are less cohesive.

THIS has always been hockey's major flaw and Achilles heel as a sport

A cohesive group of 5 players can completely neutralize talent if they buy in 100%

Unfortunately, that isn't what we pay to see (exhibit "A" 95-04)

Fighting actually helped make sure that potentiality never got too firm a foothold, the fighting kept the games being played on an emotional level, as long as there are strong emotions in play you can't hold a 5 man strategy together, not for long anyway, cracks will apear and when they do, talent takes center stage and capatalizes on them.

Thus  were the checks and balances of NHL hockey.

Untill............Bettman and his instigator.

It's no coincidence that the 95 Devils happened just as soon as the league adjusted to the rule. 

Now, there was time and space for cold rational, calculated coaching systems, and Lemaire took full advantage and cheated his way to a cup

Yes, I said it "cheated"

If I was in charge, I would have halted the playoffs as soon as I became aware of what the Devils were doing, held an emergency meeting of the board of governors and said "You are not leaving this room until you've drafted a new rule that outlaws this play once and for all, I never want to see this garbage on my TV again" 

I always thought this loophole should be officially closed and legislated out of the game

We pay to see the best in the world make thrilling risky plays, not 60 min of sound defensive positioning.

Remembering that 1995 final. I recall how odd it looked, it didn't even seem like the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils were playing the same sport, it sure wasn't fun to watch, and after the previous years thriller of the Canucks and Rangers going to game 7, massive letdown doesn't even start to cover it.

Funny, how even during their cup years the Devils had trouble filling their building.

That's because fans who paid to see hockey, would be bound to leave a Devils game feeling......well to quote Johnny "Rotten" Lydon: "Ever get the feeling you're being cheated?"

For the average NHL fan, the answer was YES, for nearly a decade the copycat NHL served up an on-ice product so putrid FOX couldn't get it off the air fast enough. It spread like a disease to nearly every team.

I recall watching the Avalanche Devils final of 2001 and one of CBC's commentators remarking mid-game "I can't ever recall a 7 game Stanley cup final ever being this.....tame" If he had felt comfortable speaking his mind he would have just been honest and said BORING.

And who can forget the absolute worst final in league history: In 2000 the Devils and Stars skated to a 6 game conclusion that was so utterly un-watchable, I can recall hard-core hockey fans saying "Umm....do you guys want to go out and play some pick up instead of watching this?"

It really was that bad, and the game has never come close to recovering fully.

The fact is that NHL hockey, up until 1995 was WAAAAAAY better than anything we've seen since.......or saddly, and in this fact lies the real "true crime" 

Ever see again.