Worst Trade in NHL History?

[akustyk 84]

New York Islanders traded Olli Jokien and Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha.

at that moment Parrish and Kvasha were very promising young forwards.

Parrish even scored 4 goals in a single game once, so you get the picture.

truth being said Jokinen became Panthers franchise player and Luongo

is the second coming of Marty Brodeur and both Parrish and Kvasha

disappeared from the big picture

[StaticWithABeat 0]

Not even the worst Tkachuk trade.

St.Louis trading Nagy, Handzus, Taffe, and the pick that became Ben Eager for Tkachuk is one of my all-time worst trades. Especially when coupled that offseason with Craig Conroy for Cory Stillman and you have a pretty horrible offseason for the Blues that saw two Selke contenders who brought decent offense shipped off for defensively irresponsible players who weren't that much better offensively...but that was to be expected with Larry Pleau in charge.

I'd hardly call that a bad trade, let alone one of the worst of all time...St. Louis already had a solid group of defensive forwards with Mellanby/Drake/Eastwood/Hecht/Reasoner etc, they needed a big gun on offense and they got it in Tkachuk. They proceeded to be legitimate contenders all the way up to the lockout, while Phoenix had one decent season in 01-02 and hasn't made the playoffs since.

[Lou_Siffer 1]

I'd hardly call that a bad trade, let alone one of the worst of all time...St. Louis already had a solid group of defensive forwards with Mellanby/Drake/Eastwood/Hecht/Reasoner etc, they needed a big gun on offense and they got it in Tkachuk. They proceeded to be legitimate contenders all the way up to the lockout, while Phoenix had one decent season in 01-02 and hasn't made the playoffs since.

Yeah...im not seeing that one as bad either...not sure what eva is thinking there. Tkachuk scored damn near 40 goals the following year and was over 30 the next 2. Hardly a bust. Taffe is nothing and Ben Eager is a fighter, so why would anybody think Tkachuk for Nagy and Handzus warrants one of the worst of all time trade status? Hell, St Louis did better in the deal than Phoenix!

[dallas27 7]

Going with Draper for a buck. Granted we got the better end of the deal, by far.

[RedFX 48]

Going with Draper for a buck. Granted we got the better end of the deal, by far.

Probably why Winnipeg ended up with financial problems.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

NYI Trade Zdeno Chara and the pick that turn into Jason Spezza for Yashin. Ouch.

Todd Bertuzzi and Brian McCabe to Vancouver for Trevor Linden was bad too.

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

I predict that a future trade will be the one that takes the cake. (Samuelsson for Hossa). Loser, Atlanta, as the Wings win the next 3 consecutive Stanley Cups, while Atlanta leads the league in shots each year, but misses the playoffs every time.

Oh yeah, the serious answer to this question is Naslund for Stojanov. Trading a below average enforcer for a guy who would eventually become a superstar and the face of a franchise. Nothing else quite matches it.

[Grind_Lines_#1_Fan 0]

Also,

The Hasek trade in 1992 went like this:

Winnipeg trades G Stephane Beauregard to Buffalo for C Christian Ruuttu and future considerations.

Chicago trades G Dominik Hasek to Buffalo for G Stephane Beauregard and future considerations.

Chicago trades G Stephane Beauregard to Winnipeg for C Christian Ruuttu.

It was drawn out over the course of two months but ultimately might be the only three way deal in history where one team ended up with what they started with.

And it can't really be called a bad deal, and here's why: Chicago had Ed Belfour, who won the Vezina in 1991 and would win it again the next season. They traded their backup goaltender, who didn't really play well in Chicago, for a much needed defensive center.

Interesting factoid about Beauregard...he might be the only player in NHL history effectively traded for himself twice; Later in 1992 he was traded to Philadelphia for future considerations, and a year later was sent back to Winnipeg to complete the deal. Traded for himself twice, and within a year's time!

I bet there probably aren't too many guys that can say that.

