The end of any year is always a time to reflect upon the past. So, as the conclusion of 2009 nears, I've been digging away at every resource possible for the first edition of "Listomania!". It's going to be quite similar to Fan Poll Friday, only I won't be tabulating any votes for this go-round. Sorry, kids.
Up first, after examining literally every trade since January 1, 2000, I present to you....
The 20 Worst NHL Trades of the Decade!
Here's part 1 (#20-#11), with part 2 (#10-#1) on it's way in the coming days. Hope you all enjoy it.
#20. BRUINS TRADE CAPTAIN ALLISON TO KINGS FOR STUMP N’ MUZZ
October 24, 2001
Bruins receive: Jozef Stumpel, Glen Murray
Kings receive: Jason Allison, Mikko Eloranta
It was the fall of 2001, and Bruins’ captain Jason Allison was MIA. The rugged center, coming off of a season in which he racked up 36 goals and 95 points, was holding out for big bucks. With an owner like Jeremy Jacobs, who pinched pennies even when it came to negotiations with the likes of Ray Bourque, at the helm, the writing was on the wall.
Allison was shipped out to Los Angeles, along with Finnish winger Mikko Eloranta, for two names familiar to Bruins’ fans: Jozef Stumpel and Glen Murray.
Murray flourished in his second stint in Boston. The RW finished 2001-02 with 41 goals and 30 assists. He went on to rack up 175 goals (including 44 in a 92 point season in 02-03) in six years with the B’s before calling it a career in 2008.
Stumpel racked up 50 assists in his first year back, good for 4th in the National Hockey League in that category. He followed it up with a solid 51 point season before heading back to LA in the ensuing offseason.
Allison was solid in his first campaign with the Kings, putting up 19-55-74 totals in 73 games. But a neck injury and concussion issues put Allison’s career to a screeching halt in 2002-03, after the center put up 28 points in 26 games. The 6’3 pivot did not return to the NHL until 2005-06, when he posted a respectable 60 points in 66 games for the Leafs.
Eloranta had 35 points in 146 regular season games over two seasons for LA. He returned to Finland for the 2003-04 season, and has remained in Europe since.
#19. HABS DUMP MALAKHOV ON DEVILS, GET SOURAY IN RETURN
March 1, 2001
Canadiens receive: Sheldon Souray, Josh DeWolf, 2001 Rd. 2 Pick (Andreas Holmqvist)
Devils receive: Vladimir Malakhov
Somewhere Uncle Lou is still shaking his head over this one. In the spring of 2001, the Devils shipped a 2nd round pick, AHL blueliner Josh DeWolf and 23-year-old defenseman Sheldon Souray to the Canadiens for enigmatic d-man Vladimir Malakhov.
Malakhov had been suspended that season after getting busted out on the ski slopes while on the IR with a knee injury. Lamoriello foresaw the offensively productive Malakhov helping out the Devils during their upcoming playoff run. Malakhov earned himself a Stanley Cup ring in the process, posting a modest 1-4-5 line in 23 playoff games for New Jersey.
He bolted in the offseason for New York, playing in just 3 games in 2000-01 in the first of his four seasons in the Big Apple. Malakhov made a pit stop in Philly in 2004, then suited up in 29 games for New Jersey in 2005-06 before calling it a career.
Dewolf and Holmqvist never amounted to squat for Montreal. The real gem of the deal was the (then) underrated Souray. The Alberta native played in six seasons for the Canadiens, where he really began to round into form in 2003-04, after sitting out all of 2002-03 to recover from an ongoing wrist injury, with a career-high 15 goals and 20 assists. Souray was hardly shy during his tenure with the Habs, racking up 556 PIM in those six seasons. After posting a career high 39 points in 2005-06, Souray exploded with 26 goals and 64 points in 2006-07.
Souray then parlayed his big numbers into a big payday with the Oilers. He put up 53 points in 81 games during 2008-09, and has 2-5-7 totals through 15 games in 2009-10.
#18. THRASHERS SACRIFICE FUTURE OF COBURN FOR FLYERS’ VET ZHITNIK
February 24, 2007
Thrashers receive: Alexei Zhitnik
Flyers receive: Braydon Coburn
34-year-old defenseman Alexei Zhitnik made his way to his third NHL team in 2006-07 alone in February of 2007, as the veteran blueliner was shipped to Atlanta for young d-man Braydon Coburn. While Zhitnik was on fire down the stretch for the Thrashers, putting up 14 points in 18 games, it was a giant blunder by oft-ridiculed GM Don Waddell.
Zhitnik, at the tail end of his career, was never going to put Atlanta over the top. Hell, that squad didn’t even win a single playoff game. Zhitnik returned the following year and had just eight points in 65 games with a -8 rating, as the Thrashers failed to qualify for the postseason.
Meanwhile, the Flyers wound up with a stud blueliner to build around in Coburn. The 8th overall pick in 2003, Coburn now finds himself in his 4th season in Philadelphia. During his tenure there, he has put up 23-59-82 totals in 207 games, with a combined +24 rating in 2007-08 and 2008-09. Still just 24-years-old, the Calgary native has 11 points in 29 games in 2009-10 for the Flyers.
