"Explain the Trade" Thread

[NYR94]

So I've always been curious as to why certain players were traded and why they got the returns that they did. So I thought I'd make a thread for people to post trades that they didn't understand and try to get explanations for them from the fans of the teams involved. I'll start with a pair of Pittsburgh deals:

1) 6/22/96- D Sergei Zubov to Dallas for D Kevin Hatcher.

Why did Pittsburgh trade him after the great year he had (11-55-66 in 64 GP, manned point on deadly power play, helped team to ECF). Was it the same old "He's not physical enough" reasoning that led the Rangers to deal him?

2) 1/27/97- RW Tomas Sandstrom to Detroit for C Greg Johnson.

Why did Detroit want Sandstrom? He wasn't having a very good year with Pittsburgh. His playoff experience? The hope that playing with a new team could rejuvenate him?

Click to read more...

 

[Chili]

1) 6/22/96- D Sergei Zubov to Dallas for D Kevin Hatcher.

Why did Pittsburgh trade him after the great year he had (11-55-66 in 64 GP, manned point on deadly power play, helped team to ECF). Was it the same old "He's not physical enough" reasoning that led the Rangers to deal him?

Hatcher played very well in a playoff series against the Pens (the only Caps playoff series win over the Pens I believe). In his prime he was a very good dman at both ends of the ice. There were some rumours that Zubov didn't seem to fit into the locker room (unless you were in the lockerroom in those days, who knows the truth on that one). Also the Pens would try to trade for guys who had played well against them especially against Mario (see Darius Kasparaitis).

To be honest, I liked the trade from the Pens perspective at that time. Hatcher's game really seemed to go downhill within a few years of the deal whereas Zubov has thrived. Another angle, I can't think of a dman who has had a long career in Pittsburgh.

 

[Sens Rule]

I have a question. Why was Graves a free agent in 1991? He was only 23 and had played only 5 seasons. The Rangers signed him away from the Oilers.

 

[NYR94]

I have a question. Why was Graves a free agent in 1991? He was only 23 and had played only 5 seasons. The Rangers signed him away from the Oilers.

I don't know the specifics of the CBA from 91 that would explain exactly why he was a free agent other than stating the obvious fact that his contract had expired (which you already know), but I did find this on the Rangers official site:

Signed with Rangers as a restricted free agent on Sept. 3, 1991. Nine days later, Edmonton received Troy Mallette as compensation for the signing.

So he wasn't a UFA, but it's not like the Ragners gave up much in Mallette.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

So I've always been curious as to why certain players were traded and why they got the returns that they did. So I thought I'd make a thread for people to post trades that they didn't understand and try to get explanations for them from the fans of the teams involved. I'll start with a pair of Pittsburgh deals:

1) 6/22/96- D Sergei Zubov to Dallas for D Kevin Hatcher.

Why did Pittsburgh trade him after the great year he had (11-55-66 in 64 GP, manned point on deadly power play, helped team to ECF). Was it the same old "He's not physical enough" reasoning that led the Rangers to deal him?

From what I've heard Mario didn't like Zubov's puck-possession style. Particularly on the powerplay. Both players like the puck on their stick and what Mario wants, Mario gets.
There's no arguing that while Zubov is a terrific player, Lemieux is the right choice in this debate. However, what a groaner of a trade it created.
I remember feeling at the time that Pittsburgh had been absolutely fleeced on this one. It seemed plain to everyone watching that Hatcher was basically done as a useful player and that Zubov was in the midst of his prime...who knew it would last 10 years and counting?

I also recall that some of the rationale coming from the Pittsburgh camp was that the Penguins needed to beef up their defence and get bigger and tougher (a seemingly perpetual problem for them), however, even a casual fan could tell you that while he is big, toughness has never been K. Hatcher's forte.

 

[Granlund2Pulkkinen*]

Explain to me the Drury/Calgary trade from Colorado...

 

[Snap Wilson]

I have a question. Why was Graves a free agent in 1991? He was only 23 and had played only 5 seasons. The Rangers signed him away from the Oilers.

He was a restricted free agent. The Oilers received Troy Mallette as compensation.

 

[Snap Wilson]

Explain to me the Drury/Calgary trade from Colorado...

Colorado felt they needed a defenseman more than a third-line center (which he was at the time).

 

[asdf]

Most recently I would say the Thornton trade. I can understand if Boston felt he wasn't the franchise player they were looking for and wanted to ship him out, but that trade is mindboggling and I'm really curious to know how the conversation went when that deal was consumated.

 

[Big Phil]

How about Markus Naslund for Alex Stojanov? Ouch. We have really been picking on Pittsburgh here but come on that was bad!

Turgeon for Corson I never understood either. Turgeon "the tin man" had his issues but even on his best day Corson was never at Turgeon's level. Maybe it was a locker room rift? Turgeon had 96 points that previous year.

The Joe Thornton trade is brutal. I can take solace in knowing that as bad as being a Leaf fan is, you can always count on Boston being even more dysfunctional. Thank God.

Owen Nolan for a 1st round pick Brad Boyes and Alyn McCauley. Wow. Yeah I know the Leafs wanted a Cup that year but Nolan has had one very good season in his career. That was '99-00. This was 2003. Nolan was a shadow of himself at the time.