Great thread, some that I haven't seen be mentioned yet

September 30, 2006: Montreal trades Mike Ribeiro and a 6th round pick in 2008 to Dallas for Janne Niinimaa and a 5th round pick in 2007 (Andrew Conboy)

June 24, 2006: Colorado trades Alex Tanguay to Calgary for Jordan Leopold, and 2nd round picks in 2006 (Codey Burki) and 2007 (Trevor Cann)

March 8, 2006: Montreal trades Jose Theodore to Colorado for David Aebischer

August 2, 2005: St. Louis trades Chris Pronger to Edmonton for Eric Brewer, Doug Lynch and Jeff Woywitka

January 20, 2004: Philadelphia trades Justin Williams to Carolina for Danny Markov

November 16, 2003: San Jose trades Miikka Kiprusoff to Calgary for 2nd round pick in 2005 (Marc-Edouard Vlasic)

March 23, 1999: Chicago trades Chris Chelios to Detroit for Anders Eriksson, 1st round picks in 1999 (Steve McCarthy) and 2001 (Adam Munro)

March 18, 1997: Edmonton trades Miroslav Satan to Buffalo for Barrie Moore and Craig Millar

November 27, 1996: Ottawa trades Pavol Demitra to St. Louis for Christer Olsson

October 10, 1984: Detroit trades Murray Craven and Joe Paterson to Philadelphia for Darryl Sittler

June 23, 1975: Detroit trades Marcel Dionne and Bart Crashley to Los Angeles for Terry Harper, Dan Maloney, and 2nd round pick in 1976 (later traded to Minnesota; Jim Roberts)

July 23, 1957: Detroit trades Ted Lindsay and Glenn Hall to Chicago for Johnny Wilson, Forbes Kennedy, Hank Bassen and Bill Preston

[Lou_Siffer 1]

September 30, 2006: Montreal trades Mike Ribeiro and a 6th round pick in 2008 to Dallas for Janne Niinimaa and a 5th round pick in 2007 (Andrew Conboy)

When its all said and done though, Dallas will look like the fools for signing Ribeiro to that 25 mill/5 year extension. It was a bad jump the gun move and he now has 1 goal in 12 games since signing it.

(Watch him get a hat trick tonight now for saying that... seriously, make sure he's in your fantasy lineup)

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

When its all said and done though, Dallas will look like the fools for signing Ribeiro to that 25 mill/5 year extension. It was a bad jump the gun move and he now has 1 goal in 12 games since signing it.

(Watch him get a hat trick tonight now for saying that... seriously, make sure he's in your fantasy lineup)

He's gotten like 12 assists though. He's worth it, plus he has great chemistry with Morrow.

[Yzermania19 1]

I am going to cast my vote with the Lindros trade - all those established NHL players for a conceited prima donna who hadn't even played an NHL game yet.

2005: Boston Bruins trade Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for Brad Stuart, Wayne Primeau, and Marco Sturm (loser: Boston)

I remember this one - I was on my way back to my office, heard it on the radio and my jaw dropped!

[Kp-Wings 3]

Here are some more pretty bad trades:

2007: Carolina Hurricanes trade Jack Johnson and Oleg Tverdovsky to the LA Kings for Tim Gleason and Eric Belanger (loser: Carolina)

1996: Ottawa Senators trade Pavol Demitra to the St. Louis Blues for Christer Olsson (loser: Ottawa)

1994: Quebec Nordiques trade Mats Sundin, Todd Warriner, Garth Butcher, and a 1st round draft pick (which became Nolan Baumgartner) to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Wendel Clark, Landon Wilson, Sylvain Lefebvre, and a 1st round draft pick (which became Jeff Kealty) (loser: Quebec)

1983: Colorado Rockies trade their 3rd overall draft pick in the 1983 draft (which became Pat LaFontaine) for Dave Cameron and Bob Lorimer (loser: Colorado)

1989: Toronto Maple Leafs trade their 3rd overall draft pick in the 1991 draft (which became Scott Niedermayer) to the New Jersey Devils for Tom Kurvers (loser: Toronto)

2003: St. Louis Blues trade Mike Van Ryn to the Florida Panthers for Valeri Bure (loser: St. Louis)

1996: Montreal Canadians trade Pierre Turgeon, Craig Conroy, and Rory Fitzpatrick to the St. Louis Blues for Shayne Corson, Murray Baron, and a 5th round draft pick (which became Gennady Razin) (loser: Montreal)

2003: New York Islanders trade Raffi Torres and Brad Isbister to the Edmonton Oilers for Janne Niinimaa and a 2nd round draft pick (which became Evgeni Tunik) (loser: Islanders)

