Ranking the 10 Best Trade-Deadline Deals in NHL History

Next Monday, March 2, the National Hockey League trade deadline will put an end to player movement between teams for the 2014-15 season.

In today's salary-cap world, it's tough for general managers to make deals that will help their team on the ice while still working within their organization's salary structure. At this time of year, though, teams with playoff aspirations are looking to add pieces to push them over the top while the bottom-dwellers try to acquire draft picks and prospects in exchange for their assets of value.

The earth has already started to rumble this season, with players such as the Toronto Maple Leafs' Cody Franson and Daniel Winnik, the Carolina Hurricanes' Andrej Sekera and Jiri Tlusty and the Florida Panthers' Sean Bergenheim moving to their new homes with several days to spare before the clock strikes midnight.

These seem like relatively minor deals. In the past, some crucial moves have been made in the days leading up to the deadline, as well as on the final day itself.

Here's a look at the 10 best trade-deadline deals that we've seen in NHL history.

10. Tampa Bay Lightning Acquire Ben Bishop

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Date: April 3, 2013

The Transaction: The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired Bishop from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Cory Conacher and Philadelphia's fourth-round pick in 2013, previously acquired by the Lightning. Ottawa selected Swedish forward Tobias Lindberg.

The Outcome: Caught behind Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner on an Ottawa team with great goaltending depth, Bishop successfully stepped into the starter's role when he was dealt to Tampa Bay. Though a wrist injury prevented him from appearing in the 2013-14 playoffs, Bishop finished third in Vezina Trophy voting in his first full season with the Lightning.

This year, Bishop currently ranks fourth among goaltenders with 30 wins, while his Lightning are challenging for top spot in the Atlantic Division.

Undrafted rookie Cory Conacher started his NHL career with a splash when joined the Lightning after the 2012-13 NHL lockout, posting 24 points in 35 games before being traded.

The Senators were looking for offense and got three playoff goals out of Conacher in their first-round win over the Montreal Canadiens, including one game-winner, but Conacher went dry in the Sens' second-round loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was eventually put on waivers by Ottawa in March of 2014 and after suiting up briefly with the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders, Conacher is currently playing with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL.

Nineteen-year-old Tobias Lindberg has put up 65 points (26 goals, 39 assists) in 56 games in his first season of North American hockey with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL.

9. Los Angeles Kings Acquire Marian Gaborik

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Date: March 5, 2014

The Transaction: The Los Angeles Kings acquired forward Marian Gaborik from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for forward Matt Frattin, a 2014 or '15 second-round pick and a conditional third-round pick, per NHL.com.

The Outcome: Gaborik slotted into the right side of the Kings' first line with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown in 2014, leading the team with 14 goals on the way to its second Stanley Cup in three years.

The Kings were so pleased with Gaborik's playoff contribution that they signed the Slovakian sniper to a seven-year, $34.125 million contract extension before he could become a free agent last summer.

Frattin played just four games with the Blue Jackets before his rights were dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 30 in exchange for forward Jerry D'Amigo and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2015. He played nine games with the Maple Leafs before being assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.

The Blue Jackets have yet to cash in on their draft picks.

8. Nashville Predators Acquire Filip Forsberg

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Date: April 3, 2013

The Transaction: The Nashville Predators acquired forward Filip Forsberg from the Washington Capitals in exchange for forwards Martin Erat and Michael Latta.

The Outcome: The Capitals were willing to surrender their 2012 first-round pick, Forsberg, because they coveted the steady Erat to add another dimension to their offense for their 2013 playoff run.

Erat's acquisition was a bust for Washington—he went pointless in four playoff games before a wrist injury knocked him out of the postseason. The Caps went on to lose their first-round series to the New York Rangers in seven games.

Erat was traded to the Arizona Coyotes on March 4, 2014 along with forward John Mitchell in exchange for minor leaguers Chris Brown and Rostislav Klesla and a fourth-round pick in 2015, per The Canadian Press (via NHL.com).

Originally drafted in the third round by Nashville in 2009, Latta has been a bubble player for the Capitals this season. He has five assists and is averaging 8:34 of ice time over 40 games.

Meanwhile, Filip Forsberg has blossomed into a star in Nashville. He leads both the Predators and all NHL rookies in scoring with 21 goals and 52 points, giving him the inside track for the 2015 Calder Trophy and a chance at a serious Stanley Cup run with the NHL's best regular-season team this season.

7. Vancouver Canucks Acquire Markus Naslund

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Date: March 20, 1996

The Transaction: The Vancouver Canucks acquired forward Markus Naslund from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Alek Stojanov.

