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Top 10 Most Lopsided Trades in NHL History

by Bernie Horowitz (Scribe)

56

3,177 reads

Rankings/List

August 26, 2008


Honorable Mentions 

1.  Mar. 18, 1983: The Kings traded Larry Murphy to the Capitals for Brian Engblom and Ken Houston

The Capitals stole Larry Murphy at 22 for a ridiculous price. Houston played only 33 more games in the NHL after the trade. Engblom was similarly unimpressive, though he played 3.5 more seasons.

 

2.  Mar. 4, 1991: The Whalers traded Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson, and Grant Jennings to the Penguins for John Cullen, Jeff Parker, and Zarley Zalapski

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56 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Junior Nelson 10 months ago

    Good stuff. I wonder who you'd list as the worst free agent signings of all time?

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  2. Matt Ellenberger 10 months ago

    One you left out:
    NYI trading Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen to FLA for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish

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    • Scott Fitzsimmons 10 months ago

      That's got to be right up there!

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      yeah, that one probably should have been included. That said, I think that the second Luongo deal was more lopsided than the first (despite the inclusion of Jokinen) because by the time he went to Vancouver, Luongo was clearly one of the best goalies in the NHL and Todd Bertuzzi's value was so low.

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    • PJ Edelman 10 months ago

      As a Rangers' fan, I love this trade. It's my favorite. It just kills me. One of the best 3 goalies, and one of the top 20 goal scorers. It's a thing of beauty.

      Was this a Milbury move? I hated him so much, that I actually hated what he did to the Islanders! And this, as a Rangers fan. Because he ruins the sport with bonehead moves. God, he is the worst.

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  3. Eric K 10 months ago

    How 'bout 2001- Penguins trade Jaromir Jagr and Frantisek Kucera to the Capitals for Kris Beech, Michel Sivek, and Ross Lupaschuk

    Thus beginning six years of cellar-dwelling for the Pens

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      That one could have been an honorable mention... the trade is lopsided, there's no denying that. I didn't include it because of the drop off in Jagr's production in Washington.

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  4. Rob Ohlstrom 10 months ago

    Where's Joe Thornton?

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      Joe Thornton for Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau... definitely lopsided, but I'm not sure it belongs in the top 10.

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  5. Eric K 10 months ago

    indeed Jagr's production did fall off once he left the 'Burgh... but nobody expected it to at the time of the trade. JJ was still among the leaders in every offensive category at the time, it's just too bad he was "dying alive" in Pittsburgh.

    nice job on the article, good read

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      Thanks... yeah, shame on Washington. If they had accommodated Jags the way the Rangers did, who knows how well he would have done.

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  6. MJ Kasprzak 10 months ago

    You have no idea how much trouble I had editing this to get rid of all the formatting and programming language problems. But I managed, and it was worth it! this was a great article. To me, the Thornton trade should AT LEAST be an honourable mention, but most of these I would not have known the details on. I am impressed to say the least.

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  7. Greg Caggiano 10 months ago

    Great article! Next must come the top 10 best signings from 1997-2004 for the Rangers...

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    • Andrew Mason 10 months ago

      how many is that? None? haha just kidding. But great article man! You just have to wonder what the GMs was thinking on these.

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  8. Anthony Howson 10 months ago

    I gotta say as a Bruins fan I didn't sleep for a week after the Thornton trade. I even questioned whether or not I could still cheer for a team that made that kind of trade. But I gotta tell you as I watched Sturm blow past the entire Montreal team and blast one past Carey, I thought to myself how many times has Thornton done that when it counts? The answer is not enough to hold his value as high as it is especially in the playoffs. Yeah Boston lost the deal but not as badly as it once seemed.

    PS they made it a little better by getting Kobasew and Ference for Stuart and Primeau as well

    Bruins #1 fan

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  9. Elbow Murderpants 10 months ago

    Great Hockey Article.

    Another lop-sided trade I remember was Geoff Courtnall, Cliff Ronning, and Serge Momesso to Vancouver for essentially Garth Butcher (I forget the exact details).

    That trade led to Vancouver's solid run to the finals in 1994 and blew up a solid season by St. Louis.