2006: Pittsburgh Penguins trade Mark Recchi to the Carolina Hurricanes for Niklas Nordgren, Krystofer Kolanos, and a 2nd round draft pick (which became Keven Veilleux) (loser: Pittsburgh)

2002: Montreal Canadians trade Arron Asham and a 5th round draft pick (Markus Pahlsson) to the New York Islanders for Mariusz Czerkawski (loser: Montreal)

Edited February 3, 2008 by Kp-Wings

[imisssergei 0]

Here are some more pretty bad trades:

2007: Carolina Hurricanes trade Jack Johnson and Oleg Tverdovsky to the LA Kings for Tim Gleason and Eric Belanger (loser: Carolina)

2006: Pittsburgh Penguins trade Mark Recchi to the Carolina Hurricanes for Niklas Nordgren, Krystofer Kolanos, and a 2nd round draft pick (which became Keven Veilleux) (loser: Pittsburgh)

I have to argue these two deals.

I don't think you can label the Canes as a loser in the first deal. Effectively, they traded Jack Johnson for Tim Gleason. Yes, there is more hype surrounding Johnson, but Gleason is a Scott Stevens type of dman. He has a huge upside, just as Jackson does.

The Pens unloaded Recchi to the Canes for prospects and a pick, then signed Recchi in the offseason, then released Recchi. The Pens weren't losers, I have a hard time labeling a team losers when the traded player signs with the team that dealt him. Basically the Pens rented Recchi to the Canes for prospects and a pick. I would label this as a draw, only because the Canes didn't give much up and won a Cup, while the Pens got a little something for letting the Canes borrow Recchi.

[cr00d 26]

I can't believe no one has mentionned the terrible trades Jagr has been a part of.

First, his trade from Pits to Washington:

11-Jul-01: Pittsburgh Penguins traded Jaromir Jagr and Frantisek Kucera to the Washington Capitals for Kris Beech, Michal Sivek and Ross Lupaschuk and future considerations.

...and then, from Washington to NY:

23-Jan-04: Washington Capitals traded Jaromir Jagr to the New York Rangers for Anson Carter.

Both of those trades have to be considered amongst the worst in NHL history

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

I can't believe no one has mentionned the terrible trades Jagr has been a part of.

First, his trade from Pits to Washington:

11-Jul-01: Pittsburgh Penguins traded Jaromir Jagr and Frantisek Kucera to the Washington Capitals for Kris Beech, Michal Sivek and Ross Lupaschuk and future considerations.

...and then, from Washington to NY:

23-Jan-04: Washington Capitals traded Jaromir Jagr to the New York Rangers for Anson Carter.

Both of those trades have to be considered amongst the worst in NHL history

Those are awful deals. Kris Beech was expected to be a good young player, but at this point he should just change his name to Rico Fata. The 2nd trade is pretty self-explanatory.

[kozac 10]

I can't believe no one has mentionned the terrible trades Jagr has been a part of.

First, his trade from Pits to Washington:

11-Jul-01: Pittsburgh Penguins traded Jaromir Jagr and Frantisek Kucera to the Washington Capitals for Kris Beech, Michal Sivek and Ross Lupaschuk and future considerations.

...and then, from Washington to NY:

23-Jan-04: Washington Capitals traded Jaromir Jagr to the New York Rangers for Anson Carter.

Both of those trades have to be considered amongst the worst in NHL history

To be fair, both Pitt and Washington put a cross on Jagr and were just looking to dump Jarg's salary at the time they wre trading him. Washintgon is the loser here, but not so much Pittsburg because it wasn't until Jagr became a Ranger that he started playing like his old self again.

[Kp-Wings 3]

I have to argue these two deals.

I don't think you can label the Canes as a loser in the first deal. Effectively, they traded Jack Johnson for Tim Gleason. Yes, there is more hype surrounding Johnson, but Gleason is a Scott Stevens type of dman. He has a huge upside, just as Jackson does.

Johnson is going to be a much, much better player than Gleason. I love Gleason, because he's a tough guy that plays hard every night, but he doesn't have the offensive capabilities that Johnson has.

