The Detroit Red Wings entered the 1990 draft with the third-overall selection. The team had the beginnings of what would be its championship core with Steve Yzerman leading the way. But the team was hardly a contender during the 1989-1990 season.
So, the Red Wings ended up with the third-overall pick in 1990. That spring, the Red Wings picked Keith Primeau with that selection. Primeau had a fine NHL career, playing from 1990 to 1996 with the Wings. He departed following the 1995-96 season. The Wings won the Stanley Cup the following season.
Primeau moved on to the Hartford Whalers the season before the team moved to Carolina. Primeau eventually made a name for himself with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Let’s go back to the 1990 draft for a second. That year, the Quebec Nordiques (now Colorado Avalanche) had the first-overall selection. The club took Owen Nolan with that pick. Then, the Vancouver Canucks took Petr Nedved with the second overall pick.
The Red Wings followed with Primeau, the Flyers took Mike Ricci, and the Pittsburgh Penguins selected a young Czech player named Jaromir Jagr.
This selection was a big deal. Jagr was among the first wave of players drafted from former communist countries. Jagr was among the best young European talents at the time and poised to have a huge impact on the game.
So, the thought experiment here hinges on what would have happened if the Red Wings had taken Jagr third overall in 1990 instead of Primeau?
Adding Jagr would have meant the Red Wings’ core in the early 90s would have featured Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, and Jagr. The Red Wings could have blossomed much sooner and potentially thwarted the Pittsburgh Penguins' back-to-back Cups in 1991 and 1992.
Perhaps the Penguins still win. But by 1993 and 1994, the Red Wings would have been a much more formidable club. They could have beaten the Maple Leafs in the first round of the 1993 playoffs and gone on a run.
Who knows? The Red Wings could have beaten Wayne Gretzky and the LA Kings in that 1993 Conference Final. The 1993 Stanley Cup Final could have been the Red Wings against the Montreal Canadiens.
It’s a huge what-if, but one worth contemplating.
The Red Wings could have been a dynasty in the 1990s
The 1980s were marked by two dynasties. First, the New York Islanders won four straight Cups from 1980 to 1983. That dynasty overlapped with the Edmonton Oilers, who won five Cups in seven years.
But the 1990s lacked a dynasty of their own. The Penguins won back-to-back Cups, and that was that. The Rangers, Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche, and Dallas Stars all won titles during the decade.
The Red Wings won back-to-back Cups in 1997 and 1998. They would claim one more in 2002. But it’s a tantalizing thought to picture the Red Wings potentially winning Cups in ’93, ’94, and ’95. The fateful 1996 Colorado Avalanche Cup might not have ever happened.
Who knows? Jaromir Jagr and Steve Yzerman could have been locked at the hip for their entire careers. Sergei Fedorov might have stayed past 2003. The Red Wings could have even steamrolled the Penguins in 2009.
Those are all incredible thoughts that belong to a parallel dimension in which the Detroit Red Wings drafted Jaromir Jagr third overall in 1990.