    And that #5 trade was a doozy - I remember laughing at that one.

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  10. Erin Arthurs 10 months ago

    I think you're missing the most lopsided trade, by far, of all time: Gretzky, Mcsorley and Mike Krushelnyski for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million, 2 first rounders and a bag of pucks. Other than the fact that the owner was running out of money, there is ABSOLUTELY no way anyone could rationalize this deal, now or then. Gretzky was 2 seasons removed from setting the ALL TIME NHL record for points in a season, with an unworldly 215 points, and had just won another cup. Jimmy Carson and Martin Gelinas were decent players (Carson much more so than Gelinas), but they weren't even in the same universe as Gretzky.

    I like your inclusion of the Neely and Hull trades. Those are ones that a lot of people forget.

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      I certainly considered putting in the Gretzky deal, but, as you point out, there was a very good reason for it. Edmonton was losing money fast, and needed to find a way to bring in a lot of cash. $15 Million was a lot of money back then (especially in Canada), and Edmonton did win the Cup in 1990.

      There's no denying it was lopsided. I would point out that Jimmy Carson was nothing to scoff at when the trade was made, he'd just scored 107 points at the age of 20, and scored 100 points in his first season in Edmonton.

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    • Erin Arthurs 10 months ago

      Yeah, it's true that 15 million is a lot of money, except that the Oilers were in the hole not because of their hockey operations. Wouldn't you evaluate lopsided trades purely based on what's exchanged? If that's the case, then can you really say that 15 million, adjusted for inflation over the course of Gretzky's career was worth more than Gretzky? No. Just because the Oilers were mismanaged, or because their owner was a complete crook doesn't mean that this isn't the most lopsided trade of all time.

      And yes, Carson was a good young player ... who cracked under the pressure. After his 100 points season in Edmonton, he was pretty much useless for the rest of his career.

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      Look at it this way: the goal of the Gretzky trade was to allow Edmonton to remain a contender by trading down on Gretzky and acquiring the cash to continue competing at the highest level. The fact that the Oilers won the cup in 1990 for me justifies the trade somewhat.

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  11. jim 10 months ago

    Great article!

    How about the Bruins trading Ken Dryden to the Canadiens in 1964 for Guy Allen and Paul Reid!!

    He won 6 cups in the net for the Canadiens while the other two never made the NHL!!!!

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      Wow, I had absolutely no idea that Ken Dryden was ever property of another team. I thought you were BS'ing me for a minute there until I saw on hockeydb that Dryden was drafted by the Bruins. I'm surprised that trade isn't better known, I don't even remember seeing anything about it in Dryden's book!

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  12. Brian Sulpher 10 months ago

    The Flames trade with Gilmour was horrendous, but trading away Hull was a good move as it finally set up their Stanley Cup victory. Hull was an uninspired and lazy forward in Calgary, and that trade was what finally shook him awake to become the player he is known as. I think that trade was one of those where both sides won.

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      You probably know more about the Flames of the 80's than I do, considering I wasn't born yet, but did Ramage and Wamsley really factor in the 89 championship? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Wamsley was just Mike Vernon's backup and Ramage was a depth defenseman on that team...

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    • Brian Sulpher 10 months ago

      Where as before they lacked a reasonable back-up and they had a lazy, uninspired, FAT forward. They got rid of an anchor (again, at the time he was one) and improved their defense and toughness as well as giving Vernon a bit more rest, meaning he was fresh for the play-offs (Vernon was never a good start 60+ games goalie). It is a trade that ultimately IS lopsided, BUT in the context of the situation does not make this list. The other Flames trade on here was ridiculed when it happened and deserves to be ridiculed today (that was the real blow that killed the team for over a decade).

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      Since you appear to be a Flames fan, can you shed any light on the Gilmour deal? I don't get it at all. No matter how hard I try, it's hard to see how Reese, Berube, Petit, Godynyuk or Leeman had any appeal at all. If I were a GM, I probably wouldn't have even given up Macoun or Nattress for that package...

