Why did the Jets trade Teemu Selanne back in 1996?

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Definitely interesting to read these rumors after the fact since 1996 was very early into my fandom into hockey.

It would have been interesting to see whether Teemu would have fit. While the Devils were built on their defense, there was the three season stretch from 1998-2001 when they were one of the top offensive teams in the league. Alexander Mogilny potted 43 goals in his only full season as a Devil, so Selanne might have worked.

But tough to say if we take Niedermayer out of the equation. Allegedly in 2003, the Devils close to a deal with San Jose for Selanne but he used his NTC to block it.

Yes, it was widely reported that the deal centered around Scott Gomez for Teemu Selanne, but Selanne didn't want to leave the west coast - apparently the weather was more important to Teemu than the chance at a Stanley Cup. Devils won the Stanley Cup anyway that year.

 

[Plural]

Yes, it was widely reported that the deal centered around Scott Gomez for Teemu Selanne, but Selanne didn't want to leave the west coast - apparently the weather was more important to Teemu than the chance at a Stanley Cup. Devils won the Stanley Cup anyway that year.

This is actually (at least partially) true. Sounds kind of weird, since Selanne clearly was burning to win Stanley Cup.
To say it was about the weather might be a bit misleading tough. I think there was some family issues and health issues too.

 

[Johnny Engine]

Anybody else find it counter-productive that the Ducks traded two skilled young guys for one while their cupboard was still relatively bare, bearing an expansion team?

I mean, having Selanne in SoCal to run and gun with Kariya certainly was great marketing, but if Tverdovsky and Kilger turn into Leetch and Nolan, isn't that a much better Ducks team?

I mean, that was never a guarantee, but even if they end up looking like prime Zubov and Arnott, I'd have to think about that. The Ducks as they were had to be one of the most lopsided teams, depth-wise, in NHL history, and even one more first-line player would have made a world of difference.

 

[Tsiruot]

Two thoughts:

1.) Trades like this go either way. Reminiscent of one of the worst-trades of all time, this was eerily similar to the Barry Pederson deal for effectively Cam Neely and Glen Ward. Barry Pederson, like Selanne, was a young superstar who got into a career-altering injury after an astonishing 100+ point season. At that point, Kilger was a higher-drafted version of Cam Neely and Glen Ward (3rd overall pick) ended up having a 20 year career, which Tverdovsky could have very well had. Although Selanne saw his renaissance, some players like Pederson never do so nothing is certain.

2.) Did it all really matter? Even if the trade didn't happen then, Phoenix/Winnipeg would have traded away Selanne anyways given their salary restrictions. And even if Kilger and Tverdovsky developed into stars, their fates would have treaded down similar paths in that "modern" NHL. And although Selanne brought a few years of excitement to Anaheim, the Ducks were still an bottom-dwelling team. It wasn't until a decade later and a few trades later did Selanne help lead Anaheim to a cup. Sadly to say, in those dark 2000-ish days, a fruitful or ineffective trade wouldn't have mattered that much to either team.

 

[JA]

This was posted on the last page, but I think it's pretty interesting how close Teemu was to being a New York Islander. What do you think the implications would have been for both teams?

Mighty Ducks trade youth for big name: [FINAL Edition]
Matheson, Jim. Edmonton Journal [Edmonton, Alta] 08 Feb 1996: D.3.

...

Teemu Selanne for Oleg Tverdovsky and Chad Kilger; a 25-year-old forward who scored 76 goals two years ago and is seventh in NHL scoring right now for a 19-year-old Russian defenceman who was the No. 2 pick in the '94 draft and a 19-year-old centre in Chad Kilger, who was No. 4 last July when the amateur lottery was at the Coliseum.

``We get lots of newspaper clippings at our office and I kept reading about Selanne being shopped in Winnipeg. I finally said `I guess I better get in on this,' '' said Anaheim GM Jack Ferreira. ``Believe me, we had to really discuss giving up two kids, but Teemu Selanne doesn't come along often.''

And Ferreira covered his tracks a little bit by also getting the Jets' second pick in the '95 draft, centre Marc Chouinard.

...

Jets GM John Paddock, who said last summer he couldn't have his best three players all forwards and on the same line, got the most interest for Selanne.

He thought he had a deal with the New York Islanders for Kirk Muller, Mathieu Schneider and Wade Redden for Selanne and another player a few weeks back but it fizzled.

...

Now, Kilger and Tverdovsky. This goes against the grain in Anaheim, where Ferreira has always been big on the draft, but it's pretty much a wash on salaries. Kilger makes $850,000, Tverdovsky is averaging $1.4 million for his three-year contract and if you throw in Bob Corkum ($550,000) who was dealt to Philadelphia Tuesday, it comes to about the $3 million a year Selanne makes.

The Leafs ended up acquiring Muller and Schneider in separate transactions a few weeks later. The Islanders sent Wade Redden to Ottawa:

Leafs gamble on Muller; Payroll no object in Toronto's Cup quest in wake of three-way deal with Isles, Sens: [FINAL Edition]
Cox, Damien. The Gazette [Montreal, Que] 24 Jan 1996: E.1.

