The Blockbuster Deadline Deal Rarely Leads to a Stanley Cup

The following is a true story.

Zigmund Palffy was one of the most sought after players at the 2003 trade deadline. He was a member of the Los Angeles Kings, who were going nowhere while Palffy was on his way to a 37-goal, 85-point season. The Los Angeles Times wrote about this situation, and Palffy said he wanted to remain a King. He did. He wasn't dealt at the deadline.

On the night of the deadline—March 11, 2003—the Cup-contending New Jersey Devils dropped a 3-2 home decision to the god-awful Atlanta Thrashers. Following the game, Martin Brodeur, John Madden and Jim McKenzie went to a nearby Applebee's (I can't emphasize enough how true this story is) to blow off steam.

You don't need details, but Brodeur was pissed off. He wanted Palffy. The Devils were a middling offensive team, but general manager Lou Lamoriello instead chose to acquire Grant Marshall from the Columbus Blue Jackets for what turned out to be the 121st pick in the 2004 draft.

March 11, 2003 did not sit well with Brodeur.

May 2, 2003 sat very well with Brodeur, as Marshall scored in triple overtime to eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning and send the Devils to the conference finals.

May 23, 2003 was also OK in Brodeur's book, when Marshall set up Jeff Friesen for the winning goal late in Game 7 against the Ottawa Senators.

Two weeks later, the Devils raised the Stanley Cup and Marshall's six goals and two assists were invaluable during that run, one that cost the team a fourth-round pick.

The point of this tale of Applebee's and victory is when the 2016 trade deadline comes and goes next Monday, it very likely won't be the blockbuster move that results in the championship; sure, Andrew Ladd, Loui Eriksson or some other big name no one is thinking about could be those final pieces, but it's more likely that a new version of Grant Marshall will make the difference for a team that is already plenty good on its own.

To illustrate this, I have compiled the biggest moves of the past ten trade deadlines along with the deal or deals that resulted in Stanley Cup titles along with insightful analysis and hard-hitting… OK, there's probably none of that and a Friends or Game of Thrones reference. Sorry.

The biggest name: The New York Rangers acquired Keith Yandle, defenceman Chris Summers and a fourth-round pick from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for defenceman John Moore, prospect Anthony Duclair, a first-round draft pick in 2016 and a second-round pick in 2015.

The Rangers were one year removed from losing the closest five-game Stanley Cup Final imaginable and were pushing toward a Presidents' Trophy in 2015. Yandle was one of the top offensive defencemen in the league and seen as a necessity to offset the disappointing season from the newly signed Dan Boyle. The Rangers paid a huge price for Yandle, who was only average in the playoffs, where the Rangers lost in Game 7 of the conference finals.

The winning deal: The Chicago Blackhawks acquired Antoine Vermette from the Coyotes in exchange for a first-round pick and defensive prospect Klas Dahlbeck.

Vermette cost the Blackhawks a first-round pick, which speaks more to the market than his value. He was nothing short of useless in the regular season, posting zero goals and three assists in 19 games. The playoffs weren't much better, but he pulled a Grant Marshall; three of Vermette's four postseason goals were game winners, including two in the Stanley Cup Final.

The biggest name: The Montreal Canadiens acquired Thomas Vanek and a 2014 fifth-round draft pick from the New York Islanders in exchange for a 2014 second-round draft pick and prospect Sebastian Collberg.

There were a lot of second-tier, upper-level players moved at the deadline, but Vanek was the guy with the best numbers and was turning down $50 million contracts from the Islanders. He had 17 goals and 44 points in 47 games when he was dealt and put up a nice six goals and nine assists in 15 games with the Canadiens. Vanek had five goals and 10 points in 17 playoff games but failed to score in a six-game conference finals loss to the Rangers.

The winning deal: The Kings acquired Marian Gaborik for a second-round pick, a third-round pick and Matt Frattin.

Gaborik is hardly a depth winger acquired to improve a fourth line, but he was in the midst of an injury-riddled season with the Blue Jackets. He appeared in just 22 games at the time of the trade and only had six goals. But as is tradition, a Blue Jacket trade acquisition helped the Kings win a Cup. Gaborik had 14 goals in 26 games and received serious consideration for the Conn Smythe Trophy. Not a bad return on two picks and Matt Frattin.

The biggest name: Jarome Iginla to Pittsburgh? Jaromir Jagr to Boston? Jay Bouwmeester to St. Louis? Jason Pominville to Minnesota? This deadline was aces.

The lockout-shortened season created one of the more interesting deadlines since the lockout before it. Iginla got the Penguins to the conference finals; Jagr and the Bruins fell just short in the Stanley Cup Final while the Blues and Wild lost in the first round. In total, those players cost their teams three first-round picks and a second-round pick.

The winning deal: The Chicago Blackhawks acquired Michal Handzus from the San Jose Sharks for a fourth-round pick.

After a one-goal, one-assist regular season with the San Jose Sharks, Handzus was instrumental in the Blackhawks' pursuit of a championship. He had three goals and 11 points in 23 games, which helped the Blackhawks win a second Stanley Cup in four years.

The biggest name: The Los Angeles Kings acquired Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Jack Johnson and a first-round pick.

The winning deal: The Los Angeles Kings acquired Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Jack Johnson and a first-round pick.

Hey, sometimes the big deal is the winning deal.

