OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - NHL Alternate universe: No Tom Kurvers trade

kinnikuniverse · 10-22-2022, 07:40 PM

The year is 1989. The Toronto Maple Leafs decided to trade their 1991 first round pick to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for this guy:

rest in peace

Tom Kurvers was a power play quarterback who was pretty decent. In no way, however, he was worth a 1st round pick.

Keep in mind that, during that season, the leafs actually had a pretty fun team, led by Wendel clark, Rob Ramage? Al Iafrate, Gary Leeman, Eddie Olczyk and Vincent Damphousse. That team scored goals aplenty, and they made the playoffs with an equal number of wins and losses, losing to the hull and oates St. Louis Blues in 5 games.

The following season, everything fell apart. Fed up qith the Pressure in Toronto, Iafrate was traded to Washington for Bob Rouse and Peter Zezel, While Olczyk would go to winnipeg to replace the recently departed Dale Hawerchuk in exchange for Dave Ellett. The team was about to finish dead last in the NHL in order to get the most coveted prize since Mario Lemieux in 1984:

Eric Lindros, dubbed the next one by everyone (EEEEVERYONE!!!") In the ice hockey media. A colossal beast of a man who had the hands of Gretzky and the ferocity of an angry bull, he looked like he came straight out of a video game.

There was only one problem...

They traded the 1991 1st round pick to the Devils for Tom Kurvers.

Sensing the impending humiliation, the leafs hurriedly traded for whatever decent players the second worst team that year, the Quebec Nordiques, had in order to not finish last and give Lindros to the Devils.

Thanks to those efforts, the leafs finished second-to-last in the entire league, giving the devils the third pick in the 1991 draft due to the San Jose Sharks automatically having the second pick in the draft. While all the attention of the hockey world went to Lindros refusing to suit up for the nordqiues, the Leafs breathed a sigh of relief. At least, the Devils didn't pick Lindros.

They only picked some defenseman named Scott Niedermayer...

While Leafs would have some fun years thanks to the likes of Doug Gilmour and Mats Sundin, players of that 1989-1990 team that ended up being traded and experience greater success than the leafs would ever have since then. Gary Leeman, who was sent to calgary in exchange for Gilmour, Rob Ramage and Vincent Damphousse, who was sent to Edmonton for Grant Fuhr (which eventuslly led to Dave Andreychuk), won the stanley cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, Eddie Olczyk would win the cup with the new york rangers the following year, while Tom Kurvers would be part of that year's New York Islanders team that shocked the hockey world by eliminating the back-to-back champs Pittsburgh Penguins of Lemieux and Jagr, and, finally, Dave Andreychuk would win the cup with the Tampa Bbay Lightning in 2004 alongside another former leaf in Fredrick Modin. Niedermayer, meamwhile, would be part of 4 stanley cup winning teams: 3 with New Jersey, 1 with the Anaheim Ducks. Eric Lindros, meanwhile, would land in Philadelphia, where he singlehandedly turned the Flyers around into a regular powerhouse in the east, leading them to the finals in 1997 and being one win short of another finals appearance in 2000 before his head met Scott Stevens's elbow, his career never having recorvered from that hit afterwards, ending his career in new york and, in an extremely ironic twist of fate, Toronto.

The thing is, all of this and the history of the NHL would've been completely different had the leafs never traded that pick for Tom Kurvers in 1989.

So here we go, using Franchise Hockey Manager, we will finally answer the question:

What if the Leafs never traded for Tom Kurvers and tanked for Eric Lindros (while still trading for Doug Gilmour), with the Nordiques getting Scott Niedermayer and the Philadelphia Flyers keeping all the players they sent to Quebec to get Lindros, including Ron Hextall, Steve Duchesne, Mike Ricci and a certain Peter Forsberg?

The 1991-1992 season is up first. See you soon.

10-22-2022, 07:40 PM	#1
kinnikuniverse Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2019 Posts: 79	NHL Alternate universe: No Tom Kurvers trade The year is 1989. The Toronto Maple Leafs decided to trade their 1991 first round pick to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for this guy: rest in peace Tom Kurvers was a power play quarterback who was pretty decent. In no way, however, he was worth a 1st round pick. Keep in mind that, during that season, the leafs actually had a pretty fun team, led by Wendel clark, Rob Ramage? Al Iafrate, Gary Leeman, Eddie Olczyk and Vincent Damphousse. That team scored goals aplenty, and they made the playoffs with an equal number of wins and losses, losing to the hull and oates St. Louis Blues in 5 games. The following season, everything fell apart. Fed up qith the Pressure in Toronto, Iafrate was traded to Washington for Bob Rouse and Peter Zezel, While Olczyk would go to winnipeg to replace the recently departed Dale Hawerchuk in exchange for Dave Ellett. The team was about to finish dead last in the NHL in order to get the most coveted prize since Mario Lemieux in 1984: Eric Lindros, dubbed the next one by everyone (EEEEVERYONE!!!") In the ice hockey media. A colossal beast of a man who had the hands of Gretzky and the ferocity of an angry bull, he looked like he came straight out of a video game. There was only one problem... They traded the 1991 1st round pick to the Devils for Tom Kurvers. Sensing the impending humiliation, the leafs hurriedly traded for whatever decent players the second worst team that year, the Quebec Nordiques, had in order to not finish last and give Lindros to the Devils. Thanks to those efforts, the leafs finished second-to-last in the entire league, giving the devils the third pick in the 1991 draft due to the San Jose Sharks automatically having the second pick in the draft. While all the attention of the hockey world went to Lindros refusing to suit up for the nordqiues, the Leafs breathed a sigh of relief. At least, the Devils didn't pick Lindros. They only picked some defenseman named Scott Niedermayer... While Leafs would have some fun years thanks to the likes of Doug Gilmour and Mats Sundin, players of that 1989-1990 team that ended up being traded and experience greater success than the leafs would ever have since then. Gary Leeman, who was sent to calgary in exchange for Gilmour, Rob Ramage and Vincent Damphousse, who was sent to Edmonton for Grant Fuhr (which eventuslly led to Dave Andreychuk), won the stanley cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, Eddie Olczyk would win the cup with the new york rangers the following year, while Tom Kurvers would be part of that year's New York Islanders team that shocked the hockey world by eliminating the back-to-back champs Pittsburgh Penguins of Lemieux and Jagr, and, finally, Dave Andreychuk would win the cup with the Tampa Bbay Lightning in 2004 alongside another former leaf in Fredrick Modin. Niedermayer, meamwhile, would be part of 4 stanley cup winning teams: 3 with New Jersey, 1 with the Anaheim Ducks. Eric Lindros, meanwhile, would land in Philadelphia, where he singlehandedly turned the Flyers around into a regular powerhouse in the east, leading them to the finals in 1997 and being one win short of another finals appearance in 2000 before his head met Scott Stevens's elbow, his career never having recorvered from that hit afterwards, ending his career in new york and, in an extremely ironic twist of fate, Toronto. The thing is, all of this and the history of the NHL would've been completely different had the leafs never traded that pick for Tom Kurvers in 1989. So here we go, using Franchise Hockey Manager, we will finally answer the question: What if the Leafs never traded for Tom Kurvers and tanked for Eric Lindros (while still trading for Doug Gilmour), with the Nordiques getting Scott Niedermayer and the Philadelphia Flyers keeping all the players they sent to Quebec to get Lindros, including Ron Hextall, Steve Duchesne, Mike Ricci and a certain Peter Forsberg? The 1991-1992 season is up first. See you soon. Last edited by kinnikuniverse; 10-22-2022 at 07:53 PM.