Fansided

NHL Trade Deadline: Ranking every team’s worst ever trade

By David Rouben

SACRAMENTO, CA - APRIL 3: Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings in action against the Edmonton Oilers at the Arco Arena on April 3, 1994 in Sacramento, California. The Kings defeated the Oilers 6-1. (Photo by Rocky Widner/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - APRIL 3: Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings in action against the Edmonton Oilers at the Arco Arena on April 3, 1994 in Sacramento, California. The Kings defeated the Oilers 6-1. (Photo by Rocky Widner/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
31 of 31
Next
Swedish professional ice hockey player Peter Forsberg of the Pittsburgh Penguins poses with the Stanley Cup trophy in celebration of his team’s defeat of the Florida Panthers in game four of the championship series, Sunrise, Florida, June 10, 1996. (Photo by John Giamundo/Getty Images)
Swedish professional ice hockey player Peter Forsberg of the Pittsburgh Penguins poses with the Stanley Cup trophy in celebration of his team’s defeat of the Florida Panthers in game four of the championship series, Sunrise, Florida, June 10, 1996. (Photo by John Giamundo/Getty Images) /

1: Philadelphia Flyers

This wasn’t a trade, this was a coup. Considering what the players the Avalanche received turned into, they might as well have robbed the Bellagio. It was well known that Eric Lindros didn’t want to play for the Quebec Nordiques, so when they ended up with the first overall pick in 1992, teams started lining up bids. The Nordiques still took him because what are you going to do, not take the most hyped pick since Wayne Gretzky? A trade became imminent when he walked up to the podium and didn’t put on the Nordiques jersey.

After a year-long holdout with the Nordiques, the Rangers and Flyers competed over bids. The Flyers ended up winning because they submitted theirs first and clearly wanted him more. At first glance, a Lindros for Forsberg swap would’ve been fair value. But include the rest of that trade and you don’t just have a trade – you have the key pieces for a Stanley Cup winning team and that’s exactly what the Nordiques became when they took this group with them to Colorado.

The Avalanche made the playoffs in their first year with their new core and won a Stanley Cup within three years. To make matters worse, one of their first-round picks was used to trade for Patrick Roy – if you recognized the name Jocelyn Thibault, it means you’ve been paying attention, so good job. They would then flip Ron Hextall for Adam Deadmarsh while Mike Ricci was flipped for Alex Tanguay. Both helped the Avalanche to a second Cup triumph in 2001.

The Flyers coveted Lindros more than Gollum coveted the one true ring. They paid him $2 million in his rookie year – by contrast, Gretzky was making $3 million at the time. Eric Lindros’ time with the Flyers was by no means a disaster. He put up some incredible numbers for them – including 97 points in just his second year – and won a Hart Trophy. But if you give up a King’s ransom like that, especially considering the amount of success that departing core had, you’d better win a Stanley Cup and the Flyers never did win that one true ring.

The new general manager, Bobby Clarke, had an awful relationship with Lindros and, after sitting out an entire season over a contract dispute, eventually got traded to the Rangers. All told, his extensive injury history, his awful attitude, and failure to win a Stanley Cup have tarnished his legacy, and is the main reason why he still isn’t in the Hall of Fame.

Many felt, after the Oilers won the McDavid lottery, that a Lindros-type trade would be needed in order to save him from that franchise. But I’m sure that teams looked at this deal and how well it worked out for the other side that they eventually stuck to their guns. This trade is still viewed today as one of the bigger cautionary tales of the league.

Home/Anaheim Ducks