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    • Brian Sulpher 10 months ago

      That is easy... Fletcher left the Flames to go to Toronto after training a replacement, and then he proceeded to abuse that relationship with the replacement to get a ridiculously one sided trade off to turn the Leafs into contenders. Awful, awful trade on every single level (unless you are a Leafs fan, cause then it rocks).

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    • Scott Fitzsimmons 10 months ago

      That replacement was Doug Reisborough. No one will ever understand why he made that trade. I am pretty sure Dougie will take that to his grave.

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  13. Chris Pope 10 months ago

    Pretty sure the Lindros trade needs to be in the top three for sure if not number 1.

    Peter Forsberg, as well as Ron Hextall, Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Steve Duchesne, a 1st round selection (Jocelyn Thibault) in 1993, a 1st round selection (later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, later traded to the Washington Capitals - Nolan Baumgartner) in 1994, and $15,000,000 cash to the Nordiques (Avalanche) for Lindros.

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      I disagree. Eric Lindros was the most dominant player in the NHL for awhile, especially in 94-95 and 95-96. Before he had all his concussions, he was incredible. I think Lindros for Forsberg is a wash. The rest of the players, 1st rounder and money make the trade lopsided, but I don't think it belongs in the top 10...

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    • Erin Arthurs 10 months ago

      I agree. This trade basically made the Avs/Nords a dominant team for 2 decades. To say that Lindros for Forsberg is a wash is ridiculous. Who would you rather have, a petulant diva who can't skate with his head up or with the puck at full speed, or a guy who can not only play in all facets of the game, but also dominate with skill, speed or body? Not only that, but Thibault (one of the firsts included with the trade) turned into Roy. This was an absolute fleecing. Considering at the time that Lindros refused to play for the Nords (meaning that Philly had a lot of bargaining power), it's incredible what they gave up to get him.

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      Sorry, but did you just liken Jocelyn Thibault to Patrick Roy? I stand by Lindros/Forsberg being a wash. Lindros was amazing before he got hurt, you can't deny that. Look at the stats...

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    • Chris Pope 10 months ago

      Lindros was AMAZING for a couple years, hands down the best player in the NHL for a year or two. Forsberg was amazing for a long period of time (when healthy) but if you look at the additions, Ron Hextall (arguably a HHOF'er), Chris Simon (a f-in maniac), Mike Ricci (Everyone loves Mike Ricci - this guy would take a puck in the face and not care as long as he blocked the shot), Kerry Huffman (ok not the best player in the world, but still pulled off almost 10 years in the show), Steve Duchesne (Could potentially make the HHOF), Jocelyn Thibault (Like Erin said - he was traded for Pat Roy), the other draft pick is pointless but with addition of the 15 million, there is no way that you can say this trade wasn't one of the worst deals in NHL history.

      ESPECIALLY since (again like Eric stated) Lindros didnt want to play for the Nordiques, so they had to get rid of him for something, little did they know that the Flyers would trade their entire team for the big man!

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      Erin likened Patrick Roy to Thibault, and you say that Steve Duchesne and Ron Hextall should be in the Hall of Fame... come on. Hextall was a good goalie, but I don't think he belongs in the Hall. Neither do most people apparently, since he's been eligible for awhile. Duchesne in the Hall? Really?

      Lindros gave the Flyers many good seasons before he fell apart. If he'd been forced to retire after 3 or 4 seasons, that would be a different story.

      I'm not saying the deal wasn't lopsided, but I don't think it was more lopsided than the trades on the list.

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  14. Mark Makuch 10 months ago

    the gilmour trade was a fleece job to be sure. Leeman had scored 51 goals 2 seasons before, but was on the down-side. He never came close to that kind of production again.

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  15. Spencer Callaghan 10 months ago

    You forgot Alexei Yashin from Ottawa to the Islanders for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt and their #1 pick which would become Jason Spezza.

    That trade is easily top 10, the Sens got 2 future All Star for one whiny, overpaid, loafer who is now in Russia.

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      I compiled this list without taking into consideration what future draft picks became, which is why the Yashin deal isn't on the list. There's a big difference between Yashin for Chara, Muckalt and a #1 and Yashin for Chara, Muckalt and Spezza.

