(no subject)
I was reading the Star Ledger this morning and, for some reason, found this article very amusing. Maybe because I know people who have seemed players, but haven't said anything to them as to not "disturb" them. That's the New Jersey way. :)
(Mike Mottau, Zachy, Jamie, Johnny Oduya, Paulie Martin)
It says a lot about the Devils that the face of their franchise wears a mask.
The most recognizable player on one of hockey's best teams is goaltender Martin Brodeur, and yet most fans barely get a glimpse of his eyes or facial expressions when he is at work.
As for Brodeur's teammates, they don't need masks. They have been called a faceless team, albeit one that has a legitimate shot at winning the Stanley Cup almost every year. The Devils, who open the playoffs tonight at Prudential Center against the Rangers and their handful of players whose names, faces and personalities earn significantly more attention, don't do much to promote their potential stars. General manager Lou Lamoriello, who calls the shots, prefers the Devil Way.
"I always want our individual players to get whatever recognition they deserve," Lamoriello explained, "but we don't go out and promote people above others because it's a team game. I think we have a lot of stars on this team, a lot of players who perform their roles at a high level. But the recognition comes in the form of respect from their peers."
This is the 11th straight season in which the Devils have been in the playoffs, but this may well be one of their most anonymous teams.
John Madden said he has been to several hockey equipment/sporting goods stores in the area and wasn't recognized.
Brian Gionta has gone grocery shopping in Verona without being recognized.
Paul Martin recently saw the movie "SemiPro" at Essex Green Plaza and was not recognized.
Jamie Langenbrunner can shop or dine without being recognized most times. And he's the captain.
"You can even go to dinner with Marty sometimes and nobody will know who he is. Or, at least they don't let on that they know," Langenbrunner said. "I would agree that this is a one-star team. And even the one star, as big as he is, would be much bigger if he were playing in Montreal."
So would everyone else.
Zach Parise is a rising young star who has scored more than 30 goals each of the past two seasons. Paul Martin is developing into a defenseman who could play in the top pairing on most teams. And Patrik Elias -- "I'm a star in my heart," he said jokingly -- has led the Devils in scoring six of the past eight seasons.
Elias acknowledges that, after living in New Jersey for 10 years, he is known mostly by the people at his regular haunts.
"Is this team faceless? We all have faces," Elias said with a laugh. "Some are more recognizable than others ... but not too many."
There have been some players, in addition to Brodeur, who became somewhat familiar faces in the Lamoriello era. Scott Stevens and Ken Daneyko couldn't very often slip around the area unnoticed, and Scott Gomez could've been a major star -- even on this side of the Hudson River.
Whether it is actually true, many former Devils and members of the media believe former forward Bernie Nicholls, who wasn't shy of the spotlight, had a short-lived stay in New Jersey because he liked to play the role of a star.
"It's more of a team concept here and it's always been like that since I got here," John Madden said. "And, from hearing stories from guys, I know it was like that before I got here. That's the way it is. Team first. I like it a lot. It's an easy environment for someone to come in and just play hockey."
There is one place even the faceless Devils are recognized and draw crowds: Canada.
"When we go to Canada, even though we don't play in those cities, we notice a big difference," Elias said. "They recognize you a lot more."
Not so much in New Jersey.
"You have 10 million people in the metropolitan area. We have a lot of pro teams," Lamoriello said. "People know who the players are in the areas where they live. I saw people cheering both teams (Devils and Rangers) on Sunday. They know their players. Thousands and thousands of jerseys are bought."
Most of them with Brodeur's No. 30 on the back.
"That's the way it should be when you have such a superstar on your hockey club," Madden said. "Everybody knows Marty is going to the Hall of Fame and will probably go down as the greatest goalie who ever played."
Lamoriello recognizes Brodeur's star power, but he doesn't ask the goalie to participate in the kind of promotion and marketing campaigns stars on other NHL teams are required to do. It is one of several reasons Brodeur enjoys playing for the Devils and is willing to do so for far less money than he could earn somewhere else.
