The trade deadline may not seem very significant at first considering that the NHL has the playoffs, draft and the all-star game. The trade deadline is more important than you may think because the outcome from the moves made by teams during that time can vary in extremes but the only thing that comes to mind as to why teams make key trades at that time. Because it’s the Stanley Cup. The media love to make a big deal out of it and it becomes more of a spectacle of entertainment more than anything and it’s sometimes hilarious watching the analysts making the trade announcements as dramatic as possible. But regardless, I admire they’re passion.

The choice between buying and selling at the deadline is easily made if you’re a team that’s contending (buying) and a teams that’s rebuilding (selling).

Then you have those bubble teams who are between 7th and 11th place give or take. A team has to be in 8th place or above to make the playoffs. Those teams that are on the bubble make the situation very interesting because the general managers for those teams now have a tough choice between buying and selling.

Remarkably, some of the teams that did buy as a bubble team went on to either go to the finals or win the Stanley Cup. It has happened a few times before and sometimes those trade acquisitions at the deadline paid huge dividends. What if those bold trade deadline moves weren’t made? What if a team decided to sell instead? A lot of general managers don’t like to sell if they’re a bubble team because if they decide to take that route, it would most likely mean that the rebuild would extend by 1 to 3 years. There’s always the odd case where there’s a nagging contract issue with a star player. The 2 parties might come at a wits end and no matter what team he’s playing on, most GM’s would opt to trade him to salvage what they can get back from him instead of letting him walk to free agency with nothing in return. Others keep that player in hopes of a deep playoff run but that has it’s own set of risks.

For the purposes of this list, we’re focusing on the trades that involved players that made a impact for the rest of that season and performed exceptionally well in the playoffs. Only one team per season will be counted on the list as well.

Edmonton Oilers trade their 1st and 3rd round picks to the Minnesota Wild for Dwayne Roloson on March 8th, 2006

When the 2006 Edmonton Oilers had to make the choice between buying and selling at the deadline, GM Kevin Lowe decided to aggressively buy despite the fact that the Oilers were in the middle of the standings. What made this trade so scary is that Roloson was just 6-17-1 with a GAA of 3.00 that season. That record alone is enough drive away most shoppers. But with Lowe taking the chance to acquire him, he made himself look like a genius. While the results didn’t pay off immediately for the rest of the season (8-7-5 record with .905 sv%) with Edmonton barely making the playoffs by taking the last seed. Roloson absolutely put on a tear in the playoffs with him and the Oilers beating the Detroit Red Wings (President’s Trophy Winners) in 6 games of the quarter finals. It shocked the hockey world.

Maybe they got lucky? Maybe they were onto something as the Oilers made victims of the San Jose Sharks and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the semi-finals and conference finals respectively.

Roloson’s record for the first 3 rounds dramatically improved to 12-5-0 with a GAA of 2.33 and SV% of .927. That is a fantastic record considering how not so great his record was during the season.

Unfortunately for Roloson, he got injured in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes and wasn’t able to return to the rest of the series. The Oilers would still go the distance against an aggressive Hurricanes team but ultimately falter in game 7 as the Canes won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Jussi Markkanen was the designated goaltender for the Oilers for the rest of the series. A lot of people have questioned if the Oilers would have won the Stanley Cup if Roloson didn’t get injured; We unfortunately will never know that fate.

The Carolina Hurricanes trade Krystofer Kolanos, Niklas Nordgren, and a 2007 2nd round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Mark Recchi on March 9th, 2006. (Day after Dwayne Roloson trade)

Recchi was a great high-scoring winger in the 1990’s and early 2000’s but he was a older player in 2006 and his production wasn’t what it used to be. It was still a great trade for Carolina to make because they didn’t pay that much to acquire him. Regardless, Recchi is a great leader on and off the ice and his leadership was needed to vault the Carolina Hurricanes to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Recchi totalled 7 points in 20 regular season games for the Hurricanes as well as contributing 16 points in 25 games and a lot of points came in critical moments during a few of their games which made him a clutch performer.

This trade deadline deal is not a prolific or exciting one but the value gained in leadership, delivering in critical moments while not giving any roster players from the trade is a damn good deal for the Canes.

The Pittsburgh Penguins trade Erik Christensen, Colby Armstrong, Angelo Esposito and a 1st round pick to the Atlanta Thrashers for Pascal Dupuis and Marian Hossa on February 26th, 2008.

There was no doubt at that time that the Pittsburgh Penguins found their glory days again. It was the first time since the early 1990’s that the Penguins had a team that had two franchise players to build around in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. With the Penguins acquiring Hossa, they ensured themselves they were getting a high-calibre two-way sniper. The Pens sure hit the mark in getting Hossa but he suffered an injury in his MCL on his first game as a Pen. Many thought he was going to be out for the rest of the season and the playoffs but luckily he returned to the line-up just a few weeks before the 2007-2008 regular season ended and he looked like he was still in top form as he scored 10 points during the final 12 games of the season.