The Outcome: Two of the more successful teams in the NHL during the first half of the 1990s, the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins swapped underachieving former first-round draft picks in an effort to spark their respective teams for the 1996 playoff run.

The Penguins were looking for size and grit when they brought in the 6'4", 225-pound Stojanov, a seventh overall pick in 1991. The Canucks decided to swap size for skill in dealing for Naslund, who was chosen 16th overall the same year.

Stojanov went pointless in nine playoff games with the Penguins, who reached the Eastern Conference Final before falling to the Florida Panthers. He played another 35 games in 1996-97 before his career was ended by a car accident, per Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

For their part, the Canucks fell in six games to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 1996 playoffs, then missed the postseason for the next five years, but there's no doubt they won the trade.

Naslund would go on to spend 11 seasons in Vancouver, be named team captain in 2000 and set a new high watermark for franchise scoring to that point when he recorded his 725th point as a Canuck on Dec. 5, 2007, per Canucks.com.

6. St. Louis Blues Acquire Brett Hull

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Date: March 7, 1988

The Transaction: The St. Louis Blues acquired forwards Brett Hull and Steve Bozek from the Calgary Flames in exchange for defenseman Rob Ramage and goaltender Rick Wamsley.

The Outcome: The Battle of Alberta was an arms race in the late '80s, with a very good Calgary Flames team stockpiling talent in an attempt to keep pace with their Stanley Cup-winning brothers to the north in Edmonton.

This 1988 deal saw the Flames bring in veteran help on the back end with the additions of Ramage and Wamsley in exchange for a prospect and a journeyman.

Both acquisitions were part of the Calgary group that went on to win the 1989 Stanley Cup. Ramage was traded to Toronto for a second-round draft pick immediately after the victory, while Wamsley stayed in Calgary until being dealt to the Leafs early in 1992.

Bozek lasted only until the end of the season with the Blues before being flipped back to Calgary—then on to Vancouver—in a deal that also saw the Blues send Doug Gilmour to the Flames. But Hull became an icon in St. Louis, with a career so prolific that a statue in his likeness now stands outside Scottrade Center.

Hull didn't win a Stanley Cup with the Blues, but he scored 527 of his 741 career goals in a St. Louis uniform and led the league in goals for three straight seasons, peaking at 86 in 1990-91. Hull remains the No. 3 goal-scorer in NHL history.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Pascal Dupuis and Marian Hossa

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Date: February 26, 2008

The Transaction: The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forwards Pascal Dupuis and Marian Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for forwards Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and the Penguins' first pick in the 2008 draft.

The Outcome: After a quick first-round playoff ouster for the Penguins' new group of young stars—including Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury—in 2007, general manager Ray Shero paid a high price for coveted rental player Marian Hossa and "throw-in player" Dupuis the following year.

Both players contributed. The Penguins reached the 2008 Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Detroit Red Wings in seven games. Hossa was second in team scoring to Sidney Crosby with 26 points, while Dupuis posted two goals and five assists.

In a great stroke of irony, Hossa moved on to sign with Detroit the following season, once again finding himself on the losing side of the equation when the Penguins avenged their defeat in 2009. He'd have to wait until he arrived at his next stop in Chicago before he started hoisting Cups.

Meanwhile, Dupuis stayed with the Penguins and proved to be good value for the deal on his own. He worked himself up from a utility player to a first-line right winger next to Sidney Crosby before injury and health issues derailed his last couple of seasons.

Here's what happened to the assets Pittsburgh gave up to Atlanta:

• Colby Armstrong retired in 2013 and is now a broadcaster with Canada's Sportsnet.
• Erik Christensen's NHL career petered out in 2012 with 387 games played.
• 2007 first-round draft pick Angelo Esposito never played an NHL game.
• 2008 first-round draft pick Daultan Leveille never played an NHL game.

4. Colorado Avalanche Acquire Ray Bourque and Dave Andreychuk

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Date: March 6, 2000

The Transaction: The Colorado Avalanche acquired Ray Bourque and Dave Andreychuk from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Brian Rolston, Martin Grenier, Samuel Pahlsson and New Jersey's first pick in the 2000 draft, previously acquired by Boston.

The Outcome: It took two tries, but Ray Bourque's dream of winning a Stanley Cup came true after he was traded from his long-time team, the Boston Bruins, at age 39.

After winning the Stanley Cup in 1996, the high-powered Avalanche had failed to get out of the Western Conference in three subsequent years. In 1999, they beat the Detroit Red Wings in the conference semifinals, then fell to the Dallas Stars. After acquiring Bourque and Andreychuk in 2000, the initial result was exactly the same.

But the planets aligned in 2001, when arguably the best Avalanche group ever assembled won the Presidents' Trophy with 118 points before bulldozing through the Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New Jersey Devils on the way to the championship.