All of this, of course, is not a reflection on Devils fans. The team's devoted followers know the faces very well and could probably pick out Sheldon Brookbank from across a parking lot.
But would the Devils get more recognition, and thereby more fans, if their players were promoted better? Say, like the Rangers.
"They have more stars, maybe," Elias said. "I think it's the way they promote their players. We have a lot of good players who could maybe promoted more, but it's never been done that way."
And probably won't be done that way as long as Lamoriello runs the Devils and they have a chance to win.
"I do think it's a benefit for a player in this area to be able to have a private life," Lamoriello said. "I believe in that separation. I think it's a positive. That's why I say: Our team isn't for every player and every player isn't for our team."
I wish they would promote the players more, as I've said tme and time again, but I'd so much rather have them play better than be able to watch an interview with them. I've grown so used to it that when the team does put something out there, I don't take it for granted.
And hey, who knew Patty was such a comedian? :P
And because my newspaper of choice is based in Newark and the Rangers' beat writer is blogging for the Devils, I get a funny Shanny tidbit:
Someone asked Brendan Shanahan how much of an advantage it is for the Rangers to have ex-Devil Scott Gomez as they prepare to face New Jersey in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series tonight at the Prudential Center.
"I was saying earlier, it's a pretty interesting side note to the series -- the story of the young guy, drafted by Lou (Lamoriello, the Devils' GM), leaves New Jersey and now, he's playing under the bright lights of Broadway, big city," Shanahan deadpanned. "And Gomez is an interesting story."
Shanahan, too, was a Devils star who left via free agency and the veteran left wing was quick to point that out.
"Lou drafted me, by the way," he said. "In the '50s."
--
On a complete side note, it's a sunny 65 degrees outside, with the temperature rising to 70 tomorrow, my house smells of brownies, and the Devils play the Rangers tonight (and no, I didn't forget that we only won one game against them all year, but I also didn't forget that we swept them out of the 1st round two seasons ago. :P). What could be better? :)
(Mike Mottau, Zachy, Jamie, Johnny Oduya, Paulie Martin)
It says a lot about the Devils that the face of their franchise wears a mask.
The most recognizable player on one of hockey's best teams is goaltender Martin Brodeur, and yet most fans barely get a glimpse of his eyes or facial expressions when he is at work.
As for Brodeur's teammates, they don't need masks. They have been called a faceless team, albeit one that has a legitimate shot at winning the Stanley Cup almost every year. The Devils, who open the playoffs tonight at Prudential Center against the Rangers and their handful of players whose names, faces and personalities earn significantly more attention, don't do much to promote their potential stars. General manager Lou Lamoriello, who calls the shots, prefers the Devil Way.
"I always want our individual players to get whatever recognition they deserve," Lamoriello explained, "but we don't go out and promote people above others because it's a team game. I think we have a lot of stars on this team, a lot of players who perform their roles at a high level. But the recognition comes in the form of respect from their peers."
This is the 11th straight season in which the Devils have been in the playoffs, but this may well be one of their most anonymous teams.
John Madden said he has been to several hockey equipment/sporting goods stores in the area and wasn't recognized.
Brian Gionta has gone grocery shopping in Verona without being recognized.
Paul Martin recently saw the movie "SemiPro" at Essex Green Plaza and was not recognized.
Jamie Langenbrunner can shop or dine without being recognized most times. And he's the captain.
"You can even go to dinner with Marty sometimes and nobody will know who he is. Or, at least they don't let on that they know," Langenbrunner said. "I would agree that this is a one-star team. And even the one star, as big as he is, would be much bigger if he were playing in Montreal."
So would everyone else.
Zach Parise is a rising young star who has scored more than 30 goals each of the past two seasons. Paul Martin is developing into a defenseman who could play in the top pairing on most teams. And Patrik Elias -- "I'm a star in my heart," he said jokingly -- has led the Devils in scoring six of the past eight seasons.