With Hossa returning to the lineup, the Penguins ensured themselves that they were a powerhouse contender for the Stanley Cup. Pascal Dupuis was a great addition in the trade as well because him and Sidney Crosby had excellent chemistry playing together but it was Hossa who stepped up large in the playoffs that year. Hossa shook off the criticism of not performing in big games by registering 26 points including 14 goals in just 20 games during the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. It wasn’t enough as the Detroit Red Wings out-duelled the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals as the Wings won the Stanley Cup in 6 games.

The Pens not only won with the services of Hossa, they found long-term chemistry for Sidney Crosby as Pascal Dupuis stayed with the Penguins for the rest of his NHL career. Hossa went on to sign with the Red Wings for one year just after the Stanley Final loss. Ironically, the Red Wings would face the Penguins once again in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals where the Penguins avenged last years loss by defeating the Red Wings in 7 games. Pascal Dupuis played a pivotal role in helping the Penguins win the cup and once again Hossa was on the losing side but this time with the Detroit Red Wings.

Hossa would more than make up for his losses by signing with the Chicago Blackhawks where he has won 3 Stanley Cup championships so far.

What the Atlanta Thrashers acquired in the trade with Hossa didn’t materialize into what they were expecting as Christensen and Armstrong didn’t develop into the players that the Thrashers were hoping. Also, highly touted 1st round pick, Angelo Esposito and their 1st round draft choice, Daultan Leveille didn’t even crack the NHL line up as both were considered draft busts just a few years.

The Los Angeles Kings traded Matt Frattin, a 2nd round draft pick and a 3rd round draft pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Marian Gaborik on March 5th, 2014.

Unlike the 2012 Los Angeles Kings, who were considered underdogs, the 2014 Los Angeles Kings team were a known threat to other NHL teams then. But once again they still surprised many as they dominated in the playoffs.

During the 2012 trade deadline, the Kings acquired Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Jack Johnson and a 1st round pick. It was a genius move by Kings GM Dean Lombardi as the Kings went on to win the Stanley Cup that season despite the fact that were 3 head coaching changes plus they barely made the playoffs as an 8th seed in the western conference.

The Jeff Carter trade was a great trade deadline deal for the Kings but the Marian Gaborik trade was a much better deal as he performed way better than Carter in their 2014 championship season plus the Kings gave up less for Gaborik than they did to get Carter.

Gaborik came from the Blue Jackets playing just a handful games because he was injured for the rest of the time. Gaborik finished the 2014 regular season with 16 points in 19 games which is pretty good. In the playoffs he was even better as Gaborik absolutely dominated by scoring 14 goals and mustering 22 points in 26 games. Once again, the Kings have won the Stanley Cup for the 2nd time in 3 years. Without Gaborik, I don’t think the Kings would have that kind of run to be honest.

This trade was also interesting because the Jeff Carter trade and the Marian Gaborik trade came from the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets both times making themselves look foolish at their expense as the Kings made themselves look like geniuses. Maybe the Kings should get another deal with the Jackets again?

The Colorado Avalanche trade Brian Rolston, Martin Grenier, Sammy Pahlsson, and a first-round draft pick to the Boston Bruins for Raymond Bourque and Dave Andreychuk on March 6th, 2000.

This was a trade that was led to believe that the Avalanche were going all in for the 1999-2000 season but the fruition of the trade didn’t transpire until the following season. The Avalanche landed Boston’s franchise defenceman of nearly 20 years who many thought was unmovable. Bourque comes in as an outsider but fit into the club right away as he scored 14 points in the final 14 games of the 1999-2000 regular season. The Avs once again were poised for a deep playoff run but in the conference finals against the Dallas Stars, they fell just short but in the meantime Bourque racked up 9 points in 13 playoff games. That’s incredible for a player that was 39 years old at the time.

When many thought it was going to be Bourque’s last season before retiring, Bourque signed a one year deal with the Colorado Avalanche in hopes of winning the Stanley Cup. It was an unexpected signing considering how long he has played in the NHL already, but his desire to win was stronger than his ability to say ‘”no” to hockey.

The following season, Bourque amassed 59 points in 80 games which is pretty impressive at the age of 40. Bourque established a strong leadership presence in the locker room and became an alternate captain. In the playoffs, Bourque once again made invaluable contributions towards sending the Avs to the 2001 Stanley Cup Final as he still defended well while still accumulating 10 points in 21 games. The Avs ultimately won the Stanley Cup against the reigning 2000 Stanley Cup champions, The New Jersey Devils.

A special moment in history was made right after the final moments of the last Stanley Cup Final game of 2001 was played. When NHL commissioner Gary Bettman handed the Stanley Cup to Joe Sakic, Sakic didn’t raise the Cup right away. Instead, he called over Ray Bourque to hoist it. It was a very classy move by Sakic as he knew Bourque waited 20 NHL seasons to win the Cup and he finally got his wish. It was a fairy tale ending to an illustrious and legendary career by none other than Raymond Bourque.