BY DEREK CARSON – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
The Trade Deadline can be a stressful day for us hockey fans. Sometimes, our GMs drop the ball and get us a Pascal Leclaire, which then messes with the whole future of the team.
To take our minds off of the stress and the worry, let’s remember the best trades our teams ever pulled off at the deadline before the NHL lockout of 2004. The ones that made us smile and say “See! We’re contenders now!”
Calgary Flames – Joe Mullen (1986)
On February 1, 1986, about a full month before the Trade Deadline (close enough) the St. Louis Blues traded Joe Mullen, Terry Johnson and Rik Wilson to the Calgary Flames for Eddy Beers, Charles Bourgeois and Gino Cavallini.
This was a full three years before the Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989, but Mullen was so instrumental to the Flames’ success that this trade bears revisiting.
Mullen was third in the league in playoff scoring when the Flames won their Cup; second on the team only to Al MacInnis. He played for the Flames for a full four seasons before being traded to Pittsburgh where he would win another two Stanley Cups.
In total for the Flames, Mullen scored 388 points in 345 regular season games and 55 points in 61 playoff games.
Edmonton Oilers – Bill Ranford (1988)
At the 1988 deadline, the Boston Bruins traded Geoff Courtnall, Bill Ranford and second round pick in that year’s draft to the Edmonton Oilers for Andy Moog.
Edmonton already had a great goalie in Grant Fuhr but there’s nothing wrong with adding depth. That year, the Oilers would win the Stanley Cup with Grant Fuhr in net. However, in 1990, Bill Ranford took over the starting job and led the Oilers to another Stanley Cup championship over none other than Andy Moog and the Boston Bruins.
That Cup would be the last for the Oilers dynasty and Ranford would win the Conn Smythe trophy for his outstanding play.
Montreal Canadiens – The Claude Lemieux pick (1981)
The best deadline deal for the Montreal Canadiens is also, ironically, one of their smallest.
The Habs have made a few blockbusters at the Deadline, including the Kirk Muller trade in 1995 and the Trevor Linden trade in 2001. But bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better.
In 1981, less than a month before the Deadline, the Habs acquired the L.A. Kings’ second round pick in 1983 for Rick Chartraw. Montreal would use that pick to draft Claude Lemieux, one of only ten players to ever get their name on the Stanley Cup with three different teams.
Lemieux won his first Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1986. He led the Habs in playoff scoring that year with 16 points in 20 games. Lemieux only played three full seasons for Montreal before being traded to the New Jersey Devils but he notched 189 points in 281 regular season games and 45 points in 77 playoff games with the Habs.
Ottawa Senators – Wade Redden (1996)
Ok, I understand that this trade didn’t exactly happen at the deadline, in fact it happened more than a month and a half before the deadline, but it had such an impact on Ottawa that it won the prize.
On January 23, 1996, the New York Islanders traded Wade Redden (their second overall pick in 1995) and Damian Rhodes to the Ottawa Senators for Don Beaupre, Martin Straka and Bryan Berard.
Redden would play the best years of his career in Ottawa, becoming what Brendan Shanahan called “a marquee player in the NHL”. Damian Rhodes was no slouch either and became part of a solid tandem with Ron Tugnutt.
Toronto Maple Leafs – Doug Gilmour (1992)
This trade was also a bit before the Deadline, but it had such a positive effect on the Toronto Maple Leafs that it has to be mentioned.
On January 2, 1992, the Calgary Flames, in a blockbuster deal, sent Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Ric Nattress, Kent Manderville and Rick Wamsley to Toronto for Gary Leeman, Alexander Godynyuk, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit and Craig Berube.
Gilmour made his mark in Toronto and still holds the franchise record for most points in a single season with 127. He helped lead the Leafs to the Conference finals against the L.A. Kings where he was infamously high-sticked by Wayne Gretzky with no penalty on the play.
Gilmour would eventually become the captain of the Leafs. He played six seasons with the team, scoring 452 points in 392 regular season games and 77 points in 52 playoff games. He was and still is a fan favourite.
Winnipeg Jets – Randy Carlyle (1984)
At the 1984 deadline, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded Randy Carlyle to the Winnipeg Jets for the Jets’ first round pick in 1984 and future considerations.
Randy Carlyle would spend 10 seasons with the Jets to close out his NHL career. He became a co-captain of the team in 1990 along with Thomas Steen.
Once his playing career ended, Carlyle would take on the position of head coach of the Manitoba Moose. He coached the Moose for six years and then eventually moved up to the NHL to become the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, with whom he won the Cup in 2007, and now the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Carlyle was such a huge part of the Jets organization that when he returned on February 7, 2013, as head coach of the Leafs, the Jets put on a video tribute for him and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Vancouver Canucks – Markus Naslund (1996)
At the 1996 deadline, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded Markus Naslund to the Vancouver Canucks for Alek Stojanov; a trade that has gone down as one of the most lopsided and nonsensical in history.
When the trade happened Stojanov had just one assist in his entire career of 62 games in the NHL. Meanwhile, Naslund had scored 52 points in 66 games that season for Pittsburgh. Why would they make this trade? I have no idea. Naslund was in the final year of his contract at the time, but still, that’s no excuse.
Naslund would play for the Canucks for 12 seasons and eight of those as captain. He still holds most of the scoring records for the team and had his jersey retired just last season.
This is definitely one of, if not, the best trade ever made at the deadline.