The Kings were pathetic offensively. Carter wanted out of Columbus. The Blue Jackets thought Johnson was a good defenceman. The perfect storm of thievery, talent and inept asset management resulted in Carter scoring eight goals in 20 playoff games as the Kings won their first Stanley Cup. The shame this year is the Blue Jackets already had Ryan Johansen stolen from them, so it's hard to see the Kings fleecing them again.

The biggest name: The Boston Bruins acquired Tomas Kaberle from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a first-round pick, a second-round pick and prospect Joe Colborne.

The winning deal(s): The Bruins acquired Chris Kelly from the Ottawa Senators for a second-round pick and Rich Peverley from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart.

It turns out making two good deals can offset the one bad one. Kaberle was the best offensive defenceman on the market and gave the Bruins zero goals and 11 assists in 24 postseason games. Kelly and Peverley bolstered the Bruins' depth, which was key in their title run. In 25 games, Kelly had five goals and 13 points while Peverley had four goals and 12 points. That duo didn't come cheap but they were worth the price GM Peter Chiarelli paid.

The biggest name: The Phoenix Coyotes acquired Wojtek Wolski from the Colorado Avalanche for Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter.

Go ahead. Look it up. I'll wait. Wolski, for a brief moment in time, was very good. He had 17 goals and 47 points in 62 games when the Avalanche traded him to Phoenix. He had 18 points in 18 regular-season games and four goals in seven playoff games, but as you may already know, the Coyotes don't have a Stanley Cup in their history.

The winning deal: The Blackhawks acquired Nick Boynton from the Anaheim Ducks for future considerations.

Talk about a team that got to the deadline and said, "We've got our Cup squad, we're good, thanks." Boynton appeared in three postseason games and averaged about eight minutes per game. If the Blackhawks add Eriksson or Ladd, it would be the biggest deadline deal Stan Bowman has made as GM.

The biggest name: The Calgary Flames acquired Olli Jokinen from the Phoenix Coyotes for Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust and a first-round pick.

Jokinen had 21 goals in 47 games for the Coyotes and joined the Flames to finally lose the title of "best player to never play in the postseason." He held up his end of the bargain, scoring eight goals in 19 regular-season games and posting five points in six playoff games. The Flames got bounced and Jokinen never got back to the playoffs again.

The winning deal: The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Bill Guerin from the Islanders for a third-round pick.

Guerin was 38 years old and nearing the end of the line. The pick the Islanders received would have been as low as a fifth rounder if the Penguins missed the playoffs, so this was simply a case of a team taking a flyer on a once-great scorer having chemistry with Sidney Crosby. It worked, as two of his seven goals were game winners.

The biggest name: The Penguins acquired Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis from the Thrashers in exchange for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, prospect Angelo Esposito and a first-round pick.

Yeah, a bounce here or there and this is an example of a mega-deal resulting in a championship, but horseshoes and hand grenades and all that. A more lopsided deadline deal you will not find; Hossa had 12 goals and 26 points in 20 games and after Dupuis had two goals in seven points as the "who is this guy in the trade?" guy, he paid dividends for the Penguins for years. It's crazy the Thrashers never had success and had to relocate, huh?

The winning deal: The Detroit Red Wings acquired Brad Stuart from the Kings for a second- and fourth-round pick.

When you're the best team of the past decade and you add a steady defenceman capable of playing 21 minutes per night, your next closest competitor can add Hossa for a song and it won't matter. Stuart's one postseason goal came in the finals against the Penguins and was the winner in a 3-0 victory in Game 2.

The biggest name: The Nashville Predators acquired Peter Forsberg from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent, a first- and third-round draft pick.

The price to acquire a Hall of Fame player is steep and wasn't really worth it for the Predators. Forsberg had two goals and 15 points in 17 regular-season contests and two goals and four points as the Predators were bounced in five games in the first round.

The winning deal: The Ducks acquired Brad May from the Avalanche for Michael Wall.

When Chris Pronger falls into your lap during the offseason, there's no need to do anything wild at the next trade deadline. May had one point in 18 games as a depth player but seriously this team had Pronger and Scott Niedermayer on the back end. Michael Wall may not even be a real person. You're just trusting that I didn't invent him to see if you were paying attention. Moving on.

The biggest name: The Avalanche acquired Jose Theodore from the Canadiens in exchange for David Aebischer.

Theodore was only a few years removed from winning a Hart and Vezina Trophy but was in the midst of an awful 2005-06 season. Like many players, he didn't adjust well to the new wide-open, free-wheeling NHL that has thankfully returned to an interference-fest today. The Oilers paid a ransom for Dwayne Roloson and Sergei Samsonov but they were hardly "big names" by any means. Theodore got the Avs past the Dallas Stars in the first round but Colorado was bounced by the Oilers in six games in round two.

The winning deal: The Carolina Hurricanes acquired Mark Recchi from the Penguins for Niklas Nordgren, prospect Krys Kolanos and a second-round pick.

Not exactly a depth move, the good doctor Recchi was added to replace Erik Cole, who was lost for the season with a cracked vertebrae. He arrived in Raleigh with 57 points in 63 games for the Penguins but had just four goals and seven points the rest of the way for Carolina. The 37-year-old was terrific in the postseason, however, with seven goals and 16 points for the Hurricanes.

The lesson here is maybe Mike Weber joining the Washington Capitals will be this season's championship transaction.