Five Trade Deadline Deals with the Biggest Impact - Wiggy's Blog

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Five Trade Deadline Deals with the Biggest Impact Stuck

Posted on April 3, 2013 at 08:42 AM.

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With the NHL 13 rosters looking to be heavily re-jigged thanks to the impending trade deadline, it's always fun to think about all of the time, effort, money and talent that gets thrown around in early April during the NHL season. GMs like to think they can win over fans with some last ditch effort to show that their franchise is "trying" to get over the hump and become a contender. Then you have other GMs who are just trying to stock the cupboard for the future. Either way, it's made for some memorable deals -- as well as some hilarious air-time filler when analysts get the odd year where not much goes on.

In the spirit of the deadline, here are five deals from the past that really made a splash at the trade deadline.

5) Pittsburgh Gets Better; Hartford Gets...

Ron Francis had been with Hartford for 10 seasons, and he, along with Ulf Samuelsson, found themselves heading to Pittsburgh in a blockbuster trade in 1991. Francis and Samuelsson would end up joining the likes of Mario Lemieux on route to a Stanley Cup that year. Captain Ron even got better with age, piling up the points over the next 10-plus seasons after leaving the Whale.

Hartford, on the other hand, believed they were getting the better of the deal with John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski. While Parker was just a warm body and Zalapski was a very solid d-man, the key piece of the deal was John Cullen. However, the hockey gods weren't to be as kind to Cullen, as he had one decent season with the Whale, and then bounced around various teams, performing adequately but ultimately below his potential. He also had to retire prematurely due to being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

4) Oilers Ship Away Smyth

Ryan Smyth had arguably been the Oilers heart and soul since '94, but in 2007, when it seemed like he would re-sign with the team, he was unceremoniously dealt to the New York Islanders for Ryan O'Marra, Robert Nilsson and a first-round draft pick. While this certainly wasn't a Gretzky-level moment for the Oilers, it did send a message to the fans that there would be no sacred cows, especially when their team was last in the division.

3) Hossa Lands in Pittsburgh

Marian Hossa made his way out of Atlanta in 2008 and ended up in Pittsburgh, where he helped the Pens get to the Stanley Cup final (it would be a few years of picking the wrong team before he'd actually win one himself). In exchange for Hossa (and Pascal Dupuis, a pretty good player himself), the Thrashers got Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and Pittsburgh's first-round pick in 2008. Considering the talent involved, this was definitely a win for Pittsburgh.

2) Bourque Gets His Trade Wish

In the 2000 season, Ray Bourque got his wish to go after a Stanley Cup, and he was shipped away from his forever home of Boston in order to do so. This ended up being a benefit to both teams, as he and Dave Andreychuk helped Colorado win a Stanley Cup, and Boston got Brian Rolston, Samuel Pahlsson, Martin Grenier (and a 2000 first-round draft pick), which helped set them on a successful path for the next few seasons.

1) The Most Lopsided Deadline Deal

While this wasn't the flashiest deal at the time, it's easily the most one-sided. In 1996 Markus Naslund made his way to Vancouver in exchange for Alek Stojanov, who went to Pittsburgh. Naslund went on to blossom in Vancouver, scoring boatloads of points and making the Canucks an exciting contender in the west. Stojanov, on the other hand, pretty much played like he always had -- racking up tons of penalty minutes while getting bounced around the minor leagues.

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Bonus: Now, this one didn't happen on the trade deadline, but even after all these years, it's still the most insane trade of all time. Yes, Eric Lindros was a very good hockey player when he played, even with his crazy concussion issues. But when you remember how many prime assets were given up for him, it's totally bonkers. To get Lindros from Quebec (and yes, Lindros' parents were forcing the team's hand here), the Flyers gave up the following:

- Peter Forsberg
- Steve Duchesne
- Kerry Huffman
- Mike Ricci
- Ron Hextall
- Chris Simon
- Two first-round draft picks
- $15 million

Of course, many of these players were earlier in their careers, but the fact that you've got two bona fide all-stars and some other key role-players, plus a very good goalie, plus two first-rounders, plus $15 million... wow. Still crazy to look at this trade today.