Today in NHL History - Gretzky Trade (EDM-LA)

On August 9th in 1988, Oilers owner Peter Pocklington sold the greatest player in the history of the game to the Kings for two players, three picks, and millions in cash.

Considered the most storied transaction in NHL history, the move sent Wayne Gretzky, Marty McSorley, and Mike Krushelnyski south for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, three first round draft picks (1989, 1991, 1993), and $15 million. The Oilers traded the 1989 pick (Jason Miller) to New Jersey for Corey Foster and used their remaining selections to take Martin Rucinsky (1991) and Nick Stajduhar (1993).

Backlash in Canada to the barter was swift and fierce as fans showered Pocklington with death threats, labeling Gretzky a traitor and his wife Janet Jones a witch. NDP House Leader Nelson Riis went so far as to demand that the Canadian government block the trade.

Days later Jones broke Gretzky's silence clearing the record as to how the trade transpired, laying blame squarely on Pocklington's frame.

Both teams survived and even thrived with the Oilers winning without Wayne in 1990 and The Great One leading his Kings to the Finals in 1993.

The main beneficiary of the move, however, was the league. When Gretzky relocated to Los Angeles the NHL had 15 U.S. franchises, none south of Washington D.C. and only one west of St. Louis. Today that number sits at 24 with several franchises situated in the ice-melting heat of the Sun Belt. Absent Wayne's eight season stay in the Golden State it's hard to imagine such growth would have occurred.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Pronger Shanahan Trade

On July 27th in 1995, Hartford Whalers GM Jim Rutherford and St. Louis Blues GM Mike Keenan swapped second overall draft picks in Chris Pronger (1993) and Brendan Shanahan (1987), marking a rare exchange of matched talent.

Pronger's slower than expected development coupled with his rookie season bar room brawling and drunken driving led Hartford to move their baby-faced bruiser for some scoring punch in Shanahan.

Pronger remained in St. Louis for nine seasons, captaining the club for seven. Shanahan, however, left Hartford after one season in a trade sending him and Brian Glynn to the Detroit Red Wings for forward Keith Primeau, defenceman Paul Coffey, and a 1997 first-round draft pick (Nikos Tselios).

After five years working for the NHL as Vice-President of Hockey and Business Development and Chief Disciplinarian, Shanahan was named President of the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 11, 2014.  Shanny was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 11, 2013.

Several blows to the head sidelined Pronger in December 2011. He has not skated since, nor does it appear he will ever return to the game, despite being under contract with the Philadelphia Flyers through 2017. On June 27, 2015, the Flyers traded his contract to the Arizona Coyotes for salary cap purposes. Three days later, Pronger was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Despite still technically an active player, Pronger was eligible for the honor owing to his three season absence at the time of induction.
Pronger currently works for the Florida Panthers in hockey operations.

The pair played a combined 39 NHL seasons resulting in over 2,600 games, 2,000 points, 4,000 penalty minutes, and four Stanley Cup wins. Internationally, they won three Olympic Gold Medals and three World Championships for Canada.  Both are Triple Gold Club members.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Lindros Trade (QUE-PHI)

On June 30th in 1992, Quebec Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut and GM Pierre Page traded 1991 draft day holdout Eric Lindros to Philadelphia.



Amidst confusion among two competing bids, arbitrator Larry Bertuzzi selected Flyers GM Russ Farwell's proposal over New York Rangers GM Neil Smith's package of Doug Weight, Tony Amonte, Alexei Kovalev, John Vanbiesbrouck, three first round draft picks, and $12 million.

The trade ultimately saw Peter Forsberg, Mike Ricci, Ron Hextall, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Chris Simon, two first-round picks (Jocelyn Thibault, Nolan Baumgartner), and $15 million going to Quebec in exchange for the inaugural Next One. The deal remains one of the most significant and lopsided trades in NHL history.

The club would later exchange Hextall for Adam Deadmarsh and package Thibault for Patrick Roy and Mike Keane, claiming two Stanley Cups as the Colorado Avalanche. The Flyers remain winless since 1975.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Luongo Trade (NYI-FLA)

On June 24th in 2000, New York Islanders GM Mike Milbury traded Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen to the Florida Panthers for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha. The 2000 NHL Entry Draft day play saw the Isles select goalie Rick DiPietro 1st overall ahead of future all-stars Dany Heatley (2nd), Marian Gaborik (3rd) and Henrik Lundqvist (205th), to name a few.

In response to the move Milbury surmised, "In the end, we thought the quality that DiPietro will bring is just a notch above Luongo. If we're wrong, we may have made an unbelievable mistake. It'll be bonehead city. It's my job. If we're not a better team immediately, off with my head. I've been here five years, and I'm tired of losing."

Safe to say the Isles would have been better off with future Vezina/Hart/Pearson finalist Luongo, Calder winner and two-time 50 goal scorer Heatley, and Finnish national teamer Jokinen than the trio of DiPietro, Parrish, and Kvasha. Alas, the Milbury legacy lives on and on.

That's today in NHL history.