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    • Spencer Callaghan 10 months ago

      Well if that was your criteria I guess that's fair.

      However, the timing of the trade was right before the draft, when it was pretty obvious that the pick was going to be Spezza so in reality the Sens knew who they were getting when they made the trade.

      I still think it was one of the most lopsided ever, although you could make an entire list solely consisting of bad Mike Milbury trades.

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  1. Rafal Ladysz 10 months ago

    what about buffalo getting daniel briere for chris gratton

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  2. Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

    good call, I forgot about that one. I still don't think it breaks the top 10, Briere spent only 3 years in Buffalo.

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  3. Alan Bass 10 months ago

    Love this list. I think the Flyers' Lindros trade should be on here somewhere, but I agree with most every trade here.

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  4. Jacob Mowat 10 months ago

    What about the Dominik Hasek trade to Buffalo

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      Yeah, that was an awful trade for Chicago. Hasek wasn't really proven yet, but he'd already shown signs of being a really good goalie.

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  5. Mikey Tolvo 10 months ago

    You did a lot of research.

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      Well, not as much as I'd like to claim. My obsession with hockey is crazy to the point where I just had to look up the trades to get the dates, put them in order, and write commentary.

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  6. MR CONTROVERSY 10 months ago

    that was great stuff , where did you find them . lol i was trying to find this , but just on the rangers on trades and free agents they picked up in the past . but i can't find a list .

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      Thanks.

      Unfortunately, the Rangers' history with trades and free agents is a comedy errors. As a Rangers fan, it wouldn't be much fun to recount it. Even the trades leading up to the 94 Cup are bad, especially the losses of Amonte, Weight and Gartner. How about Nedved and Kovalev for Robitaille and Samuelsson? More recently, there's the trade of Marc Savard and Dan Cloutier for the draft pick that yielded Jamie Lundmark...

      The signings are just as bad. Malakhov, Kamensky, Kasparaitis, Holik, Quintal, Lefevbre... the Rangers should to get 100 years of tax breaks for their charitable goodwill in overpaying players who didn't deserve it.

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  7. MR CONTROVERSY 10 months ago

    lol i agree 100 % there. i wanted to do an article on it. because they did some stupid moves in the past . but this last year , was a total reconstruction of the team , and over all it looks ok . trust me , i was right there with you shedding tears on what they did in the past lmao ....

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  8. David London 10 months ago

    I like to track the draft picks a bit...

    Kings trade 1st round pick for G Ron Grahame. Pick turned out to be Ray Bourque.

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    • Bernie Horowitz 10 months ago

      I don't know... tracking draft picks makes everything more complicated. They can turn into Ray Bourque or Alexander Daigle. Picks unto themselves have a much more tangible value. What happens if there's a throw-in 7th rounder in a trade, and it turns out to be the next Henrik Zetterberg? I could never put a trade like that on a list like this.

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  9. Jon Lambert 10 months ago

    One that never sat with me was Pittsburgh sending a beginning of his prime Sergei Zubov for an old, immobile KEVIN Hatcher

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  10. Tom Hutton 5 months ago

    How about one FOR Calgary? I think getting Miikka Kiprusoff from San Jose for a 2nd round, 2005 draft pick, was ASTRONOMICALLY lopsided. This deserves top 10 mention (7, at best, in my mind). A player like Kiprusoff is so MUCH more important than just a "great" goalie. Who wants to spend a lot of money on a backup goalie when you know you have an iron-man such as Kiprusoff, or Brodeur. It saves some cap room.

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  11. James Adams 5 months ago

    It's a good list. But The only problem I see is why wasn't the Eric Lindros trade noted? Eric Lindors for Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Steve Duchesne, a 1st round selection (Jocelyn Thibault) in 1993, a 1st round selection (later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, later traded to the Washington Capitals Nolan Baumgartner) in 1994, and $15,000,000 cash. With Thibault they wouldn't have been able to make the Roy trade as well. I'm just curious. This trade seems severly one sided to me. One player for, 6 players, 2 first round draft picks, and 15 mil. You Decide.

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