Ignoring hindsight, create a fictional NHL trade you feel could have made sense

[Habsfan18]

Reading through old trade rumours on newspapers.com, I got an idea for a fun little game here on the HoH forum. What if we put ourselves in the shoes of the GM’s around the league from any particular historical season?

What if we create fictional trades in history that we feel would have made sense for BOTH clubs at the time the trade would be taking place. Let’s ignore anything that actually happened after the trade, and base these trades simply on the time they are being made only. So for example, when making trades, ignore hindsight completely and forget what they actually did in the rest of their career.

Simply assume the roles of 2 random GM’s from any two teams in a historical season, and if you feel up to it, post why you think it would have made sense at the time for both clubs.

I’ll start.

February 1990:

Montreal trades Chris Chelios, Brent Gilchrist, Lindsay Vallis and a 1990 2nd round pick to the New Jersey Devils for Brendan Shanahan, Tommy Albelin and Bill Guerin

The Chris Chelios and Montreal relationship is a bit rocky by this time, and Mathieu Schneider & Eric Desjardins are two young emerging defensemen that the Habs hope are future stars. Petr Svoboda is a solid young d-man as well. Montreal feels it is now time to trade Chelios.

New Jersey adds the reigning Norris Trophy winner and a bona-fid number 1 defenseman to its backend that already features Slava Fetisov, Alexei Kasatonov and Bruce Driver. Brent Gilchrist is coming off a .5 PPG clip in his rookie season and is maintaining close to the same pace this season. He is looking to be a solid young depth forward. Lindsay Vallis is the Habs 1989 1st rounder.

Montreal acquires a young Brendan Shanahan who is in the process of having a breakout season in New Jersey during his 3rd season in the league. He is exactly the type of forward Montreal is looking for and possibly makes Shayne Corson expendable. They can put him on the trade block for additional scoring help if need be. Tommy Albelin adds depth to the Habs blueline and Bill Guerin was the 5th overall pick in the draft a few months earlier. Shanahan and Guerin are viewed as a big part of the Habs future.

Possibly makes sense for both of those teams at the time? New Jersey is likely reluctant to trade Shanahan and Guerin but Chelios is a huge coup.

C’mon guys, don’t overthink it and let’s just have fun coming up with fictional trades!

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[Cyclones21]

Great post HabsFan,

I recently read Glen Sather, still with the Oilers, wanted to bring Gretzky back. If Neil Smith can convince Garden ownership in the summer of 1998 that the Rangers need to rebuild, and Edmonton is interested. Rangers needs would be defense and futures and this is assuming Sather would be allowed to take on the contracts to allow Gretzky to finish as an Oiler.

To Edmonton
C, Wayne Gretzky
D, Ulf Samuelsson
late round pick

To N.Y. Rangers
D, Tom Poti
D, Jason Smith
C, Chad Kilger
conditional draft picks depending on Oilers playoff milestones.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

2010 trade deadline

to florida: steve bernier, that year’s vancouver first rounder (took nicklas jensen, but rakell was the next pick and jenner, gibson, and jurco were on deck in the next ten picks, plus saad and viktor rask in the next fifteen)

to vancouver: dennis seidenberg

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

2010 trade deadline

to florida: steve bernier, that year’s vancouver first rounder (took nicklas jensen, but rakell was the next pick and jenner, gibson, and jurco were on deck in the next ten picks, plus saad and viktor rask in the next fifteen)

to vancouver: dennis seidenberg

I dont really see it other than it hurts Boston more than anything because they dont get that ridiculously OP Seidenberg-Chara pairing.

But even that would have probably been enough to give the Canucks a fighting chance

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

I dont really see it other than it hurts Boston more than anything because they dont get that ridiculously OP Seidenberg-Chara pairing.