* See also Today In NHL History - Luongo's Playoff Poop.
* See also Today In NHL History - Luongo's Stick Gets Stuck.
* See also Today In NHL History - Luongo Trade (FLA-VAN).
* See also Roberto Luongo Interview - 2011 NHL Awards.
* See also Roberto Luongo Interview - 2009 NHL Awards.

Today In NHL History - Luongo Trade (FLA-VAN)

On June 23rd in 2006, Florida Panthers GM Mike Keenan traded Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek, and a 6th round pick (Sergei Shirokov) in the next day's 2006 NHL Entry Draft to the host city's Vancouver Canucks for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen, and Alex Auld.

Both Bertuzzi (7 games) and Auld (27 games) enjoyed limited play during their one season down south while Allen (284 games) was a fixture for Florida before being traded to Carolina for forward Sergei Samsonov (20 games), skating in his final NHL season.

On September 2, 2009, Luongo signed a 12 year contract extension with Vancouver through 2022 where he's won Olympic Gold (2010), presided over two Presidents' Trophy wins (2011, 2012), been named to three NHL All-Star Games (2007, 2008, 2009), received four NHL Award nominations (Vezina 2007 & 2011, Pearson 2007, Hart 2007), captured a Jennings Trophy (2011) with Cory Schneider, set several Canucks franchise records, and authored a popular Twitter feed @strombone1.

Despite these successes, Luongo has been widely criticized for spectacular playoff losses to the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins, blamed for the Canucks failure to capture the Stanley Cup in 2011, and remains to this day a favorite whipping boy for hockey pundits everywhere.

That's today in NHL history.

* See also Today In NHL History - Luongo's Playoff Poop.
* See also Today In NHL History - Luongo's Stick Gets Stuck.
* See also Today In NHL History - Luongo Trade (NYI-FLA).
* See also Roberto Luongo Interview - 2011 NHL Awards.
* See also Roberto Luongo Interview - 2009 NHL Awards.

Today In NHL History - Naslund Trade (PIT-VAN)

On March 26th in 1996, the Vancouver Canucks acquired Markus Naslund from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Alex Stojanov resulting in each team trading their first round selection from the 1991 NHL Entry Draft (16th for 7th, respectively).

Stojanov skated in 45 games for Pittsburgh over the next two seasons amassing six points (2G, 4A) in the process. He spent the remainder of his career in the minors. Naslund, on the other hand, played in 894 games over 12 seasons with Vancouver, serving as team captain for seven and setting club records for goals (346) and points (756). It remains the best trade ever made by the Vancouver Canucks.

That's today in NHL history.

* See also Today In NHL History - Bertuzzi Punches Moore
* See also Markus Naslund Interview - Örnsköldsvik, SWE
* See also Today In NHL History - Queen Visits Canucks
* See also Markus Does What Mark Should Have

Today In NHL History - Linden Trade (VAN-NYI)

On February 6th in 1998, Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Keenan and New York Islanders GM Mike Milbury traded talent sending Trevor Linden to Long Island in exchange for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan McCabe, and a third round pick in the 1998 NHL Draft (Jarkko Ruutu).

The unpopular move was one of ten during a two month span, gutting the core of the Canucks. Brian Burke replaced Keenan as GM four months later and relieved Iron Mike of his coaching duties the following year, ending his troubled fourteen month tenure with the team.

The Canucks reacquired Linden in 2001 and Captain Canuck played his remaining days with the club that selected him second overall in the 1988 Draft, retiring on the 20th anniversary of that memorable day.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Bure Trade (VAN-FLA)

On January 17th in 1999, Vancouver Canucks superstar Pavel Bure was traded to the Florida Panthers along with Bret Hedican, Brad Ference, and a third round pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft (Robert Fried) in exchange for Ed Jovanovski, Dave Gagner, Mike Brown, Kevin Weekes, and a first round pick in 2000 (Nathan Smith).

The seeds of the trade were sewn on July 5, 1998 when Bure demanded a trade for personal reasons, later revealed to include alienation by management coupled with several bitter contract negotiations, claiming he would never again play for the club. He didn't and Canucks GM Brian Burke eventually orchestrated a trade with Panthers GM Bryan Murray.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Roy Trade (MTL-COL)

On December 6th in 1995, the Montreal Canadiens traded Patrick Roy and team captain Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko in what remains one of the most lopsided exchanges in league history.

The seeds of the move were sewn on December 2, 1995 during a franchise worst 11-1 home loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Allowing five goals in the first period and two more in the first five minutes of the second, Habs freshman bench boss Mario Tremblay elected to strand Roy.

Eventually relieved with eight minutes remaining in the middle frame, after surrendering nine goals on 26 shots, a humiliated Roy returned to the bench and informed team president Ronald Corey that he'd played his last game in Montreal. Four days later, rookie GMs Rejean Houle and Pierre LaCroix pulled the trigger on what is simply known as Le Trade.


