The Best NHL Deadline-Day Trades in the Past Decade
As noted physicist Sir Isaac Newton decreed in his Third Law of Motion, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Newton died in 1727, two centuries before hockey embedded itself in our cultural landscape. He would have been pleased to see how his Third Law applies at the NHL trade deadline.
A week ago, I highlighted the worst deals that have been made by general managers around the league over the last 10 seasons. Now, it's time to look at the best.
Some of those bad deals turned out well for the teams on the other side, but this piece will focus primarily on different trades. Some deals succeeded because they paid immediate dividends in the form of Stanley Cups, while others took a little time to deliver on their promise. Others still deserve praise because of the low price paid for a high-value asset.
Once again, this list will go year by year over the past decade since the 2004-05 NHL lockout, highlighting the best trade-deadline deals that went down each season.
2006: Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Mark Recchi
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Date: March 9, 2006
The Deal: The Pittsburgh Penguins traded Mark Recchi to the Carolina Hurricanes for Niklas Nordgren, Krys Kolanos and a second-round pick in the 2007 draft.
A 38-year-old with 14 seasons of 20-plus goals and one Stanley Cup on his resume, Mark Recchi was an aging but valuable rental player when the Carolina Hurricanes picked him up for their run to the Stanley Cup in 2006.
The Hurricanes made their first playoff splash in 2002, losing to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final, and then missed the postseason for two years before the 2004-05 lockout. But Carolina came back hot in 2005-06 and amassed a dazzling 37-11-4 record by the end of January, which led general manager Jim Rutherford to go all-in for the playoffs.
Rutherford gave up a big package that included a first-round draft pick for the highly coveted Doug Weight on January 30 but got a better return on his investment when he picked up Recchi from Pittsburgh on deadline day.
Both Weight and Recchi made significant contributions in the postseason, tying for sixth in team scoring with 16 points each. But Recchi scored seven goals compared to Weight's three, and two of those seven were game-winners, including one on the road in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers.
Recchi returned to Pittsburgh as a free agent at season's end and went on to win his third Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins before retiring in 2011 at the age of 43.
2007: Los Angeles Kings Trade Brent Sopel
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Date: February 26, 2007
The Deal: The Los Angeles Kings traded Brent Sopel to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a second-round draft pick, previously acquired by the Canucks, and a fourth-round pick in 2008 that was eventually dealt to the Buffalo Sabres.
The biggest deals of the 2007 trade deadline didn't end up being much help for the teams involved. The Nashville Predators made headlines when they acquired Peter Forsberg from the Philadelphia Flyers, but only ended up winning one playoff game. Even worse, the Atlanta Thrashers spent big to acquire rental player Keith Tkachuk for the franchise's first-ever playoff appearance but were swept in the first round by the New York Rangers.
The best result from the 2007 trade deadline was achieved by the Los Angeles Kings, who sold off assets such as journeyman defenseman Brent Sopel on their way to a fourth consecutive year outside the playoffs.
In his second tour of duty in Vancouver, Sopel was pointless in 11 playoff games with the Canucks before moving on to the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent. With Sopel in the lineup, the Canucks won a tough seven-game first-round series against the Dallas Stars before being dismissed by the eventual champion Anaheim Ducks in five games.
The Ducks didn't make big moves in the months leading up to their Stanley Cup, only adding grinding winger Brad May to their tough team at the trade deadline. So the winner of the 2007 deadline turned out to be the Kings, who eventually used that 61st overall selection in 2007 to draft power forward Wayne Simmonds.
2008: Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis
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Date: February 26, 2008
The Deal: The Atlanta Thrashers traded Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a first-round pick in the 2008 draft (Daultan Leveille).
This trade didn't look so good during the summer of 2008, when the Penguins lost the Stanley Cup Final to the Detroit Red Wings and then saw Hossa bolt to the Wings as a free agent just a couple of weeks later.
But Pittsburgh ended up acquiring an important player in Dupuis. Remarkably, he was pointless in 16 playoff games when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009, but his role with Pittsburgh increased over the years, to the point where he was Sidney Crosby's frequent left wing before his career was derailed by injuries and health issues starting in 2013.
Though Hossa had been the prime target in the trade, Dupuis' value to the Pittsburgh franchise far exceeded that of the pieces that were dealt to the Thrashers.
Honorable mention for 2008 goes to the Chicago Blackhawks, who picked up Andrew Ladd from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Tuomo Ruutu.
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2009: Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Chris Kunitz
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Date: February 26, 2009
The Deal: The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forwards Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Ryan Whitney.
For the second straight season, Penguins general manager Ray Shero won the trade deadline. Knowing that his team had come tantalizingly close to winning the Stanley Cup in 2008, Shero brought in Kunitz and Tangradi to add extra depth at forward.
Kunitz was known more for his grittiness than his skill, but he'd won a Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007 and became a favourite linemate of Sidney Crosby—ultimately earning himself a spot on Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Kunitz picked up 14 points in 24 games when the Penguins won their Cup in 2009 and remains an important part of Pittsburgh's forward group seven seasons later.
Ryan Whitney lasted just one season with the Ducks before being flipped to the Edmonton Oilers for Lubomir Visnovsky at the 2010 trade deadline.
Honorable mention for 2009 goes to the Los Angeles Kings, who picked up their future Mr. Game 7 Justin Williams from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Patrick O'Sullivan and a second-round draft pick.
2010: Boston Bruins Acquire Dennis Seidenberg
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Date: March 3, 2010
The Deal: The Boston Bruins acquired defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Matt Bartkowski from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forwards Craig Weller and Byron Bitz and a second-round pick in the 2010 draft.