Bourque posted 10 points and averaged 28:31 of ice time per game on his run to the Cup.

As for Dave Andreychuk? He missed out in Colorado, leaving the Avalanche after the 1999-2000 season for one year in Buffalo. But Andreychuk got his Cup as captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003.

Here's what happened to the assets Colorado gave up to Boston:

• As a defensive specialist, Brian Rolston spent four more full seasons withe the Bruins before moving on to Minnesota as a free agent. He retired in 2012.
• Martin Grenier played just 18 NHL games—none of them for the Bruins.
• Samuel Pahlsson was traded to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in November of 2000 for Patrick Traverse and Andrei Nazarov. He went on to play 798 NHL games and win a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007.
• 2000 first-round pick Martin Samuelsson played just 14 NHL games, all with the Bruins, in 2003 and 2004.

3. New York Rangers Acquire Stephane Matteau and Brian Noonan

Ron Frehm/Associated Press

Date: March 21, 1994

The Transaction: The New York Rangers acquired forwards Stephane Matteau and Brian Noonan from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for forward Tony Amonte and the rights to forward Matt Oates.

The Outcome: Just 23 when he was traded, Amonte went on to have a heckuva career as the wingman for Jeremy Roenick in Chicago, then Phoenix. He spent nine years with the Blackhawks, putting up 541 points in 627 games.

A seventh-round pick in 1992, Matt Oates never played an NHL game.

After the trade, Matteau was with the Rangers for three seasons, and Noonan stuck around for two. Both were instrumental pieces of the roster during New York's successful run at its first Stanley Cup in 50 years in the spring of 1994—as was Glenn Anderson, also acquired in a deadline deal, from Toronto.

Noonan scored four goals during the Cup run, and Matteau scored three. None was more famous than his double-overtime game-winner against the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final, capping off a comeback that captain Mark Messier had infamously "guaranteed" for Rangers fans.

The goal was Matteau's second overtime game-winner of the series and set the stage for a Cup triumph. For those contributions alone, he earns recognition as the man in the right place at the right time.

2. New York Islanders Acquire Butch Goring

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Date: March 10, 1980

The Transaction: The New York Islanders acquired forward Butch Goring from the Los Angeles Kings for forward Billy Harris and defenseman Dave Lewis.

The Outcome: After finishing with the NHL's best record in 1979 but failing to advance past the Stanley Cup Semifinal, the New York Islanders decided to tweak their roster for a playoff run in the 1979-80 season.

Defenseman Ken Morrow joined the team directly from the "Miracle on Ice" U.S. Olympic team, and general manager Bill Torrey made the decision to trade veterans Billy Harris and Dave Lewis to the Los Angeles Kings at the trade deadline.

Right winger Harris was the first player ever taken by the Islanders in their inaugural season and had put in seven-plus solid years as the franchise evolved, scoring 50 points or more every season he played on Long Island. 

Lewis was in his seventh season with the Islanders before being dealt—a steady defenseman with a good hockey mind who eventually became head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins.

Sometimes you have to give quality to get the asset you need. Goring became a key piece of the Islanders' Stanley Cup group throughout their dynasty run from 1980-83. He won four Stanley Cups and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP in 1981.

At 35, Goring was put on waivers by the Islanders in 1985 and played one final season with the Boston Bruins before retiring.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings

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Date: March 4, 1991

The Transaction: The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forwards Ron Francis and Grant Jennings and defenseman Ulf Samuelsson from the Hartford Whalers in exchange for forwards John Cullen and Jeff Parker and defenseman Zarley Zalapski.

The Outcome: Cutting to the chase: Pittsburgh won two Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. Francis was a team leader who stayed with the Penguins until the summer of 1998 and is now the general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes.

After his time in Pittsburgh, Samuelsson was traded to the New York Rangers during the summer of 1995 along with Luc Robataille in exchange for Petr Nedved and Sergei Zubov. Grant Jennings also stuck with the Penguins organization until April 1995, when he was moved to Toronto for Drake Berehowsky.

The Penguins gave up quality pieces at peak market value to get the players they needed. John Cullen had accumulated a staggering 94 points in 64 games during 1990-91 when he was dealt to the Whalers. Twenty-two-year-old Zalapski was an offensive defenseman approaching his prime who'd go on to score 20 goals for Hartford in 1991-92.

Parker was a throw-in piece. Signed by Pittsburgh as a free agent just a month before he was traded to Hartford, he played his last four NHL games with the Whalers in the spring of 1991.

Stats and transaction information from Hockey-Reference.com, NHL.com, HockeyDB.com and TheHockeyNews.com. Salary information from NHLNumbers.com.