The Red Wings Paid One Dollar for a Player Who Helped Them Win Four Stanley Cups

One dollar doesn't buy much these days. Thirty-three years ago, it bought the Detroit Red Wings a future four-time Stanley Cup champion. On June 30, 1993, the Red Wings acquired Kris Draper from the Winnipeg Jets for future considerations. Those future considerations eventually amounted to a one-dollar bill. At the time, the transaction barely registered outside the organizations involved.

According to Stan Fischler of NHL.com, the Red Wings weren't even certain what they were getting. Draper was a 22-year-old forward who had appeared in just 20 NHL games over three seasons with the Jets. Originally selected in the third round of the 1989 NHL Draft, he spent most of his professional career in the minors.

The Red Wings believed he could help their American Hockey League affiliate in Adirondack. That's where the story began, but it's certainly not where it ended. Draper split the 1993-94 season between Adirondack and the Red Wings, recording 43 points in 46 AHL games before establishing himself with the Red Wings. No one at the time could have predicted Draper would eventually develop into one of the NHL's premier defensive forwards, combining speed, relentless forechecking, and exceptional penalty killing.

Alongside Kirk Maltby and Darren McCarty, he became part of the Red Wings' legendary Grind Line, which also featured Joe Kocur at different times. As Thomas Roth of DetroitRedWings.com detailed, the line became an essential part of the Red Wings' championship teams. The trio wasn't assembled to provide highlight-reel goals every night. They were there to shut down opponents, change momentum, and make sure Detroit's stars had an opportunity to do their jobs. And they did it exceptionally well.

Draper also became central to one of the NHL's most intense rivalries. During Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference Final, Colorado Avalanche forward Claude Lemieux checked Draper from behind into the boards, leaving him with serious facial injuries. Draper suffered a broken jaw, cheekbone and nose. Lemieux received a two-game suspension.

The incident helped ignite a rivalry between the Red Wings and Avalanche that would define much of the following decade. Draper recovered and the Red Wings eventually got their revenge as they defeated the Avalanche a year later in the Western Conference Final before sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers to win their first Stanley Cup in 42 years.

A year later, the Red Wings repeated as champions. Draper would add two more rings to his fingers as the Red Wings won championships in 2002 and 2008. Four Stanley Cups for one dollar. Not a bad return on investment, but Draper's contributions went beyond championships and banners.

Draper won the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2004 as the NHL's best defensive forward and appeared in 1,137 regular-season games for the Red Wings. After retiring, he remained with the organization, eventually becoming assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting. The Red Wings have made plenty of brilliant trades throughout their history. Few have provided a better return, especially when the original investment could have been found between the couch cushions.

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