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What if…: Calgary Drafted Brodeur Instead of Kidd ?
FACTS: The year was 1990. It was June. It was time for the draft. A year removed from their first Stanley Cup victory, the Calgary Flames had their eyes on filling a void in their depth charts. It wasn’t a complete void mind you, as Calgary was set on addressing goaltending depth and they were well set up with a solid starter in Mike Vernon who had yet to hit 30 years of age. At the same time, the organization did not want to get caught off guard should Vernon go down with an injury or left for another team in a few years time. So the choice was clear: draft a top rank goalie and refine him into a grade A starter under the tutelage of a solid veteran presence. Calgary knew just who would fit the bill in this regard. To make sure they got him the made a deal with the New Jersey Devils to move up in the draft. The deal looked like this:
The Calgary Flames traded their first round selection in 1990 (20th overall), Detroit's second round selection in 1990 (previously acquired), and Minnesota's second round selection in 1990 (previously acquired) to the New Jersey Devils for the Devils' first (11th overall) and second round selections in 1990.
So Calgary snapped up their man at 11th overall, the first goalie taken that year, leaving all other teams to draft from the goalie scrap pile. That’s right, they chose the consensus top ranked junior goalie available in the draft: Trevor Kidd. The “best of the rest” of the goalies started getting snapped up at picks 20 (Calgary's original first round draft position) and 31 by New Jersey and Toronto, respectively: Martin Brodeur and Felix Potvin.
This is not a unique drafting occurrence by any means. Consensus picks don’t always translate into real success. With the benefit of hindsight we can easily question the pick Calgary made. We know what Marty and Felix were able to do, and in Brodeur’s case is STILL doing. Kidd on the other hand, well aside from a World Junior Gold as a back up to Stephane Fiset (remember when he and Thibault were Colorado’s 1-2 in goall?), Kidd’s only real claim to fame was being part of the package sent to Hartford/Carolina that saw Calgary get some snot-nosed goalie named J.S. Giguere in return.
Alas, there are no mulligans with draft picks, especially a few years removed from making the pick, so the GMs kind of have to live and die by them. Us on the other hand, are not constrained in this way. We’ve got the ability to play out hypothetical scenarios in our mind and imagine for just a second that we might be able to see how things could have been had things only been done slightly differently. With that in mind lets claim that mulligan, have the do over and convince ourselves we know the answer to the following question:
WHAT IF #3: What if Calgary had drafted Martin Brodeur instead of Trevor Kidd?
No question, this is something that would not only have major impacts on the teams themselves but would potentially change the balance of the Campbell and Wales conferences (that’s what they were called them damnit so that’s how I’m gonna refer to them!) for the next 10-15 years or more! At the same time, notice I say potentially change, as there are some who might argue that Brodeur’s success has been heavily influenced by the system employed by the team over the years. Just playing devil’s advocate here folks! Not saying I necessarily agree. But if it were even a bit true, are we still looking at the “Most Ever Wins By A Goaltender” that Brodeur is today? Is he the shutout factory that he has been since day one? One thing we do know is that he misses out on the career launching series against Buffalo in the 94-95 shortened season playoffs that saw him a another guy by the name of Hasek stealing the show night after night.
Question remains though: under a scenario where Calgary takes Brodeur, how do things play out from there on forward? How are the teams and conferences affected? Who takes Jersey’s place in the East as team consistency? Are the Devils even able to keep their team afloat without Brodeur leading the way? Is Brodeur still the same goaltender as a Flame that we know he has been as a Devil? What happens in Calgary and Toronto? You tell me...
Cheers!
Shawn Gates
[email protected]
Twitter: ShawnHockeybuzz
Facebook: Shawn Gates
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