Ray Shero is a hockey lifer, but he is a big enough sports fan to know the history of the other professional leagues, too. And, when it comes draft day in all of them, the Devils general manager understands that the guy holding the No. 1 pick doesn't always come out looking like a genius.

"Wasn't Michael Jordan drafted No. 3?" he said over the phone this week. "That's all you need to know."

The goal, of course, is not to be the poor schlep who scribbles the name "SAM BOWIE" on a sheet of paper and hands it to the commissioner. This is how GMs stay employed and avoid professional infamy. This is the challenge that faces Shero now, and it could shape his legacy.

He knows that Friday night can become a transformational moment in Devils history, a chance to add a cornerstone player who can help put this franchise back in contention for the Stanley Cup. That happens if he makes the right choice with the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft.

And if he doesn't ...

Shero can't afford to spend much time thinking about the potential nightmare scenario, because really, what good would it do? But if Shero makes the wrong choice this week, there is a very good chance that a hated rival with the No. 2 pick will have that franchise-changing moment instead.

If Shero is wrong, Devils fans could spend the next two decades -- that's no exaggeration -- watching that mistake come to the Prudential Center in a Philadelphia Flyers jersey, producing a generation of New Jersey hockey fans wondering, "What if?" and an endless amount of scorn for the man who made this decision.

But hey, no pressure, Ray!

"Look, whoever we don't pick -- unless (the Flyers) trade the pick -- will be playing against us at least six times a year," Shero said. "If we get the pick right, we're going to be happy he's on our side. It can't be my concern about who we don't pick becoming good for somebody else.

"I've just got to make sure, from our standpoint, doing what's best for the New Jersey Devils."

Shero has a pretty good idea of who that is already. He said that, if he had to make a pick "in two minutes," he'd be ready to call out a name. That doesn't mean that something dramatic couldn't happen between now and Friday night, but it is extremely unlikely that the Devils would trade the top pick.

So soon after 6 p.m. on Friday, it is likely that Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier will pull a red-and-black jersey over his shoulders in Chicago. The fact that there is an almost 50-50 split on which player should go first adds to the intrigue -- and to the challenge for Shero.

Patrick is 6-foot-2 center who had 92 goals and 205 points in 163 games over the last three seasons for the Brandon Wheat Kings. He would have been a lock for the top pick if not for a pair of hernias that limited his production last season and cast doubt about his durability.

That allowed the fast-rising Hischier, a 6-foot-1 center from Switzerland, to vault to the top of many draft lists. The feeling is that Hischier, who scored 38 goals with 86 points in 57 regular season games for Halifax of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, has a higher upside.

"They're totally different players," Shero said. "But ... they both have passion, they both have hockey sense. Nolan Patrick is a bit bigger, but Nico Hischier is not small, either. He's 6-1 or so. I think what's important to the Devils is adding a centerpiece to what we're trying to do that can make other players better."

So is it Nolan or Nico? Shero isn't tipping his hand, but he's convinced that the Devils and the Flyers will come away with a fine player -- not at the level of a Conor McDavid or some of the superstars at the top of recent drafts, but a true difference-maker.

That would be the best-case scenario, that Patrick and Hischier -- linked for the rest of their careers -- will help add some juice a Turnpike rivalry that, everyone agrees, has seen better days.

Friday night is the biggest night for the Devils in a long time, maybe since the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals opened at the Prudential Center. If the Devils are going to get back there, Shero must make the right choice. The alternative is not something he wants to consider.

Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.