| As part of my series of articles reviewing the best | | | | At the time, this deal made no sense for either party. It |
| and the worst of the past decade, I decided to take a | | | | still makes no sense. The only question is who lost |
| look at the trade deadline deals that have gone down | | | | more? The Oilers lost the heart and sole of their |
| over the past ten years. Here are the "biggest" deals | | | | franchise over a petty salary squabble. Fans were |
| in terms of significance then and the longer term | | | | outraged that their favorite player was discarded. The |
| impact. We obviously don't know the full impact of | | | | Islanders tried to land Smyth in hopes they could |
| some of the more recent deals, but we'll do our best | | | | sweet talk him into sticking around. It didn't happen and |
| to guess. | | | | the Islanders were out a few more prospects and a |
| #10 - 2009: | | | | 1st round pick. Again, we'll have to wait and see how |
| The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired Antoine | | | | Nilsson, O'Marra and Plante pan out for the Oilers. Best |
| Vermette from the Ottawa Senators for Pascal | | | | guess is that the Islanders come out the bigger losers |
| Leclaire and a 2009 2nd round draft pick. | | | | in the deal. |
| It will take a year or two to understand the full | | | | #5 - 2007: |
| significance of this deal; however, on the surface, this | | | | The St. Louis Blues acquired Brad Boyes from the |
| could be a major transaction for both sides. The | | | | Boston Bruins for Dennis Wideman. |
| Senators have had a history of a shaky goaltending | | | | This is one of those deals that seems to be a big win |
| situation. Although they've had some significant talent in | | | | for both sides. Boyes and Wideman both showed |
| the past (Hasek, Emery, Lalime), they've all come with | | | | promise with their former clubs, but never emerged as |
| baggage, or came on the downside of their career. | | | | stars until after the trade. Upon arriving in Boston, |
| Leclaire entered the league a few seasons back with | | | | Wideman became an instant success and racked up |
| tons of promise and he started to deliver on that | | | | some great totals, while Boyes went out on a |
| promise before injuries struck and a rookie stole his | | | | goal-scoring tear in St. Louis. Hard to pick a loser in this |
| job. From the early going this year in Ottawa, Leclaire | | | | deal. Both sides win. |
| looks comfortable and healthy, and is a big reason for | | | | #4 - 2001: |
| the strong start that the Senators have enjoyed. If | | | | Phoenix Coyotes traded Keith Tkachuk to St. Louis |
| they can get back into the playoff picture this season, | | | | Blues for Michal Handzus, Ladislav Nagy, the rights to |
| Leclaire promises to be a big part of it. | | | | Jeff Taffe and a 1st-round pick in the 2001 or 2002 |
| On the other side, Vermette offers some depth at | | | | Entry Draft (The Coyotes selected Ben Eager in the |
| center that the franchise has never seen in the past. | | | | 2002 Entry Draft). |
| He finished the season strong last year in Columbus | | | | While the Coyotes seemed to get a fortune in this |
| and is skating regularly on the top line this season with | | | | deal at the time, none of the returns panned out very |
| the Jackets. Looks like a win for both sides. | | | | well for Phoenix. Handzus and Nagy moved off to L.A., |
| #9 - 2001: | | | | while Taffe and Eager never materialized into stars for |
| San Jose Sharks acquired Teemu Selanne from the | | | | the organization. And they gave up one of the best |
| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for Jeff Friesen, Steve | | | | players in the franchise's history. Tkachuk had an |
| Shields and San Jose's 2nd round choice in the 2003 | | | | immediate positive impact on the Blues, leading them in |
| NHL Entry Draft. | | | | scoring several times. While it didn't lead to a whole lot |
| Although it didn't directly didn't greatly affect the | | | | of team success, St. Louis fans would all agree that |
| fortunes of either team involved, this trade had a | | | | the Blues walked away the winner in this big deal. |
| major impact on the career of one of the league's | | | | #3 - 2008: |
| great superstars over the past 20 years. For the first | | | | The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Marian Hossa and |
| 10 years of his career, Selanne averaged well over a | | | | Pascal Dupuis from the Atlanta Thrashers for Colby |