Elias acknowledges that, after living in New Jersey for 10 years, he is known mostly by the people at his regular haunts.
"Is this team faceless? We all have faces," Elias said with a laugh. "Some are more recognizable than others ... but not too many."
There have been some players, in addition to Brodeur, who became somewhat familiar faces in the Lamoriello era. Scott Stevens and Ken Daneyko couldn't very often slip around the area unnoticed, and Scott Gomez could've been a major star -- even on this side of the Hudson River.
Whether it is actually true, many former Devils and members of the media believe former forward Bernie Nicholls, who wasn't shy of the spotlight, had a short-lived stay in New Jersey because he liked to play the role of a star.
"It's more of a team concept here and it's always been like that since I got here," John Madden said. "And, from hearing stories from guys, I know it was like that before I got here. That's the way it is. Team first. I like it a lot. It's an easy environment for someone to come in and just play hockey."
There is one place even the faceless Devils are recognized and draw crowds: Canada.
"When we go to Canada, even though we don't play in those cities, we notice a big difference," Elias said. "They recognize you a lot more."
Not so much in New Jersey.
"You have 10 million people in the metropolitan area. We have a lot of pro teams," Lamoriello said. "People know who the players are in the areas where they live. I saw people cheering both teams (Devils and Rangers) on Sunday. They know their players. Thousands and thousands of jerseys are bought."
Most of them with Brodeur's No. 30 on the back.
"That's the way it should be when you have such a superstar on your hockey club," Madden said. "Everybody knows Marty is going to the Hall of Fame and will probably go down as the greatest goalie who ever played."
Lamoriello recognizes Brodeur's star power, but he doesn't ask the goalie to participate in the kind of promotion and marketing campaigns stars on other NHL teams are required to do. It is one of several reasons Brodeur enjoys playing for the Devils and is willing to do so for far less money than he could earn somewhere else.
All of this, of course, is not a reflection on Devils fans. The team's devoted followers know the faces very well and could probably pick out Sheldon Brookbank from across a parking lot.
But would the Devils get more recognition, and thereby more fans, if their players were promoted better? Say, like the Rangers.
"They have more stars, maybe," Elias said. "I think it's the way they promote their players. We have a lot of good players who could maybe promoted more, but it's never been done that way."
And probably won't be done that way as long as Lamoriello runs the Devils and they have a chance to win.
"I do think it's a benefit for a player in this area to be able to have a private life," Lamoriello said. "I believe in that separation. I think it's a positive. That's why I say: Our team isn't for every player and every player isn't for our team."
I wish they would promote the players more, as I've said tme and time again, but I'd so much rather have them play better than be able to watch an interview with them. I've grown so used to it that when the team does put something out there, I don't take it for granted.
And hey, who knew Patty was such a comedian? :P
And because my newspaper of choice is based in Newark and the Rangers' beat writer is blogging for the Devils, I get a funny Shanny tidbit:
Someone asked Brendan Shanahan how much of an advantage it is for the Rangers to have ex-Devil Scott Gomez as they prepare to face New Jersey in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series tonight at the Prudential Center.
"I was saying earlier, it's a pretty interesting side note to the series -- the story of the young guy, drafted by Lou (Lamoriello, the Devils' GM), leaves New Jersey and now, he's playing under the bright lights of Broadway, big city," Shanahan deadpanned. "And Gomez is an interesting story."
Shanahan, too, was a Devils star who left via free agency and the veteran left wing was quick to point that out.
"Lou drafted me, by the way," he said. "In the '50s."
--
On a complete side note, it's a sunny 65 degrees outside, with the temperature rising to 70 tomorrow, my house smells of brownies, and the Devils play the Rangers tonight (and no, I didn't forget that we only won one game against them all year, but I also didn't forget that we swept them out of the 1st round two seasons ago. :P). What could be better? :)