But even that would have probably been enough to give the Canucks a fighting chance

ehrhoff and seidenberg were a pair on every german national team their entire lives. they had proven chemistry and ehrhoff specifically asked for seidenberg at the 2010 deadline. we cheaped out and got the horrible andrew alberts (for a 3rd) instead. i still think that 2010 team, after malkin concussed willie mitchell, was just one dependable defenceman away from beating chicago and maybe going all the way.

also, having seidenberg would have prevented the trade of grabner, bernier, and a first for keith ballard (a fine player that our coach hated and played alberts and aaron rome over) and victor oreskovich (a large but cowardly fourth liner who just sat back after marchand cheapshotted both salo and daniel sedin on the same play and left poor ballard in his only finals game to go after marchand and watched ehrhoff with an injured shoulder try not to get pummelled by adam mcquaid in the ensuing melee).

but as you say, that seidenberg-chara pairing was awesome. the sedins got through keith-seabrook and suter-weber, but seidenberg-chara stopped them cold.

 

[Stephen]

At the 1994 trade deadline the New York Rangers trade leading scorer Sergei Zubov to the Detroit Red Wings for Paul Coffey and Martin Lapointe.

The Detroit Red Wings are in the midst of assembling the greatest collection of Russian talent ever seen in the NHL and the New York Rangers are buying up former Oilers en route to a 1994 Stanley Cup, so why not go after Coffey, who has another Norris Trophy left in him in 1995. Fits the pattern of the Rangers trading young home grown talent like Amonte and Weight for veteran help. Lapointe helps make up the age difference between the two and was a big time prospect at that time. Only wrinkle to this is Zubov was a RHD which fit New York better, since Coffey is also an LHD, and Brian Leetch was also a LHD.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

At the 1994 trade deadline the New York Rangers trade leading scorer Sergei Zubov to the Detroit Red Wings for Paul Coffey and Martin Lapointe.

The Detroit Red Wings are in the midst of assembling the greatest collection of Russian talent ever seen in the NHL and the New York Rangers are buying up former Oilers en route to a 1994 Stanley Cup, so why not go after Coffey, who has another Norris Trophy left in him in 1995. Fits the pattern of the Rangers trading young home grown talent like Amonte and Weight for veteran help. Lapointe helps make up the age difference between the two and was a big time prospect at that time. Only wrinkle to this is Zubov was a RHD which fit New York better, since Coffey is also an LHD, and Brian Leetch was also a LHD.

This one is great. The Red Wings would actually have kept Zubov. Can you imagine Lidstrom and Zubov together for 15 years? Coffey would probably have made a similar impact for the Rangers that Zubov did, plus the "name player" quality that New York loves.

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

84-85 - Guy Lafleur to the Rangers for Anders Hedberg
With Lafleur being in Jacques Lemaire's doghouse and both being the same age (33), it might have worked out - Lafleur would've turned on the jets in New York to prove he could still go, and his presence would've been good box office at MSG. On the other end, Lemaire would get a smart, mature, defensively responsible player who could mentor a young Mats Naslund. If both could stay healthy, it may have extended their careers a couple of years.

 

[BadgerBruce]

I’ll play ...

The Mikita/Hull led Hawks won the cup in 1961, ending nearly a decade of Red Wings and Habs dominance.

But as the defending champions the Hawks had a mediocre 1961-62 regular season (3rd place) before turning it on in the playoffs to dispatch the Habs in 6 games before facing Toronto in the finals, where they were dethroned.

To my mind, the Hawks did nothing to help themselves defend that Cup in the 1961 off-season.

They should have.

When Montreal began shopping Doug Harvey in that 1961 off-season (eventually almost giving him away to New York for Lou Fontinato), the Hawks should have been in on that.
As well, Montreal had a superb 1-2 punch down the middle in Beliveau and Henri Richard, so if I’m Chicago the deal I’m looking for also includes Habs #3 Centre, Ralph Backstrom.

So Montreal gives up Harvey and Backstrom. What do they get in return?

How about 1960 Calder winner Billy Hay, a 26 year-old centre coming off a 59 point season? In the summer of 1961, my guess is that Hay, who centred Hull’s line, was likely more highly regarded than Backstrom, and he had size (6’3”) approaching Beliveau’s. He might have been the type of player the Habs would be eager to add.

