THN's recap of past trade deadline moves continues with a 2016 look at deals including those that helped lead to Stanley Cup victories.

The NHL’s March 8 trade deadline is one week away, and we’re continuing our look back at some of the noteworthy deals made in previous seasons. And this major story from The Hockey News’ Feb. 12, 2016 edition – Vol. 69, Issue 11 – writer Jared Clinton broke down a slew of deals.

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One big move Clinton analyzed was the trade Carolina made with Pittsburgh for veteran forward Mark Recchi, who didn’t have much of an impact in the 20 regular-season games he appeared in for Carolina in the 2005-06 season. However, he stepped up big-time in the Stanley Cup playoffs, generating seven goals and 16 points in 25 games and powering the Hurricanes to their first Cup championship in franchise history. He left Carolina the following year and rejoined the Penguins, but the trade for him has to be considered a complete win for the Canes.

Another big move Clinton broke down was the trade between the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche in February of 2011. The Avalanche gave up defenseman Erik Johnson, forward Jay McClement, and a first-round draft pick in exchange for blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk, forward Chris Stewart, and a second-rounder.

Shattenkirk went on to be a solid contributor for many teams, and he spent parts of seven seasons with the Blues, and McClement was also a decent player for St. Louis. We initially gave the trade edge to the Blues, but if we’re judging the deal on players who’ve won a Cup, the Avs have to be considered the winner of this trade. Johnson became a foundational part of Colorado’s team, and he was an Av when they won a Cup in 2022.

TRADE DEADLINE REWIND

Vol. 69, No. 11, Feb. 12, 2016

By Jared Clinton

BLUES ACQUIRE

Keith Tkachuk

COYOTES ACQUIRE

Michael Handzus

Ladislav Nagy

Jeff Taffe

2002 1st round pick (Ben Eager)

The Coyotes have had to deal with financial turmoil for much of their existence, and it’s always been an uphill battle for the Desert Dogs to keep their big-name talent. Five seasons after leaving frigid Winnipeg for sunny Phoenix, the Coyotes were already having to shed salary and attempt to build a winner on a tight budget. One of the first major casualties was Tkachuk, and almost everyone involved saw the writing on the wall.

Tkachuk and the Coyotes had a rocky relationship dating back to 1998, when he wanted his contract renegotiated. After failing to get a deal he felt was appropriate, Tkachuk initiated a holdout. He didn’t show up for training camp, and it took 15 days for him to ink a new contract. But that deal was too rich for the Coyotes’ blood, and the team couldn’t make the money work. 

Tkachuk, the Coyotes’ captain and four-time 40-goal man, had to be shipped out of Arizona. When he was eventually dealt, he landed in St. Louis where he became a fixture on the Blues’ top line. Post-trade, he told media he knew the deal had a lot to do with finances. Trading Tkachuk was the Coyotes’ doing what they had to, and while Nagy performed well in Phoenix, there was no replacing Tkachuk’s production.

Over nine seasons with the Blues, Tkachuk had six 20-goal seasons, totalling 208 goals and 427 points in 543 games. The combined production of all four players the Coyotes received didn’t eclipse Tkachuk’s, and Eager didn’t play a single game in Phoenix. Together, Nagy, Handzus and Taffe amassed 126 goals and 330 points in 508 games, but that’s largely due to Nagy, who suited up in 321 games, with 92 goals and 249 points.

WINNER: ST. LOUIS BLUES

PENGUINS ACQUIRE

Ron Francis

Ulf Samuelsson

Grant Jennings

WHALERS ACQUIRE

Zarley Zalapski

John Cullen

Jeff Parker

The Penguins already had Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Paul Coffey, Mark Recchi, Kevin Stevens and veteran Bryan Trottier when they went out and added Francis to the mix. If he wasn’t the piece that put the Penguins over the top in their championship chase, he was definitely the icing on the cake. In the playoffs, Francis chipped in seven goals and 17 points to help Pittsburgh to its first Stanley Cup in 1991, and he was back the next season and led the post-season with 19 assists as the Penguins won back-to-back titles. Francis had 164 goals and 613 points over eight seasons in Pittsburgh.

As for Hartford’s return, Zalapski’s 229 games with the Whalers were the most of all three players. He contributed 44 goals and 165 points but was flipped to Calgary almost three years later to the day.

WINNER: PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

MAPLE LEAFS ACQUIRE

Wendel Clark

Mathieu Schneider

D.J. Smith

ISLANDERS ACQUIRE

Sean Haggerty

Darby Hendrickson

Kenny Jonsson

1997 1st round pick (Roberto Luongo)

The Maple Leafs brought back one of the most beloved players in franchise history by acquiring Clark, but one has to wonder what could have been had Toronto held onto its first-round pick. The top end of the draft included players such as Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Olli Jokinen and Luongo, the player the Islanders eventually selected. Bringing Clark, Schneider and Smith didn’t make much of a difference in Toronto. Clark had a 30-goal season in 1996-97 but was traded by Toronto the following year.

Jonsson actually had the most success in his new digs of any player involved in the deal. He was a top-pairing defenseman for the Islanders for the next nine seasons and had 57 goals and 232 points on Long Island.

WINNER: NEW YORK ISLANDERS

HURRICANES ACQUIRE

Mark Recchi

PENGUINS ACQUIRE

Krys Kolanos

Niklas Nordgren

2007 2nd round pick (Kevin Marshall)

No one would have considered the deal that sent a 38-year-old Recchi to the Hurricanes to have much impact, and it sure didn’t look like he was going to do much once he arrived in Carolina. In 20 regular season games, he had only four goals and seven points. But in the post-season, Recchi went on a tear, scoring seven goals and 16 points, six of which came in the seven-game Stanley Cup final victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Recchi headed back to Pittsburgh in the off-season before being traded again, this time to Atlanta. His 20 games in Carolina were 10 more than Marshall played in his NHL career, and five more than Nordgren, the only player to actually see time with the Penguins, played in Pittsburgh.

WINNER: CAROLINA HURRICANES

BLUES ACQUIRE

Kevin Shattenkirk

Chris Stewart

2011 2nd round pick (Ty Rattie)

AVALANCHE ACQUIRE

Erik Johnson

Jay McClement

2011 1st round pick (Duncan Siemens)

First-overall picks aren’t often traded before they hit their prime, but the St. Louis Blues saw an opportunity to exchange defensemen by flipping Johnson, taken first overall in 2006, for Shattenkirk. Johnson had been largely disappointing in St. Louis and had an embarrassing off-ice accident involving a golf cart that cost him his entire sophomore season.

The trade worked out for both sides as the centerpieces of the deal – Johnson and Shattenkirk – have both turned into solid blueliners for their respective clubs, but the edge has to go to the Blues. Shattenkirk has earned himself some Norris Trophy discussion, has been the more offensively productive of the two blueliners and was an Olympian for the U.S. in 2014.

WINNER: ST.LOUIS BLUES

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