| point a game and was always at the top of the goal | | | | Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a |
| scoring list. After joining the Sharks, his totals tanked | | | | 2008 1st round draft pick (Daultan Leveille). |
| and didn't recover for four years when he rejoined the | | | | This trade nearly paid off in a big way for the |
| Ducks and saw a major comeback in his stats. | | | | Penguins, and will probably pay dividends for the |
| As for Friesen, he was a fan favorite in San Jose and | | | | Thrashers for years to come. Hossa played a key role |
| was regularly one of the team's leading scorers. After | | | | in getting the Penguins to the finals that season, and |
| being traded, Friesen bounced around to 5 different | | | | was a big motivational factor (at least from the fans |
| teams over his last 7 seasons. Overall, the trade didn't | | | | standpoint) in the rematch this past spring. Either way, |
| work out for either side. | | | | Hossa's trade to the Pens was a big deal in Pittsburgh. |
| #8 - 2008: | | | | The Thrashers got a lot in return. Armstrong is a |
| The San Jose Sharks acquired Brian Campbell and a | | | | character player that will be a part of anything good |
| 7th round pick in 2008 (Drew Daniels) from the Buffalo | | | | happening in Atlanta. The jury is out on Esposito and |
| Sabres for Steve Bernier and a 2008 1st round draft | | | | Leveille. |
| pick (Tyler Ennis). | | | | #2 - 2002: |
| This is another deal that has yet to fully play out. The | | | | New Jersey Devils obtain Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie |
| Sabres had little choice but to deal Campbell in 2008, | | | | Langenbrunner from the Dallas Stars for Jason Arnott, |
| and they got the best return they could for him. Bernier | | | | Randy McKay and 2002 1st round draft pick (later |
| didn't last long in Buffalo and Campbell didn't last long in | | | | traded (Daniel Paille)). |
| San Jose. The Sharks were poised for a Cup run and | | | | Fresh off of leading the Stars to the Stanley Cup in |
| rolled the dice on Campbell. They weren't able to hold | | | | 1999, Nieuwendyk and Langenbrunner were dealt to |
| on to him that summer when Chicago threw a | | | | the Devils for two guys that were a big part of a |
| truckload of cash at the defenseman. The biggest | | | | couple of Cup wins in New Jersey a few years prior. |
| factor left to play out is the career of Tyler Ennis. He | | | | The deal was an instant success in New Jersey. |
| has yet to graduate to the NHL level, but when he | | | | Nieuwendyk and Langenbrunner played key roles in |
| does, all signs seem to indicate this is going to be a big | | | | the Devils third Cup victory a year later, while the Stars |
| win for the Sabres in the end. | | | | haven't made it back to the Finals since the |
| #7 - 2006: | | | | blockbuster deal. |
| The Carolina Hurricanes acquired Mark Recchi from | | | | #1 - 2000: |
| the Pittsburgh Penguins for Niklas Nordgren, Krystofer | | | | Colorado Avalanche obtain Ray Bourque and Dave |
| Kolanos, and a 2nd round pick in 2007. | | | | Andreychuk from the Boston Bruins for Brian Rolston, |
| Although Recchi's career in Carolina was very | | | | Samuel Pahlsson, Martin Grenier and a 2000 1st round |
| short-lived (20 regular season games), his impact on | | | | draft pick (RW Martin Samuelsson). |
| the franchise's history and durability cannot be | | | | After 20 years in Boston, it was shocking to see |
| underestimated. Recchi played a key leadership role in | | | | Bourque move on to Colorado, even though the fans |
| the Canes' Stanley Cup run that season and | | | | in Boston seemed to adopt the Avalanche as their |
| contributed with big goals throughout the playoffs. It's | | | | brother team. The trade helped give the Avalanche an |
| debatable whether or not the Canes would have won, | | | | edge the following season, as they captured their 2nd, |
| and would still be viable in Carolina had they not swung | | | | and Bourque's first Stanley Cup win. Andreychuk |
| that deal for Recchi. | | | | would have to wait a few years for his ring, as he left |
| #6 - 2007: | | | | in the summer of 2000 for Tampa. All told, this was |
| The New York Islanders acquired Ryan Smyth from | | | | probably the most memorable, and most significant of |
| the Edmonton Oilers for Robert Nilsson, Ryan O'Marra | | | | the trade deadline deals in the past 10 years. |
| and a 1st round pick in 2007 (D Alex Plante). | | | | |