 

[MadArcand]

I never understood Canes trading Sean Burke and Geoff Sanderson (and Enrico Ciccone) for Kirk McLean and Martin Gelinas...

 

[John Belushi]

I never understood Canes trading Sean Burke and Geoff Sanderson (and Enrico Ciccone) for Kirk McLean and Martin Gelinas...

Yeah, well you can still take solace in the fact that the trade didn't do anything for us, either (Canuck's were a bottom feeder yet again). It gave us eight games of Sanderson, another addition to our goalie graveyard and a walking bunch of vowels for two fan favourites in McLean (albeit declining) and Martin Gelinas.

Trade didn't work out for either sides.

 

[ForsbergForever]

How about Markus Naslund for Alex Stojanov? Ouch. We have really been picking on Pittsburgh here but come on that was bad!

Turgeon for Corson I never understood either. Turgeon "the tin man" had his issues but even on his best day Corson was never at Turgeon's level. Maybe it was a locker room rift? Turgeon had 96 points that previous year.

I've always been curious about this one, he was having a break-out year with them (66-19-33-52) and might have emerged as a 30 goal man the next season with some extra minutes. To trade him for a prospect, doesn't make sense, especially since Naslund was so young himself at the time.

As for Turgeon, I've heard from others that he was unhappy with the minutes he was getting, often being played on the second line, as Koivu was being groomed by management as the top centerman. So he demanded a trade if he was going to be the number one guy.

 

[Granlund2Pulkkinen*]

What about the Jack Johnson trade...?

 

[Blades of Glory]

What about the Jack Johnson trade...?

Couldn't sign him from UM so they traded him for a #4 defenseman and a 4th line center.

 

[Rask Decisions]

What about Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings for John Cullen, Zarley Zalapski and Jeff Parker? I've heard a couple people say that the trade really hurt the Whalers franchise. Was there any logical reason behind the trade at the time?

Naslund for Stojanov was another one I thought of when I saw this thread. It's weird to me because they were the same age, but Stojanov hadn't done anything since juniors (he hadn't even scored a single NHL goal at the time of the trade) and Naslund had a 50-point season to his name. Was Stojanov supposed to become a superstar power forward and the Penguins gambled on that, and lost?

I've also always wondered about the Joe Thornton trade as well. I know that Bruins traded him because he had "choked" in the playoffs and the team wasn't going anywhere. But I remember hearing from a couple places that Mike O'Connell made no effort to shop Thornton around the league and most teams had no idea that he was even available. Although since the Sharks are one of my favorite teams, it doesn't really matter now.

 

[Blades of Glory]

What about Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings for John Cullen, Zarley Zalapski and Jeff Parker? I've heard a couple people say that the trade really hurt the Whalers franchise. Was there any logical reason behind the trade at the time?

Naslund for Stojanov was another one I thought of when I saw this thread. It's weird to me because they were the same age, but Stojanov hadn't done anything since juniors (he hadn't even scored a single NHL goal at the time of the trade) and Naslund had a 50-point season to his name. Was Stojanov supposed to become a superstar power forward and the Penguins gambled on that, and lost?

I've also always wondered about the Joe Thornton trade as well. I know that Bruins traded him because he had "choked" in the playoffs and the team wasn't going anywhere. But I remember hearing from a couple places that Mike O'Connell made no effort to shop Thornton around the league and most teams had no idea that he was even available. Although since the Sharks are one of my favorite teams, it doesn't really matter now.

Apparently, Doug Wilson called Mike O'Connell about Sergei Samsonov and MOC offered Thornton.

 

[MS]

Naslund for Stojanov was another one I thought of when I saw this thread. It's weird to me because they were the same age, but Stojanov hadn't done anything since juniors (he hadn't even scored a single NHL goal at the time of the trade) and Naslund had a 50-point season to his name. Was Stojanov supposed to become a superstar power forward and the Penguins gambled on that, and lost?

At the time, Naslund was considered a very soft one-dimensional skill player, and Pittsburgh felt that the only reason he scored 50 points was because he was playing a fair bit with Jagr (and Naslund's low totals his first couple years in Vancouver justify that opinion). Naslund was felt to be a marginal top-6 forward who offered nothing other than a mediocre offensive output - not a player you win with.

On the other hand, in the wake of NJ winning the Cup and as the league headed into the dead puck era, players with size were at a premium. Stojanov was considered one of the better young goons in the league. I guess Pittsburgh must have felt he could recapture a bit of his junior scoring touch, but he showed nothing on that front while in Vancouver.

Basically a case of Pittsburgh feeling that a good 4th liner/goon would be a more valuable asset than a poor 2nd line forward. Same way a team might value a Darcy Hordichuk higher than a Kris Beech today. But Naslund exploded a couple years later, and it looks like one of the worst deals in NHL history.

 

[MadArcand]

Yeah, well you can still take solace in the fact that the trade didn't do anything for us, either (Canuck's were a bottom feeder yet again). It gave us eight games of Sanderson, another addition to our goalie graveyard and a walking bunch of vowels for two fan favourites in McLean (albeit declining) and Martin Gelinas.

Trade didn't work out for either sides.

Oh, I know it somehow backfired on both sides, I just never understood the reasoning behind the trade on our side.