Revisiting the Devils and Red Wings Almost Swapping Gomez for Datsyuk

The early 2000s for the New Jersey Devils were some of the best years for the organization and fan base. They won two cups in 1999-00 and 2002-03, and while trying to win another, GM Lou Lamoriello was prepared to do just about anything.

According to reports from the NY Post in 2005 , the Devils and Detroit Red Wings were working on a blockbuster one-for-one deal that would have drastically changed both organizations.

The reported deal was the Devils trading 26-year-old forward Scott Gomez to the Red Wings for 26-year-old Pavel Datsyuk.

There aren't many details that discuss other pieces that would have been included in the deal. However, one would think that this deal would be larger than just one-for-one.

If this deal went through, who knows what would have happened.

The Devils could have hoisted another Cup after the 2004-05 NHL lockout with the addition of Datsyuk.

Datsyuk ended his career with 918 points in 953 games and quickly became known as one of the best dekers in NHL history. As for Gomez, he had 756 points in 1079 games.

The NY Post suggested that the trade talks weren't believed to be overly serious. However, there isn't a concrete reason as to why this trade didn't cross the finish line. Which makes this one of the biggest "what ifs" in Devils' history.

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