3 one-sided trades since the Joe Thornton deal
Exactly a decade ago, the Boston Bruins traded Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau, and Brad Stuart. It was easily one of the most stunning, one-sided trades in NHL history.
Thornton, a 26-year-old just entering his prime at the time, finished the season as the Art Ross Trophy winner with 125 points in 81 games. He followed it up with a 114-point campaign, and went on to lead the Sharks to nine consecutive playoff appearances.
On the flip side, the Bruins found a formidable player in Sturm, putting up 193 points in 302 games over five seasons, but Stuart and Primeau were completely underwhelming in their two years in Boston. It was undoubtedly an awful return for one of the league's premier players.
In the spirit of shocking moves, here are three other one-sided trades since the Thornton deal:
1. Bruins trade Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverley, Ryan Button to Stars for Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith, Joe Morrow, Matt Fraser
To be completely fair, it's important to note that the Bruins have made some pretty amazing trades over the last 10 years en route to a Stanley Cup in 2011. However, this was not Peter Chiarelli's finest moment. The Bruins traded their second overall pick a few years prior to the Dallas Stars in a blockbuster deal for what they conceived to be a big return. They were definitely wrong.
Seguin has become one of the best players in the league, and he hasn't even hit his prime. The 23-year-old has 195 points in 175 games since the trade, and is in contention for the Art Ross Trophy again with 34 points in 24 games this season.
Eriksson, the centerpiece from the Bruins' perspective, has bounced back nicely with 20 points in 22 games this season, but did not surpass the 50-point mark in his first two years with the team. Reilly Smith is a solid young player, but was shipped out after two seasons in a trade with the Florida Panthers for Jimmy Hayes. Joe Morrow has struggled to stay in the NHL with just two points in 24 games, and Matt Fraser is no longer in the organization, playing for the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League. It quite simply wasn't enough for one of the most talented and exciting players in the game.
2. Thrashers trade Marian Hossa, Pascal Dupuis to Penguins for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito, 2008 first-round pick
The Atlanta Thrashers had absolutely no choice but to trade Hossa, a soon-to-be unrestricted free agent, at the 2008 deadline. However, the top rental on the market - an absolute game-changing forward - merits a much better return than what they went on to receive.
Hossa was an essential contributor in the Pittsburgh Penguins' run all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, recording 26 points in 20 playoff games. Dupuis, who is in his ninth season with the Penguins, blossomed into a solid player; highlighted by a season that saw him record 59 points in 2011-12.
On the other end, Armstrong spent three years with the Thrashers before eventually leaving the NHL in 2012-13, while Christensen played in just 57 games for the team and is currently playing in Sweden. Esposito, a once highly touted prospect, has never played in an NHL game, while the first-round pick turned into Daultan Leveille, who is currently playing in France.
3. Islanders trade Matt Moulson, 2014 first-round pick, 2015 second-round pick to Sabres for Thomas Vanek
The New York Islanders have turned into a pretty good young hockey team, with general manager Garth Snow rebounding nicely after a disastrous 2013-14 season that saw him totally botch both trades involving Vanek.
The Islanders shipped out a three-time 30-goal scorer in Moulson - who likely wasn't going to re-sign at the end of the season - along with a first- and second-round pick to land the star player. Things obviously didn't go as planned. Vanek went on to reject a contract extension from the Islanders, and the struggling team had no choice but to trade him at the deadline.
Vanek was shipped to the Montreal Canadiens for a conditional second-round draft pick and prospect Sebastian Collberg. The 21-year-old prospect may become a good player, but he has struggled in the AHL and has not yet earned a call-up to Brooklyn. In the end, the Islanders came out looking awful after essentially trading Moulson and a first-round pick for Collberg.
The Sabres, on the other hand, went on to trade Moulson to the Minnesota Wild at the deadline for a pair of second-round picks. They ultimately turned Vanek into a first-round pick, as well as three second-round picks. Oh, and they re-signed Moulson in the offseason.