The Winnipeg Jets traded Kris Draper to Detroit for a single dollar in 1993, sparking a legendary career that featured four Stanley Cup titles and 1,137 games.

On this day in 1993, the Detroit Red Wings completed what would become one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history, acquiring a young forward named Kris Draper from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for future considerations. 

The deal became finalized on June 30, 1993, after Draper had played just 20 games over three seasons in Winnipeg. The future considerations were later revealed to amount to just $1, earning Draper the lasting nickname the One Dollar Man.

What followed was one of the great value heists in league history as Draper would go on to spend the next 17 seasons in Detroit, becoming a fixture in the lineup beginning in the 1993-94 season and forming one-quarter of the legendary Grind Line alongside Kirk Maltby and either Joe Kocur or Darren McCarty. That checking line played an integral role in ending Detroit's 42-year championship drought in 1997.

Draper's career in Detroit was defined by relentless two-way hockey. He won four Stanley Cups with the Red Wings, in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008, joining Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Kirk Maltby and Darren McCarty as the only players to win a title in each of those four championship runs.

Widely regarded as one of the league's premier penalty killers and faceoff men, Draper was a Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2004 as the NHL's top defensive forward.

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Draper became the fifth player in franchise history to reach 1,000 games in a Red Wings uniform, joining Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Steve Yzerman and Lidstrom, and he never missed the playoffs in his 17 seasons with the club, appearing in 220 postseason games, second in club history only to Lidstrom. Over his Red Wings career, Draper recorded 158 goals and 203 assists for 361 points and 781 penalty minutes across 1,137 regular-season games.

Draper hasn't strayed far from the organization since hanging up his skates. He moved directly into Detroit's front office, first serving as special assistant to general manager Ken Holland for eight seasons before being named director of amateur scouting ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.

In July 2023, Draper was promoted to assistant general manager in addition to his scouting duties, working alongside GM Steve Yzerman and fellow assistant GM Shawn Horcoff on all hockey operations matters for the franchise. 

More than three decades after that famous dollar-bill trade, Draper remains deeply embedded in the Red Wings organization, now helping shape the very draft classes and roster decisions that will determine Detroit's future.

With the team again missing the playoffs this past season, Draper's name has even surfaced in speculation about a potential larger role in Detroit's front office down the road, a testament to just how far the One Dollar Man has come since arriving in Detroit for next to nothing.

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