This 2022 story in THN's Archive examined trade deadline moves involving Larry Murphy, Joe Nieuwendyk and Jeff Carter – deals that led to great success for the teams that acquired them.

The NHL’s trade deadline is just five days away, and we’re still examining some of the major deals made in previous seasons. And in this story from The Hockey News’ Feb. 28, 2022 edition – Vol. 75, Issue 12 – writer Jared Clinton looked at several deals that made headlines over the years.

(And this is your regular reminder: for access to The Hockey News' Archive, you only need to subscribe to the magazine at THN.com/Free).

The oldest deal Clinton looked at was from 1997, when the Toronto Maple Leafs got fleeced by the Detroit Red Wings, sending elite defenseman Larry Murphy to the Motor City in exchange for future considerations. Murphy, of course, went on to win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with Detroit, while no consideration in the future ever amounted to anything on Toronto’s end. Many trades work out for both sides, but there was only one winner in this instance.

Another trade Clinton broke down was the 2012 deal that sent star forward Jeff Carter from Columbus to Dallas in return for defenseman Jack Johnson and a first-round pick that became forward Marko Dano. This was also somewhat of a lopsided deal in the Kings’ favor, as Carter went on to become an integral part of the Kings and a Cup-winner in L.A., and Johnson has had a steady, if unspectacular, career. Dano, meanwhile, went on to have just 141 games of NHL experience. Clear winner: the Kings.

TRADE DEADLINE REWIND

Vol. 75, No. 12, Feb. 28, 2022

By Jared Clinton

20 YEARS AGO

NEW JERSEY DEVILS ACQUIRE: Jamie Langenbrunner, Joe Nieuwendyk

DALLAS STARS ACQUIRE: Jason Arnott, Randy McKay, 2002 first-round pick (Daniel Paille)

By today's standards, a team dealing away the offensive linchpin of its second line – second in goals and fourth in points among forwards – is the hallmark of a club with its sights set on the draft lottery, not the Stanley Cup. But by then-New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello’s thinking, it was a way to ensure a club that had become far too dependent on one line became deeper, more dangerous and far better in its own end. And that’s how it came to pass that Jason Arnott, who on deadline day 2002 had racked up 22 goals and 41 points in 63 games for New Jersey, found himself beating feet to Dallas.

It’s not a deal that paid dividends overnight for New Jersey, however. Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner, both outstanding for the Stars en route to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 1999, played well, sure, but New Jersey bowed out from the 2002 playoffs in six games. It was hardly the run that Lamoriello had envisioned. The following year, though, the genius of the swap came into full, vibrant view.

Langenbrunner set a then career-best with 55 points in his first full season in New Jersey. A 36-year-old Nieuwendyk, meanwhile, proved age to be irrelevant en route to a 45-point campaign as the Devils’ second-line center. Only four years removed from the Cup run with Dallas, Langenbrunner led the Devils’ playoff offense with 11 goals and 18 points. And 1999 Conn Smythe winner Nieuwendyk played the part of savvy shutdown center as New Jersey skated its way to a hard-fought, seven-game Cup victory over Anaheim.

In the post-Cup glow of the off-season, Nieuwendyk departed for Toronto. As for Langenbrunner, he later captained the Devils for four seasons before returning to Dallas in 2011, then finished his career by playing parts of two seasons in St. Louis.

5 YEARS AGO

MINNESOTA WILD ACQUIRE: Martin Hanzal, Ryan White, 2017 fourth-round pick (Mason Shaw)

ARIZONA COYOTES ACQUIRE: Grayson Downing, 2017 first-round pick (Pierre-Olivier Joseph), 2018 second-round pick (Kevin Bahl), 2019 conditional fourth-round pick

Rare is the trade that is panned so roundly and flops so painfully that ownership expresses regret mere months later. Alas, the swap that brought Martin Hanzal to Minnesota is among the few that hold the “honor.”

The team’s thinking was sound. The Wild were on their way to entering the playoffs with the second-best record in the Western Conference. Hanzal was a solid two-way pivot viewed as a legitimate top-six add. But between the overpayment and Hanzal’s middling play in Minnesota – he scored five goals and 14 points across 25 combined regular-season and playoff games – the entire trade blew up in Minnesota’s face. The Wild were bounced out of the playoffs early, losing in five games to St. Louis. Possibly the only salve for the Wild is that Mason Shaw has the makings of a future NHLer. Otherwise, this is one deal that Minnesota would rather forget.

10 YEARS AGO

LOS ANGELES KINGS ACQUIRE: Jeff Carter

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS ACQUIRE: Jack Johnson, 2013 first-round pick (Marko Dano)

When the Blue Jackets acquired Jeff Carter at the start of his 11-year, $58-million deal, they expected he’d form a deadly duo with Rick Nash and revamp their attack. Carter signed the pact with Philadelphia in November 2010 but was traded before it kicked in to start 2011-12. Carter wanted out almost immediately, and when the deadline came, L.A. was ready to play vulture.

The Kings solved their lingering goal-scoring issue by snapping up Carter, and eighth-seeded L.A. proceeded to stun the NHL by capturing the 2012 Cup in 20 games. Carter tied for the team lead with eight playoff goals and became a key part of the Kings’ attack. During L.A.’s miniature reign, which included one more Cup and another Western Conference final appearance, Carter scored a team-leading 24 goals, and his 51 points were only four fewer than Anze Kopitar’s team-high 55.

15 YEARS AGO

NEW YORK ISLANDERS ACQUIRE: Ryan Smyth

EDMONTON OILERS ACQUIRE: Robert Nilsson, Ryan O’Marra, 2007 first-round pick (Alex Plante)

Forget apples and oranges. Comparing Ryan Smyth to Wayne Gretzky, statistically speaking, is like comparing apples to a Lamborghini. They’re so disparate so as to not even live in the same category. Emotionally, however, it’s a different story. Across the first decade of his career, Smyth had grown to become part of the very fabric of the Oilers, a beloved leader and heart-and-soul player whose departure was so fraught with emotion that his post-trade press conference was reminiscent of Gretzky’s goodbye. It hurts more in hindsight, too, because none of Nilsson, O’Marra or Plante made much impact at all for the Oilers.

Smyth bounced around from Colorado to Los Angeles in the years following the deal before coming home. In the summer of 2011, L.A. dealt him back to the Oilers, and he played his final three seasons in Edmonton.

25 YEARS AGO

DETROIT RED WINGS ACQUIRE: Larry Murphy

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS ACQUIRE: Future considerations

As the 1997 trade deadline loomed, Larry Murphy’s best days appeared behind him. And wanting to be rid of the veteran blueliner, Toronto decided to clear him off the books. The Red Wings saw an opportunity to roll the dice on a low-risk, high-reward swap that wouldn’t take a bite out of their own group. And it was also a chance to reunite Murphy with Scotty Bowman, a coach with whom the D-man had won a Cup in Pittsburgh. As Murphy has since recounted, the teams pieced the deal together minutes before the deadline, and he waived his no-trade clause to accept the move.

How did it turn out? Well, Murphy was hoisting his third career Stanley Cup over his head months later after having led the blueline with 11 points in 20 playoff games. He was instrumental in the Wings’ successful title defense, too, putting up 15 points in 22 outings.

The Hockey News Archive is an exclusive collection of more than 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 articles exclusively produced for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until this day. Visit the archives at THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com