NHL: 1 Recent Trade Each Team Should Never Have Made

This summer has been filled with trades and free agent signings, as NHL teams prepare to improve their rosters heading into the 2011-12 season.

The Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks even traded multiple times with each other this offseason.

Some of these trades, however, should not have been made. While not every team has made a bad move this summer, every team has made a trade they'd like a do-over on in the last decade or so.

Let's look at one recent trade each team shouldn't have made.

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston. Follow him on Twitter for NHL/Bruins news and analysis. Follow @NicholasGoss35

Anaheim Ducks

When the Anaheim Ducks traded away star defenseman Chris Pronger to the Philadelphia Flyers prior to the 2009 NHL Draft, they made a gaping hole in their defense.

The team hasn't been able to recover from it and currently lacks the skill on the blue line needed to win a Stanley Cup.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins traded away franchise center and captain Joe Thornton just 23 games into the 2005-06 season for several players who never starred for the team.

It was a bad trade that sent the franchise back a few years after the lockout ended.

Buffalo Sabres

Dominic Moore was a disaster in Buffalo when he was acquired in 2009 for a second-round pick. He didn't last long with the Sabres and played for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season.

Calgary Flames

In early 2010, the Calgary Flames made a major trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs, acquiring forwards Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers, Matt Stajan and defenseman Ian White in exchange for defenseman Dion Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect defenceman Keith Aulie.

Those Flames players haven't given them much production while Phaneuf is among the best d-men in the league.

Carolina Hurricanes

Joe Corvo is a very good offensive defenseman, yet the Carolina Hurricanes decided to trade him to the Boston Bruins this summer for a fourth-round draft pick.

Instead, the team signed free agent Tomas Kaberle to a big contract.

Chicago Blackhawks

When the Blackhawks traded offensive defenseman James Wisniewski to the Anaheim Ducks for center Samuel Pahlsson, it wasn't a good move at the time and still isn't looking back.

Wisniewski has become a point machine and is great on the powerplay.

Colorado Avalanche

A few years ago when the Colordao Avalanche hadn't started its current rebuilding process, it traded for former star goaltender Jose Theodore and instantly made him the starter.

The experience was a disaster for the Avalanche.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Acquiring Jeff Carter from the Philadelphia Flyers was a great move for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who now finally have a real center to play with Rick Nash, but the price paid to get Carter was pretty high.

Jakub Voracek, a first-round pick and another draft choice is a lot for a player who isn't a superstar, yet.

Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars had a nice young core of talented players to bring them into the future until they messed it up by trading James Neal to the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.

Neal is a player who can score 70 points a year and is a responsible two-way forward.

Detroit Red Wings

In the 2010 season, the Detroit Red Wings had too many forwards to keep on the team, so they traded left winger Ville Leino to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Leino has become a top-six forward and signed a big free-agent contract with the Buffalo Sabres this summer.

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers made the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006, losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games. That summer, the team traded defenseman Chris Pronger to the Anaheim Ducks, leaving itself without a top defenseman.

The team still doesn't have one.

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers did the Chicago Blackhawks a huge favor when they acquired defenseman Brian Campbell last season, in the process taking on his over-$7 million a year salary cap hit.

Not a good move for a struggling franchise.

Los Angeles Kings

Trading away Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn to the Philadelphia Flyers this summer wasn't a good move for the Los Angeles Kings.

Simmonds and Schenn are both good young players who haven't reached their potential.

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild made a number of trades with the San Jose Sharks this summer, and the worst was when they gave up Brent Burns, who is an emerging defensive star.

The Wild haven't found a replacement for Burns yet, whose absence will surely be felt this season.

Montreal Canadiens

When the Montreal Canadiens traded Jaroslav Halak after their impressive 2010 run to the Eastern Conference Finals, they didn't acquire enough talent back from the St. Louis Blues.

With Carey Price in goal, the Canadiens didn't manage to get out of the first round last year, losing to the Boston Bruins.