#17. CHIARELLI DUMPS PROMISING PROSPECT VERSTEEG FOR BOCHENSKI
February 3, 2007
Bruins receive: Brandon Bochenski
Blackhawks receive: Kris Versteeg
Peter Chiarelli looked like a genius at the conclusion of the 2006-07 season, after the former Ottawa assistant GM brought in Brandon Bochenski from Chicago for Providence forward Kris Versteeg. Versteeg was sensational in his first full season in the AHL with 49 points in 43 games, but Chiarelli coveted Bochenski, a former draft pick of the Senators.
Bochenski lit it up with 11-11-22 totals in 31 games with the woeful Dave Lewis-led Bruins. In the three NHL seasons since then, he has scored a total of three goals. Not a single one of them were for Boston, who dumped the “bulked up” winger to Anaheim. Bochenski then was moved to Nashville that same year, and now finds himself playing for Tampa’s AHL affiliate in Norfolk.
Versteeg spent most of 2007-08 in the AHL with Rockford before bursting onto the scene in 2008-09 with the Hawks. The 5’10 RW had 22-31-53 totals in 78 games, and was nominated for the Calder Trophy. So far in 2009-10, the 134th overall pick in 2004 has 9-8-17 totals in 28 games for the division-leading Blackhawks.
#16. FLYERS POACH CASH-STRAPPED PREDS, REEL IN HARTNELL AND TIMONEN
June 18, 2007
Predators receive: 2007 1st rd. pick (Jonathan Blum)
Flyers receive: Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen
Knowing full well they’d never be able to retain their services, the Predators shipped Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell to Philadelphia, reacquiring the first round pick they’d sent the Flyers in the Peter Forsberg deal in return.
Timonen, a slick puck-mover who put up 55 points in his last year in Nashville, racked up 87 points in his first two campaigns with the Flyers. He finished in 13th and 21st in points among defenseman in 2007-08 and 2008-09 respectively. Thus far in 2009-10, he has 16 points in 29 games.
Hartnell has been a prototypical Flyer during his tenure in Philadelphia. With 302 PIM in his first two seasons, Hartnell won’t be on the list of Lady Byng candidates any time soon. His “on the edge” (to put it politely) style has been accompanied by a strong offensive output, as the 27-year-old winger has 54 goals in his first two seasons in Philly. So far, Hartnell has 21 points in 29 games in 2009-10.
Blum, a former teammate of Milan Lucic with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, is in his first full professional season. The defenseman has 3g and 7a in 24 games for Nashville’s affiliate in Milwaukee.
#15. RANGERS SHIP KNUBLE TO BOSTON FOR DIMAIO
March 10, 2000
Bruins receive: Mike Knuble
Rangers receive: Rob DiMaio
Rob DiMaio was tired of the way the Bruins operated, and got his wish in March of 2000 when he was traded away to the Rangers. The pesky Alberta native was a helpful presence in the bottom six for the B’s during his four seasons in Boston, playing primarily in a checking role. Knuble, meanwhile, was virtually unknown outside of Madison Square Garden, as undoubtedly many Boston fans mispronounced his name upon reading of the swap. I can hear it now...
"Oh my gawd, dude! Brewinz traded f***ing DiMaio for some wingah Newble from New Yawk! I'm nevah goin' to a game at the Fleet Centah evah again!"
DiMaio only suited up in a dozen games for the Rangers, racking up a goal and three assists during his brief tenure in New York. He was shipped to Carolina with Darren Langdon for Sandy McCarthy that offseason.
Knuble provided more than many ever would have imagined, lining up alongside Joe Thornton in the latter half of his tenure in Boston. Knuble busted out in 2002 at the age of 30, settling into the role of Thornton’s wingman nicely. During his last 157 games in Boston, the Toronto native had 51 goals and 54 assists. The line of Knuble, Thornton and Glen Murray received the nickname “The 700-pound Line”, courtesy of future Bruins’ coach Claude Julien (then with Montreal).
The Bruins’ botched things during the lockout, allowing Knuble and other crucial players to walk. Since then, Knuble has averaged just shy of 30 goals per season (114g in four seasons in Philadelphia) and now has 15 points in 19 games for the Capitals in 2009-10.
#14. DUCKS SHIP TWO 2ND ROUNDERS TO STARS, PICK PERRY 28TH OVERALL
June 21, 2003
Ducks receive: 1st rd. pick (Corey Perry)
Stars receive: 2nd rd. pick (Vojtech Polak), 2nd rd. pick (B.J. Crombeen)
The Stars went for quantity over quality in a pre-draft swap with the Ducks back in 2003, sending their late first round selection (28th) to Anaheim for the 36th and 54th overall picks. Dallas wound up with B.J. Crombeen and Vojtech Polak, who combined for seven points in 28 career games with Dallas.
