James W. Anness The Record / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesBut it never happened.
Had Claude Lemieux been a Blueshirt in the 1994-95 season and not a New Jersey Devil it's possible – knowing the way Claude played – that New York might have won a second straight Stanley Cup.
Having covered the Devils during that era, I spent a lot of time with Lemieux. While he certainly was devilish on the ice, his off ice demeanor was as gentlemanly as anyone could imagine.
Apart from the tragedy that it is, Claude's passing is so difficult to understand and the Maven will leave the understanding to others.
This much is certain, Claude Lemieux was one of the keenest competitors I have ever covered. His clutch play for New Jersey was a key reason that the Devils won their first Stanley Cup in 1995.
You could only imagine how much better the Blueshirts might have been had he been signed by the Rangers than with Lou Lamoriello in the Garden State.
R.I.P. Claude Lemieux.