The Pens unloaded Recchi to the Canes for prospects and a pick, then signed Recchi in the offseason, then released Recchi. The Pens weren't losers, I have a hard time labeling a team losers when the traded player signs with the team that dealt him. Basically the Pens rented Recchi to the Canes for prospects and a pick. I would label this as a draw, only because the Canes didn't give much up and won a Cup, while the Pens got a little something for letting the Canes borrow Recchi.

Recchi helped Carolina win a Stanley Cup. What have Nordgren and Kolanos done for Pittsburgh? Nordgren played only 15 games when he got there, and didn't get a single point. Kolanos didn't even play a single game with the Penguins. Both players were released at the seasons end, and therefore, did nothing.

Keven Veilleux is the only guy left on Pittsburgh from the deal. If he becomes a good player, then I'll change my opinion of the trade, but right now, I think the deal favored Carolina and not Pittsburgh.

[OsGOD 3]

anything the Islanders do...

Edited February 3, 2008 by OsGOD

[calfan 0]

Some others not yet mentioned

Edmonton trades Wayne Gretzky to the LA Kings

Calgary trades Doug Gilmour to the Leafs

Calgary trades Brett Hull to the Blues

Toronto trades Lanny McDonald to Colorado

[interminded 1]

Some others not yet mentioned

Edmonton trades Wayne Gretzky to the LA Kings

As aformentioned, The Oilers were almost broke and needed the money.

If it saves your franchise, than it's hardly a bad trade.

[imisssergei 0]

Johnson is going to be a much, much better player than Gleason. I love Gleason, because he's a tough guy that plays hard every night, but he doesn't have the offensive capabilities that Johnson has.

Recchi helped Carolina win a Stanley Cup. What have Nordgren and Kolanos done for Pittsburgh? Nordgren played only 15 games when he got there, and didn't get a single point. Kolanos didn't even play a single game with the Penguins. Both players were released at the seasons end, and therefore, did nothing.

Keven Veilleux is the only guy left on Pittsburgh from the deal. If he becomes a good player, then I'll change my opinion of the trade, but right now, I think the deal favored Carolina and not Pittsburgh.

My point is that Gleason and Johnson will be equally effective dmen. Gleason plays a different style. I still think the trade is a push.

With the Recchi deal, I still don't see how the Pens are losers. Again, Recchi came back to the Pens. They rented him for prospects. It wasn't like the Pens were in a position to make the playoffs. If Recchi doesn't come back to the Pens, then the deal looks a little different.

[dirac 0]

Boston has two in the past few years...Thornton to SJ and Boyes to St. Louis.

Many have noted the Oates deal from Detroit but from what I understand of the deal, he had to go because of his attitude towards Yzerman and the managements treatment of Yzerman. I know, if you look at players simply as their numbers, true, god awful but this is one in which it was said they were removinga a cancer from the locker room.

Another trade noted was Terrible Ted to Black Hawks...again, this trade was done to get him out of town. Yes on paper it was awful but the Detroit management was not looking for a 'deal'...they simply wanted a one-way ticket out of Olympia.

As to the Recchi deal...how were the Pens losers? They basically loaned him out, got some free players and then resigned him.

[A.T.Hun 0]

Another trade noted was Terrible Ted to Black Hawks...again, this trade was done to get him out of town. Yes on paper it was awful but the Detroit management was not looking for a 'deal'...they simply wanted a one-way ticket out of Olympia.

Yeah, that's one of the "Jack Adams is a bastard" trades. Unfortunately it's one of many (see also Kelly, Red).

I know that this is a topic for another thread, but every time I think of Jack Adams, I think the coach of the year trophy needs to be renamed the William "Scotty" Bowman award.

Edited February 5, 2008 by A.T.Hun

[A.T.Hun 0]

Carson was not a bag of pucks. He is the only player I am personally aware of in NHL history to score 30 goals playing as a third line center.

Compared to what the Wings gave away in those two trades, I'll stick by the bag of pucks comment. They gave away all of that and they only thing they had to show for it is a third-line center. As someone else posted, I realize that they were also giving away some headaches too, but I can hardly fathom a way that they could have gotten less in those trades.

[Uncle Danny 155]

Re: Adams

Agreed. It is amazing to me how a man that did so much harm to the game and the players he was responsible for can continue to be honored with a trophy like that. By all accounts, he was an awful man to work with and made personnel decisions based on grudges and manipulation.

Edited February 5, 2008 by Uncle Danny