The Ducks, meanwhile, made out with a franchise cornerstone when they used the first rounder on forward Corey Perry. Since breaking into the NHL in 2005-06, Perry has 106 goals and 125 assists in 316 games. He is on pace to thump his career high 32g and 72 points from last year, as he currently has 15-21-36 totals through 30 games in 2009-10.
The 24-year-old RW has been money in the postseason. Perry, who won it all with Anaheim in 2007, has 16-19-35 totals in 48 career playoff games. In his last three postseason appearances, Perry has 16g and 32 points in 37 games.
Perry’s in year one of a cap-friendly, four-year deal that pays him $5.325 million per season. He will be a goal scoring stud for years to come. Vojtech Polak and B.J. Crombeen? Not so much.
#13. STRUGGLING HAWKS SEND SULLIVAN TO PREDS FOR TWO DRAFT PICKS
February 16, 2004
Predators receive: Steve Sullivan
Blackhawks receive: 2004 2nd rd. pick (Ryan Garlock), 2005 2nd rd. pick (Michael Blunden)
Well on their way to the bottom of the Western Conference standings, Chicago sent reliable forward Steve Sullivan to Nashville in exchange for two second round draft picks (2004, 2005).
The Hawks went out and grabbed Ryan Garlock and Michael Blunden. Garlock, now 23, has bounced all around the AHL and ECHL, and has yet to make his NHL debut. Blunden suited up in 10 games for the Hawks, never registering a single point.
Sullivan was a beast for the Preds down the stretch that year, helping carry Nashville into the playoffs with 30 points in 24 games. Over the next two NHL seasons, Sullivan racked up 128 points including 53 goals. Injuries cost him nearly two full seasons after that, as Sully missed all of 2007-08 and half of 2008-09. He has rebounded nicely, collecting 32 points in 41 contests last year, and now has 18 in 31 games for the 2009-10 Predators.
Sullivan now has 208 points during his tenure in Nashville, precisely 208 more than anyone he was traded for has put up for any NHL team since the swap went down over five calendar years ago.
#12. BUFFALO STEALS BRIERE FROM THE DESERT
March 10, 2003
Sabres receive: Daniel Briere, 2004 3rd round pick
Coyotes receive: Chris Gratton, 2004 4th rd. pick
Chris Gratton had essentially been a disappointment year-in and year-out since being drafted 3rd overall by the Bolts back in 1993. With a respectable 44 points in 66 games, the center was shipped out by the struggling Sabres in 2003 with a 4th rounder to Phoenix for Daniel Briere and Phoenix’ 3rd round pick in the 2004 draft.
Gratton never topped 44 points again, and never came within a whiff of it in the desert. The 6’3 pivot had no goals and just one assist in 14 games down the stretch, and followed it up in 2003-04 with 29 points in 68 games for the Coyotes before being sent to the Avs.
Briere hit the ground running in Buffalo and never looked back. The undersized center and eventual team captain had 12 points in 14 games to close out the year, and put up a career-best 65 points in the last season before the lockout. Briere and the Sabres twice reached the Eastern Conference Finals when the NHL re-opened it’s doors, as he put up 58 points in 48 games during 2005-06, then a whopping 95 during 2006-07.
All in all, Briere finished with 92-138-230 totals in 225 games for the Sabres before moving on, in favor of the almighty dollar, to Philadelphia.
#11. LEAFS GET RAW END OF RASK-RAYCROFT GOALIE SWAP
June 24, 2006
Bruins receive: Tuukka Rask
Leafs receive: Andrew Raycroft
A few years from now, this one may rank even higher if Tuukka Rask continues to play the way he has in 2009-10.
After capturing the Calder Trophy in 2004, Andrew Raycroft entered 2005-06 with high expectations. A holdout and various injuries later, he finished the year with an 8-19-2 record, 3.71 GAA and .879 Sv% for the Boston Bruins. With Hannu Toivonen waiting in the wings, and Tim Thomas there to be a cheap backup, the B’s sent Raycroft north.
Razor tied the single season record for wins by a Leafs’ goaltender, going 37-25-9 during his first campaign with Toronto. But, it wasn’t pretty. Raycroft finished with a 2.99 GAA and .894 Sv%. What followed, unfortunately, was downright ugly. The Ontario native posted a 2-9-5 record in 19 appearances, with a hideous 3.92 GAA and .876 Sv%.
Raycroft moved on to Colorado after just two seasons in Toronto, and now provides spot duty for Roberto Luongo in Vancouver. He has a Sv% above .900 (.910 currently) for the first time since before the lockout. Ouch.
Tuukka Rask, the return in the trade, honed his skills during two seasons with Providence, and is now enjoying a dominant rookie year for Boston. The Finnish netminder is 9-2-2, with a spectacular 1.97 GAA (2nd in NHL) and .930 Sv% (3rd in NHL).
Originally drafted 21st overall by the Leafs back in 2005, the 22-year-old seems poised to have a long, successful career in Black and Gold. On Thursday, he improved to 3-0-0 against Toronto in the Bruins’ 5-2 victory, and boasts a lifetime .939 Sv% against the Leafs. Undoubtedly they’ll be kicking themselves if he keeps that up for the next decade and beyond.
JC
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