NHL Trade Deadline Heartbreak Club

The trade of longtime Capitals forward Brooks Laich to Toronto with Washington emerging as a Stanley Cup favorite brings to mind notable players who never hoisted the chalice because they lost their best chance when they were dealt on or just before the NHL trade deadline by a team that went on to win it that year. BY ALLAN MUIR

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Mar 1, 2016

NHL Trade Deadline Heartbreak Club

Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart — Bruins to Thrashers before 2011 Cup

Needing cap space to finalize the deal that would bring Tomas Kaberle to Boston, the Bruins sent Stuart and Wheeler and their nearly $4 million in combined salaries to the Thrashers at the deadline for Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik and $2 million in savings. Kaberle played a minor role in Boston's run to the Cup, but he got his ring. Stuart and Wheeler not only missed out on their chance, but they've barely sniffed the playoffs since, playing a total of four games as the Jets were swept in 2015.

Ryan Whitney — Penguins to Ducks before '09 Cup

With his team floundering in 10th place and the season slipping away, Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero targeted Anaheim winger Chris Kunitz as a player who saddle up with Sidney Crosby and spark the offense with his physical play. Good call. The feisty winger scored 18 points in the final 20 games to help the Pens to an unlikely championship. Whitney went the other way but only lasted a year with the Ducks before being pawned off on a brutal Edmonton squad.

Brendan Morrison — Devils to Vancouver before '00 Cup

It's never a good idea to get on Lou Lamoriello's bad side. Morrison learned that the hard way, getting crossways with the Devils boss in a preseason contract dispute that saw him leave the country and join the Czech league. Although he eventually signed in October for what the Devils originally offered him, Morrison was dealt ahead of the deadline, along with prospect Denis Pederson to the Canucks for Alex Mogilny. The Russian sniper helped New Jersey win the Cup, then scored 43 goals the following season. Morrison enjoyed personal success alongside Todd Bertuzzi, but his teams never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs.

Sheldon Souray — Devils to Canadiens before '00 Cup

When Vladimir Malakhov's relationship with the Canadiens (and their fans) reached the point of no return, Lamoriello leapt at the chance to upgrade his team ahead of the playoffs. Souray, a third-year player used mostly at the bottom pairing, was packaged with prospect Joshua DeWolf and a 2001 draft choice and sent to Montreal. He matured into an All-Star with the Habs, but never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs.

James Patrick — Rangers to Whalers before ’94 Cup

Rangers GM Neil Smith promised new coach Mike Keenan that he'd stock the roster with the gritty and physical players the coach favored. That was the end of the line for Patrick. The 10-year vet was a frequent scratch by Keenan, who ripped him for “soft” and “selfish” play. He ultimately was dealt to the Whalers, along with center Darren Turcotte, for Steve Larmer and Nick Kypreos who brought skill and sandpaper to New York's historic 1994 run. Patrick himself came close to the Cup in 1999 with the Sabres, but fell just short on Brett Hull's controversial overtime goal.

Tony Amonte — Rangers to Blackhawks before ’94 Cup

"Tony is a player who has flash and dash to him, but you can snuff him out," Neil Smith said after trading the two-time 30-goal winger to the Blackhawks in exchange for bangers Stephane Matteau and Brian Noonan. A trade like that would be ridiculed today, but it secured the Cup for the Rangers: Matteau went on to score the most famous goal in Rangers history, the overtime clincher in the Eastern Conference Final. Amonte scored more than 400 goals for the Hawks, Coyotes, Flyers and Flames, but never advanced beyond the conference final.

Mike Gartner — Rangers to Maple Leafs before ’94 Cup

Smith wanted his Rangers to “have some nastiness to them.” Gartner, who earned Lady Byng consideration each of his three full seasons in New York, was the antithesis of that. And so, despite scoring 173 goals in 322 games for New York, he was shipped to the Leafs for Glenn Anderson. Gartner went on to play 1,432 career games, the fourth-most of any player not to win the Cup.

Tony Tanti — Penguins to Buffalo before ’91 Cup

The diminutive winger was a scoring machine in Vancouver (250 goals in 531 games), but never found his groove after being traded to Pittsburgh in January of 1990. The Pens thought so little of him that they dealt him to the Sabres for the rights to Ken Priestlay, another undersized sniper who'd spent the season with the Canadian national team. Priestlay skated in just two games for Pittsburgh, and didn't get his name on the Cup. Neither did Tanti, who played just one full season in Buffalo before bolting for the German league.

John Cullen — Penguins to Hartford before ’91 Cup

The deal that brought Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings to Pittsburgh is widely acknowledged as the catalyst for the team's back-to-back championships, but Hartford's insistence on Cullen almost scotched it. “He was the glue of our team,” Phil Bourque told the Pens' website. “It broke my heart to know Johnny was sitting in Hartford watching us celebrate on TV and he should have been there...he had a great career, but he never got a ring.”

Zarley Zalapski — Penguins to Hartford before ’91 Cup

The fourth pick in the 1986 draft, Zalapski was a highly mobile, offensively-minded defenseman who was just coming into his own when the Pens became contenders. But with Paul Coffey in the lineup, his skill set was redundant. What Pittsburgh needed was a nasty, physical presence like Ulf Samuelsson. The big Swede went on to win back-to-back titles with the Pens. Zalapski never made it out of the first round.

Shane Churla — Flames to North Stars before ’89 Cup

The Flames made just one deal before they went on the run that ended with the 1989 Stanley Cup, sending fan favorite Churla and little-used forward Perry Berezan to Minnesota for winger Brian MacLellan and a fourth-round pick that was used to select Robert Reichel. Churla wound up winning the affections of the Met Center faithful, racking up more than 1,000 penalty minutes over the next four seasons, but that's all he'd win.

Billy Harris — Islanders to Kings before ’80 Cup

Harris was there right from the start. The top pick in the 1972 draft, he suffered through the 12 and 19-win seasons, then played a key role as the Isles became a playoff team, and then a Cup contender. By rights, he should have been part of the wild celebration after the 5-4 OT victory that clinched New York's first championship. Instead, he watched as Butch Goring, the player he'd been dealt for at the deadline, took his turn skating the Cup around the Nassau Coliseum.

Dave Lewis — Islanders to Kings before ’80 Cup

Lewis was playing his seventh season on the Islanders’ blueline when he was sent to the Kings along with Billy Harris in the deal that brought Butch Goring to New York. While his former teammates captured the next four Stanley Cups, Lewis finished his career with just three series wins with Los Angeles and Detroit.