The acquisition of former Canadiens captain Kirk Muller in a three-way transaction that also brought veteran netminder Don Beaupre to Toronto added more than $3 million to the club's bulging $30-million payroll in a matter of hours yesterday.

In a dynamic swap that involved both the Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders, the personnel cost to the Leafs - No. 2 goalie Damian Rhodes and minor-league winger Ken Belanger - was surprisingly modest.

...

The Leafs ended up with Muller from the Islanders and Beaupre from the Senators; Ottawa received Rhodes and defence prospect Wade Redden, No. 2 pick over-all by the Islanders in last summer's draft; the Islanders acquired the 6-foot-4 Belanger from the Leafs via St. John's, Ottawa centre Martin Straka and unsigned junior blue-liner Bryan Berard, the first over-all pick last summer, who had vowed never to play for the Senators.

Blackhawks stymie Clark deal: [Daily: Toronto, Vancouver Edition]
Fuller, Dave. Financial Post [Toronto, Ont] 13 Mar 1996: 43.

...

But the disruption may be only temporary and both [Wendel] Clark and Mathieu Schneider, the Islanders' top defenceman, could be in Leafs uniforms by the weekend.

Should the proposed venture go through, the Islanders would receive prized 21-year-old defenceman Kenny Jonsson, the Leafs' first-round pick in the 1997 entry draft and a choice of Todd Warriner, Darby Hendrickson or Sean Haggerty.

Thursday News Summary: [FINAL Edition]
Calgary Herald [Calgary, Alta] 14 Mar 1996: A.2.

...

MAPLE LEAFS RE-ACQUIRE CLARK

Hoping to boost his club's chances in next month's National Hockey League playoffs, Toronto general manager Cliff Fletcher re-acquired former Maple Leafs captain Wendel Clark in a multi-player swap with the New York Islanders on Wednesday. The Leafs also received defenceman Mathieu Schneider in exchange for outstanding defensive prospect Kenny Jonsson and high draft choices.

Trade #1: Kirk Muller and Wade Redden [NYI --->] for Ken Belanger, Martin Straka, and Bryan Berard [NYI <---].
Trade #2: Wendel Clark and Mathieu Schneider [NYI --->] for Kenny Jonsson, Darby Hendrickson, and Toronto's 1997 first round pick (Roberto Luongo) [NYI <---].

These players (Selanne, Muller, Redden, Schneider) were all traded within weeks of the Islanders and Jets' negotiations failing to produce a deal. It would have been interesting if the Jets-Islanders exchange had occurred. The Isles ultimately gained a greater quantity of players in their deals with Toronto and Ottawa.

Works Cited

Cox, Damien. "Leafs Gamble on Muller; Payroll no Object in Toronto's Cup Quest in Wake of Three-Way Deal with Isles, Sens." The Gazette: 0. Jan 24 1996. ProQuest. Web. 11 Nov. 2013 .

Fuller, Dave. "Blackhawks Stymie Clark Deal." Financial Post: 43. Mar 13 1996. ProQuest. Web. 11 Nov. 2013 .

Matheson, Jim. "Mighty Ducks Trade Youth for Big Name." Edmonton Journal: 0. Feb 08 1996. ProQuest. Web. 8 Nov. 2013 .

"Thursday News Summary." Calgary Herald: 0. Mar 14 1996. ProQuest. Web. 11 Nov. 2013 .

 

[Johnny Engine]

Two thoughts:

1.) Trades like this go either way. Reminiscent of one of the worst-trades of all time, this was eerily similar to the Barry Pederson deal for effectively Cam Neely and Glen Ward. Barry Pederson, like Selanne, was a young superstar who got into a career-altering injury after an astonishing 100+ point season. At that point, Kilger was a higher-drafted version of Cam Neely and Glen Ward (3rd overall pick) ended up having a 20 year career, which Tverdovsky could have very well had. Although Selanne saw his renaissance, some players like Pederson never do so nothing is certain.

2.) Did it all really matter? Even if the trade didn't happen then, Phoenix/Winnipeg would have traded away Selanne anyways given their salary restrictions. And even if Kilger and Tverdovsky developed into stars, their fates would have treaded down similar paths in that "modern" NHL. And although Selanne brought a few years of excitement to Anaheim, the Ducks were still an bottom-dwelling team. It wasn't until a decade later and a few trades later did Selanne help lead Anaheim to a cup. Sadly to say, in those dark 2000-ish days, a fruitful or ineffective trade wouldn't have mattered that much to either team.

I don't buy that the Ducks were necessarily doomed to mediocrity during that era. Out of that crop of expansion teams, both the Senators and the Sharks broke out as sustainably good franchises in 1997 and 1998, respectively (which is ironic, because they were both much worse teams to begin with than the Lightning, Panthers and Ducks). None of their franchise players were as good as Kariya, but they both established a pretty good pipeline of homegrown first liners. Kind of weird that they both struck out so badly on Daigle, Bonk, Falloon and Kozlov though.

 

[hockeybrianboy]

Gasp, Selanne going to hockey purgatory (NYI) almost gives me a heart attack. What'd he ever do to deserve that fate