One could argue that the best deal of the 2010 trading season was the Chicago Blackhawks' acquisition of Kim Johnsson and Nick Leddy from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Cam Barker—which I highlighted last week as the worst deal of the year for Minnesota. The Bruins' move to shore up their own defense is also impressive.
After picking up Seidenberg and minor leaguer Bartkowski, the Bruins came close to advancing to the Eastern Conference Final in 2010 before surrendering a 3-0 series lead to lose to the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round. The following season, Seidenberg was a crucial top-pairing defenseman with Zdeno Chara when the Bruins captured the Stanley Cup.
Now 34, Seidenberg is in his sixth full season in Boston and remains a key member of the team, while Bartkowski bounced in and out of the lineup before signing with Vancouver in the 2015 offseason. While Weller and Bitz are out of the league, the Panthers used Boston's second-round pick to select defenseman Alex Petrovic, who has become a regular in 2015-16 at age 23.
2011: Atlanta Thrashers Acquire Blake Wheeler
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Date: February 18, 2011
The Deal: The Atlanta Thrashers acquired forward Blake Wheeler and defenseman Mark Stuart from the Boston Bruins in exchange for forward Rich Peverley and defenseman Boris Valabik.
The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, but they made a head-scratching move just before the trade deadline when they gave up on elite 24-year-old Blake Wheeler and traded him for journeyman Rich Peverley.
After the 2011 Cup win, Peverley was a solid bottom-six forward for two seasons before Boston packaged him up with Tyler Seguin and dealt him to the Dallas Stars.
Wheeler, meanwhile, has evolved into a top-level scorer who is currently tied for ninth in the NHL on a not-very-good Winnipeg Jets squad. His acquisition is one of the few things that went right for the Thrashers organization before they moved to Winnipeg during the summer of 2011.
The 2011 trade deadline was full of impactful deals. Others included the Vancouver Canucks fueling their run to the Stanley Cup Final by picking up Chris Higgins and Maxim Lapierre; the Toronto Maple Leafs dealing Tomas Kaberle to Boston for two draft picks and prospect Joe Colborne; the Leafs getting two picks, including a first-rounder, from the Philadelphia Flyers for Kris Versteeg; and the St. Louis Blues picking up Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart in exchange for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and a first-round draft pick.
2012: Los Angeles Kings Acquire Jeff Carter
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Date: February 23, 2012
The Deal: The Los Angeles Kings acquired Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Jack Johnson and a first-round draft pick (Marko Dano).
The Los Angeles Kings paid a high price to acquire Jeff Carter, but reuniting him with his old Philadelphia Flyers teammate Mike Richards lit the fuse that powered the Kings to a Stanley Cup in 2012 and another one in 2014.
While Richards' star faded to the point where the Kings terminated his contract during the summer of 2015, Carter, now 31, has remained one of the Kings' most important and effective forwards.
The rest of the 2012 deadline was pretty uninteresting. The Blackhawks picked up an important piece for their outstanding 2013 season when they acquired Johnny Oduya from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for two draft picks.
2013: Chicago Blackhawks Acquire Michal Handzus
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Date: April 1, 2013
The Deal: The Chicago Blackhawks acquired Michal Handzus from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.
The lockout-shortened 2012-13 season left a lot of teams thinking they still had a good shot at the Stanley Cup at the delayed April trade deadline.
The biggest names to move were Jarome Iginla to Pittsburgh and Jaromir Jagr to Boston, but the best deal in terms of value and immediate impact was Chicago's acquisition of Michal Handzus.
The Blackhawks leaned on Handzus' veteran savvy to the tune of 11 points in 23 playoff games as they edged out the Boston Bruins for the 2013 Stanley Cup. The Hawks then got a serviceable 2013-14 season out of the 37-year-old as he closed the door on his National Hockey League career.
Kudos, also, to Steve Yzerman for acquiring goaltender Ben Bishop in exchange for Cory Conacher—a deal I highlighted in my "worst trades" list that has paid big dividends for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
2014: Los Angeles Kings Acquire Marian Gaborik
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Date: March 5, 2014
The Deal: The Los Angeles Kings acquired Marian Gaborik from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Matt Frattin and two draft picks: a second-rounder in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015.
The Kings' acquisition of Gaborik is the template for what every general manager hopes to achieve with a trade-deadline deal. Dean Lombardi brought in a talented but underperforming player who rose to the occasion in his new surroundings, leading offensively challenged Los Angeles with 14 goals in 26 playoff games as the Kings captured their second Stanley Cup in three seasons.
If the story had ended there, Lombardi wouldn't have overpaid for Gaborik. But he wrung even more value out of the deal by re-signing the Slovak sniper to keep him in Los Angeles for another six seasons.
The New York Rangers got good short-term value out of Martin St. Louis as he helped propel the team to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, but the Tampa Bay Lightning will reap the rewards for that trade for years to come thanks to the acquisition of Ryan Callahan and two first-round draft picks.
The Florida Panthers also made out well in 2014 when they acquired All-Star goaltender Roberto Luongo in exchange for prospect goaltender Jacob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias.
2015: Montreal Canadiens Acquire Jeff Petry
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Date: March 2, 2015
The Deal: The Montreal Canadiens acquired defenseman Jeff Petry from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a second-round and fourth-round draft pick.
Though the Oilers had been one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL for years, Petry fit right into the Canadiens' defensive system as they reached the second round of the playoffs.
General manager Marc Bergevin liked what we saw from Petry enough to sign the then-27-year-old to a new six-year contract.
Chicago also made out well at the 2015 trade deadline. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup but paid a significantly higher price than what the Habs gave up for Petry, surrendering a first-round draft pick for extra depth at center from rental player Antoine Vermette, who returned to the Arizona Coyotes immediately after collecting his Stanley Cup ring.
All stats courtesy of NHL.com. Trade details from HockeyDB.com.
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