Chicago/Quebec (Savard/Cloutier) trade

[Blackhawkswincup]

It never seems to get brought up but how bad does that trade look in retrospect?

Remember Real Cloutier was drafted by Hawks but played (and starred) in WHA. The Nordiques traded there 1980 1st round pick to Hawks so that Hawks would not reclaim Cloutier in the expansion draft.

That pick turned out to be Denis Savard (3rd overall)

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[MXD]

It never seems to get brought up but how bad does that trade look in retrospect?

Remember Real Cloutier was drafted by Hawks but played (and starred) in WHA. The Nordiques traded there 1980 1st round pick to Hawks so that Hawks would not reclaim Cloutier in the expansion draft.

That pick turned out to be Denis Savard (3rd overall)

That might actually have mean Savard to Montreal.

 

[Blades of Glory]

There are many instances of a trade that looks horrible because a draft pick involved turned into a superstar. A lot of that is left up to chance; the team that traded for the pick may have chosen that player, but there's no guarantee that the team that traded the pick would have taken him even had they had the opportunity. That wasn't even the worst deal Savard was involved in, which is why people may overlook it.

The Denis Savard for Chris Chelios deal looks ludicrous today, but it seemed understandable at the time, at least to the majority; both players were at a similar age, and had similar questions about durability, having being injured for much of the previous season. Montreal lacked a top line center and Chicago needed a defenseman to take the reigns from an aging Doug Wilson. Seemed fair, didn't it? For some reason, though, I just never liked that trade, even when it happened. I didn't think Savard was going to completely drop off the way he did, but I also didn't think he was going to provide an impact nearly large enough to make up for losing Chelios. Sure, Montreal won the Cup in 1993, but that was in no way due to Savard and to say that Chelios was dominant that year would be one of the biggest understatements ever made. I always beleived that the Chelios deal paved the way for the dismantling of the team that happened in the first half of that decade, with Roy, Desjardins, Leclair, and Schneider all being sent out.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Off Ice Considerations

There are many instances of a trade that looks horrible because a draft pick involved turned into a superstar. A lot of that is left up to chance; the team that traded for the pick may have chosen that player, but there's no guarantee that the team that traded the pick would have taken him even had they had the opportunity. That wasn't even the worst deal Savard was involved in, which is why people may overlook it.

The Denis Savard for Chris Chelios deal looks ludicrous today, but it seemed understandable at the time, at least to the majority; both players were at a similar age, and had similar questions about durability, having being injured for much of the previous season. Montreal lacked a top line center and Chicago needed a defenseman to take the reigns from an aging Doug Wilson. Seemed fair, didn't it? For some reason, though, I just never liked that trade, even when it happened. I didn't think Savard was going to completely drop off the way he did, but I also didn't think he was going to provide an impact nearly large enough to make up for losing Chelios. Sure, Montreal won the Cup in 1993, but that was in no way due to Savard and to say that Chelios was dominant that year would be one of the biggest understatements ever made. I always beleived that the Chelios deal paved the way for the dismantling of the team that happened in the first half of that decade, with Roy, Desjardins, Leclair, and Schneider all being sent out.

Real Cloutier suffered a serious ankle injury playing softball during the summer of 1980 - an injury that impacted his career forcing his eventual retirement when he re-injured his ankle with Buffalo.

Chris Chelios in Montreal. Let's simply say that by 1990 the off ice issues had reached a point where he was not going to be back. Denis Savard was the best avilable offer.

 

[Blades of Glory]

Real Cloutier suffered a serious ankle injury playing softball during the summer of 1980 - an injury that impacted his career forcing his eventual retirement when he re-injured his ankle with Buffalo.

Chris Chelios in Montreal. Let's simply say that by 1990 the off ice issues had reached a point where he was not going to be back. Denis Savard was the best avilable offer.

Yeah, I remember the off-ice issues, but I don't remember what they were exactly. There were rumors, but was it a dressing room situation or was it his reputation as a partier? Or both? I know Canadiens' President Ronald Corey did not like him.

 

[Dump and Chase]

Apparently Chelios thought:

public street = toilet