In Backstrom, the Hawks would get a 2-way centre with well-developed defensive play who would have fit in nicely behind Mikita. Given that the Hawks were not able to handle Toronto’s Kelly/Keon centre duo very well in the 62 Cup final, I could see Backstrom essentially matching Keon’s speed and smarts.

To make this trade work, Chicago would need to add a piece, likely a defenceman, and Montreal might have been interested in repatriating Dollard St. Laurent, who had won 3 Cups with Montreal in the late-1950s as a teammate of Harvey.

So it ends up being a summer of 1961 trade sending Ralph Backstrom and Doug Harvey to Chicago in exchange for Billy Hay and Dollard St. Laurent.

 

[Big Phil]

I don't know how you work it out, as I was looking myself and couldn't find a decent trade, but how about Marcel Dionne getting traded to the Habs in January 1987 instead of the Rangers? Would have been his lifelong dream. Maybe Brian Hayward for Dionne if Roy is considered ready to be on his own? Not so sure though because the Habs used Hayward for a little while splitting time with Roy after this.

Or...............once word hit that Lafleur was coming back to the NHL get the Habs to sign him. Maybe he makes a difference in 1989, who knows?

 

[Gambitman]

I don't know how you work it out, as I was looking myself and couldn't find a decent trade, but how about Marcel Dionne getting traded to the Habs in January 1987 instead of the Rangers? Would have been his lifelong dream. Maybe Brian Hayward for Dionne if Roy is considered ready to be on his own? Not so sure though because the Habs used Hayward for a little while splitting time with Roy after this.

Or...............once word hit that Lafleur was coming back to the NHL get the Habs to sign him. Maybe he makes a difference in 1989, who knows?

That last paragraph is interesting and something I never thought of before.

I have always thought one of the edges Calgary had in this series of essentially equal teams was how everyone on the Flames in addition to wanting to win for themselves wanted to win for Lanny Macdonald. Unless you lived in Calgary I really don’t think you can appreciate how popular/respected/loved Lanny was and everyone knew that was his last season. He also provided real help with the game 6 goal. If Montreal had had Lafleur in 89, I wonder if everyone finds just a little more to give plus whatever contribution Guy makes on the ice himself.( He was almost PPG in 89, granted he only played 39 games)

 

[Big Phil]

That last paragraph is interesting and something I never thought of before.

I have always thought one of the edges Calgary had in this series of essentially equal teams was how everyone on the Flames in addition to wanting to win for themselves wanted to win for Lanny Macdonald. Unless you lived in Calgary I really don’t think you can appreciate how popular/respected/loved Lanny was and everyone knew that was his last season. He also provided real help with the game 6 goal. If Montreal had had Lafleur in 89, I wonder if everyone finds just a little more to give plus whatever contribution Guy makes on the ice himself.( He was almost PPG in 89, granted he only played 39 games)

Yeah, wouldn't that be something? You know that the Montreal faithful would have loved it as well. Lafleur of course had his 5 rings already but this was a whole new team and he wasn't THE guy anymore. Who knows. It was a great series as it stood. The only time (ever?) that an opposing team won the Cup in the Montreal Forum.

 

[The Panther]

-- Peter Pocklington for a steaming bag of poo?

-- I would have liked to have seen Gretzky traded (in about 1990) to New York or Detroit. His going to a team in Edmonton's division, with an even worse travel-schedule than Edmonton, was lunacy.

-- I would have liked Guy Lafleur to go to Edmonton in 1984-85. Would have been amazing to see him win another Cup in '85 / '87, whatever. Could have got him for a draft pick.

-- The Oilers' trading of Taylor Hall in 2016 was fine; I approved of that and also the acquisition of Adam Larsson. But Chiarelli, as was his custom, got fleeced by not getting enough return value. The Oilers should have gotten another 2nd or 3rd-line winger, or a first-round draft choice, for Hall. (I'm pretty sure any other GM could have done that.)