Nashville Predators

When Mike Fisher was acquired by the Nashville Predators from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for draft picks, Preds fans thought their team was getting some much needed scoring help.

But Fisher's offense hasn't been spectacular, and the Predators are still in need of lots more scoring.

New Jersey Devils

The price that the New Jersey Devils paid to acquire Ilya Kovalchuk from the Atlanta Thrashers wasn't too bad, but the $100 million-plus contract they gave him the following summer made the trade so much worse.

Kovalchuk is good, but paying someone that much for many seasons isn't financially healthy for a franchise.

New York Islanders

Trading James Wisniewski to the Montreal Canadiens last season for a second- and fifth-round pick wasn't a good move for the New York Islanders, who would love to have Wisniewski's offensive talents on the blue line again.

New York Rangers

When the Rangers traded for Eric Lindros in the 2001-02 season, they gave up a ton of young talent, but luckily for the team, they are starting to build a nice young core of players again—especially on defense.

Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators traded an unhappy Dany Heatley to the San Jose Sharks about a month before the 2009-10 season, and their offense has suffered.

The Senators don't have enough scoring and have to rely on Jason Spezza to carry the offensive burden pretty much by himself.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers traded their captain and one of their best offensive players this summer to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn.

Richards was a leader and goal scorer, and now the Flyers' offensive depth isn't as good as it has been the last few years when they've made deep playoff runs.

Phoenix Coyotes

The Phoenix Coyotes traded the negotiatiing rights to llya Bryzgalov this summer to the Philadelphia Flyers, who then signed him to a massive nine-year deal worth $51 million.

The Coyotes knew they weren't going to re-sign the star goalie because they couldn't afford him, but now the team will suffer greatly without a quality goalie.

It's going to be a long year in Phoenix.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins general manager Ray Shero made a rare bad move when he acquired Alexei Kovalev from the Ottawa Senators for a conditional seventh-round pick last season.

St. Louis Blues

Erik Johnson was the first overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft and didn't develop as quickly as the team thought he would.

The Blues traded him to the Colorado Avalanche last season and should have given him a bit more time to develop into a star.

He has too much talent not to be a quality player.

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks traded high-scoring forward Dany Heatley this summer to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Martin Havlat.

Havlat is a good player but is not good defensively, and while Heatley was terrible in the playoffs, the Sharks should have gotten more for him.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning traded one of its best players and the forward who won a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Award with them in 2004 to the Dallas Stars for Mike Smith, forwards Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern and a 2009 fourth-round draft pick.

It was a bad move for Tampa Bay who traded away a superstar for a few average players.

Toronto Maple Leafs

To be fair to Phil Kessel, he still has more time to prove himself and fulfill his scoring potential in Toronto, but the Maple Leafs' trade of two first-round picks for Kessel prior to the 2009-10 season with the Boston Bruins has been a terrible move so far.

Those two picks turned out to be the No. 2 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, and the No. 9 pick in last year's draft.

The Bruins selected forward Tyler Seguin in 2010 and defenseman Dougie Hamilton in 2011.

Vancouver Canucks

Christian Ehrhoff was a very good offensively skilled defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks last season, but his negotiating rights were traded to the New York Islanders this summer.

He went on to sign a 10-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres.

The Canucks should have made a better effort to keep the German defenseman instead of opting to re-sign Kevin Bieksa.

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals haven't made too many bad trades recently, so I'll nitpick and say their trade for veteran center Jason Arnott wasn't that great of a move.

The Capitals could have gotten a younger player who would have helped the team long-term, or trade for a young defenseman.

Winnipeg Jets

The beginning of the end to the Thrashers' time as a franchise in Atlanta was trading their only superstar, Ilya Kovalchuk, to the New Jersey Devils for not a good return.

The Thrashers' return package included defenseman Johnny Oduya, forward Niclas Bergfors, prospect Patrice Cormier and the Devils' 2010 first-round pick.

The Thrashers waited too long to make this deal, and thus got less than they should have for an elite goal scorer.