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Barry Pederson: The Trade That Keeps On Giving! |
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It's amazing what downtime will do for you. Such is the case in what is now the offseason in Bruin Country. I found myself playing connect-the-dots recently over on the Internet Hockey Database. You all know what I'm talking about.
You peruse roster after roster until you stumble upon a certain player that raises the question "Who did we give up to get that guy again?". And then...there's no turning back. You've begun a long journey of tracing trades back to 1979, and at this point you realize Ray Bourque was picked 8th... and you will NOT vacate your computer chair until you've studied every season that every played participated in that was picked above him. Then all the sudden you're all over the fact that not just seven, but 47 players were picked ahead of Mark Messier. Hey, how did the Rangers pry the Messiah away from Edmonton anyways? Bernie Nicholls and some guys I've never heard of? Highway robbery!
At this point you begin to come to grips with the fact that you're a hockey nerd, and your social life is in need of serious repair. You manage to finally escape your bedroom only to realize that three hours ago you came upstairs for a reason that now totally escapes you. Your Dad questions what on earth you've been doing the whole time and you've got nothing to offer that he could even begin to understand. The man is almost 50 and has never been on a computer, of any kind, in his entire existence.
And then it hits you. The excuse of all excuses, only this time it's actually applicable: "Oh, just doing some research for work Dad." He nods his head. Like the Fresh Prince insists...parents just don't understand. And now without further ado...
To many Boston Bruins fans, NESN studio analyst Barry Pederson will always be known simply as “That guy we traded for Cam Neely”. I’m here to tell you he’s more than that…so much more. We all laugh about how Harry Sinden "robbed them blind", but at the time, it looked like a fairly even trade.
In the summer of 1986, the B’s shipped Pederson, a two time 100 point performer coming off a 24-52-76 season, to the Vancouver Canucks for Neely, a relative unknown, and a 1st round draft pick. While Vancouver hoped to see the undersized center return to his 40 goal form, Pederson’s point production declined season after season. Injuries began taking their toll and by 1988 Pederson was a shell of his former self.
Meanwhile back in Boston, a revolution of sorts began. Neely grew from fan favorite, to icon, to legend. After posting 36-36-72 in his first season in black and gold, Neely would be joined for the 1987-1988 season by Glen Wesley, whom the Bruins drafted with the #3 overall pick they received from the Canucks.
Wesley jumped right in, fresh off of a superb four year stint in the WHL. His 37 point rookie season, and Neely’s 42 goals helped pave the way for the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately for Boston, their Cup dreams were vanquished by the high-flying Edmonton Oilers. They suffered the same fate again in 1990.
Wesley was a staple on the Bruins blueline until he jumped ship and headed to the Hartford Whalers following the 1993-1994 campaign. The B’s received three draft picks in return (1st round picks in 1995, 1996 and 1997). But before they could complete this trio of picks, Boston had to deal with the devastation of Neely’s retirement. #8 sobbed as he announced he couldn’t lace them up anymore. The three time fifty goal scorer, the future hall of famer, the epitome of what it meant to be a Bruin…was gone.
Fast forward one year to the summer of ’97. The B’s found themselves with the first and eighth overall picks in the draft. They selected Joe Thornton and used their pick from the Whalers on speedy Russian winger Sergei Samsonov. Samsonov, with his ability to turn on the jets and dangle through defenses, became an instant favorite at the Fleet Center. He was honored with the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year. But following back-to-back 29 goal seasons, injuries hit hard. Samsonov missed 98 regular season games between 2002 and 2004 with various ailments. Following the lockout and the departure of Joe Thornton, Samsonov fell out of favor with B’s brass.
Samsonov was sent to Edmonton in March of 2006 and was a key contributor in the 8th seeds magical run to the finals. In the meantime, the Bruins finished off 2006 with Yan Stastny and Marty Reasoner in the lineup, coming over from the Oilers in the deal, and fell well short of a playoff berth. Both forwards the Bruins attained for Samsonov left via free agency at the end of the year.
We’d all look back at that trade as a mere salary dump, a real stinker, if it weren’t for the 2006 2nd round draft pick we received. The Bruins selected an 18-year-old, 6’3” 205lb beast out of the WHL. The left wing for the Vancouver Giants put up 30-38-68 in 70 games, then thwarted every opponent that stood in his way of a Memorial Cup victory in the playoffs, dishing out bone crushing checks and scoring clutch goals as team captain.
However, he entered camp with little expected of him, and was all but assured of a return to his hometown Vancouver, BC, where he would resume his captaincy for the Giants. Well, after one of the most attention-grabbing, awe-inspiring rookie campaigns this city has ever seen, it’s safe to say Milan Lucic is never headed back to juniors. He has become a fan favorite, a cultural phenomenon in the hub of hockey. He’s been deemed the next Neely.
He’s the rugged power forward the Bruins have been missing since the days of Camelot. He’s all out all the time. He can score, he can throw knockout punches. He can walk on water in the city of Boston for years and years to come. Looch was a force in the first round against the Habs, slamming Canadiens mercilessly into the boards, and providing an offensive spark with the opening goal in game three and the tying goal in the third period of game six. In less than one calendar year, he’s gone from a training camp invitee, to the second coming of Cam, to the second coming of Christ himself. Get your #17 jersey now before the bandwagon becomes too crowded and they're all sold out folks.
So for those of you scoring at home……
Pederson --> Neely + Wesley
Wesley --> 1st Round Draft Pick in 1995, 1996, 1997
1997 1st Rd. Pick --> Sergei Samsonov
Sergei Samsonov --> Marty Reasoner, Yan Stastny, 2006 2nd Round Draft Pick
2006 2nd Rd. Pick --> Milan Lucic
So 20+ years later, Barry Pederson has yielded not only Cam Neely, but his protégé. I’ll be damned. Here’s to hoping you enjoyed this transaction filled journey.
- Jesse -
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