From Le Trade through Roy's retirement in 2003, Montreal won only two playoff series ('98, '02) failing to qualify four times ('99, '00, '01, '03). Colorado never missed a postseason with St. Patrick between the pipes, twice taking the Presidents' Trophy ('97, '01) and Stanley Cup ('96, '01).

Roy finished with five Jennings ('87, '88, '89', '92, '02), four Stanley Cup ('86, '93, '96, '01), and three Conn Smythe ('86, '93, '01) and Vezina ('89, '90, '92) wins. He is arguably the best goalie to ever play the game.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Thornton Trade (BOS-SJS)

On November 30th in 2005, Boston Bruins GM Mike O'Connell traded the jewel of the 1997 Draft to Doug Wilson's San Jose Sharks for first rounders Wayne Primeau (17th in 1994), Marco Sturm (21st in 1996), and Brad Stuart (3rd in 1998), stunning pundits from coast to coast.

Blindsided by the deal, Joe Thornton went on to win the Art Ross and Hart trophies in his west coast debut, cinching the Rocket Richard for linemate Jonathan Cheechoo en route.

The Bruins fired O'Connell four months later launching a successful rebuilding campaign that yielded the 2011 Stanley Cup, though none of the players from this trade were on that winning roster.  The Sharks skated in their first Stanley Cup Final in 2016, and have twice qualified for the Western Conference Final (2010, 2011) since the trade.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Takko Bell Trade

On November 22nd in 1990, the Minnesota North Stars traded goaltender Kari Takko to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for defenseman Bruce Bell. The swap would forever be known as the Takko Bell trade, playing off the famous California-born fast food chain Taco Bell founded by Glen Bell in 1962. 
Bruce Bell never skated with the North Stars, playing his remaining eight seasons in the minors and overseas. Takko backstopped the Oilers eleven times before leaving the NHL at the end of the season to spend the next nine seasons in Sweden and Finland. Live Mas!

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Linden Trade (WAS-VAN)

On November 10th in 2001, the Vancouver Canucks acquired former captain Trevor Linden and a second round draft pick (Denis Grot) in exchange for a first round pick in 2002 (Boyd Gordon) and a third rounder in 2003.

Linden would skate for six more seasons with the team that took him second overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft surpassing several franchise milestones before announcing his retirement on June 11, 2008, exactly two decades from the day Canucks GM Pat Quinn first called his name.

On April 9, 2014, exactly six years one day after his final NHL game, Linden was named President of Hockey Operations for the Vancouver Canucks, the day after Mike Gillis was relieved of the role.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Heatley Trade (OTT-SJS)

On September 12th in 2009, the Ottawa Senators shipped a disgruntled Dany Heatley and a 5th round pick in the 2010 Draft (Isaac MacLeod) to the San Jose Sharks for Jonathon Cheechoo, Milan Michalek and a 2nd round pick (Kent Simpson).

The two-time 50 goal scorer (2006, 2007) and Calder winning (2002) winger publicly demanded a trade three months earlier, a mere two years into his six year $45m deal with the club, handcuffing GM Bryan Murray into settling for less than market value for his prized possession.

The washed-up Rocket Richard winner (2006) Cheechoo mustered a measly 14 points in 61 games for the Sens and was bought out of the final year of his contract which would have paid $3.5m in 2010-2011. Heatley, meanwhile, enjoyed a 10 point improvement over his prior season skating with 1997 first rounders Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.

The tide of the trade finally turned in 2012 when Michalek outpointed (60pts v 53pts) and outscored (35G v 24G) Heatley at almost half the cap hit ($4.3m v $7.5m) to lead the Senators in scoring. Heatley posted his 2012 numbers for the Minnesota Wild, his third team in four years, after the Sharks swapped the winger for Martin Havlat on July 3, 2011.

That's today in NHL history.

Statistical Anomaly - New Jersey Devils Offense

First in their division, second in conference, and sixth overall with 72 points, the New Jersey Devils are amongst the league leaders in wins (4th), win % when scoring first (3rd), win % when opponent scores first (4th), win % leading after first period (3rd), win % leading after second period (3rd), points (6th), points per game (4th), goals against per game (1st), shots against per game (2nd), and win % when outshot (1st).

What's unusual is the Devils score fewer goals per game than most (21st), are weak at even strength (23rd), and are mid-pack in shots per game (13th). Their success rests instead with frugal defensive play, timely production, and record-setting goaltending from Martin Brodeur who leads the NHL (both this season and all-time) in wins and shutouts.

If a single move could resolve their offensive shortcomings, last night's acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk may have done just that. Thus far this season, Kovalchuk has .63 goals per game (5th), 21 even strength goals (5th), and 179 shots (24th) in 49 games. Adding these numbers to New Jersey's totals bumps the team from 2.54 (21st) to 3.17 (4th) in goals per game, 92 (23rd) to 113 (5th) in even strength goals, and 30.2 (13th) to 33.8 (1st) in shots per game (179 shots/49 games = 3.6).

Time will tell if Ilya can maintain his productive pace in New Jersey and whether his individual output directly translates into team improvement. At first blush, however, it looks like Lou got it right.