http://www.edmontonsun.com/Sports/OtherSports/2008/02/24/4872444-sun.html
10. Emile Francis, St. Louis Blues 1981
The Blues dealt steady goaltender Ed Staniowski, tough defenceman Bryan Maxwell and rookie winger Paul MacLean to John Ferguson's Winnipeg Jets for defenceman Scott Campbell and winger John Markell. MacLean went on to score 324 goals and put up 673 points in 719 NHL games, while Staniowski started 92 games and Maxwell played 191 games. Campbell and Markell combined to play five games with the Blues and neither recorded a single point.
9. Bob Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers, 1992
The Flyers wanted top prospect Eric Lindros in a big way and paid dearly to get him. Clarke sent a package to the Quebec Nordiques which included Peter Forsberg (by far the best player in the deal), Mike Ricci, Steve Duschene, Chris Simon, Kerry Huffman, Ron Hextall, a first-round draft pick and $15 million in order to get Lindros. In 760 games during a career cut short by injuries, Lindros had 865 points. Meanwhile, Forsberg alone has more career points than Lindros and the principals in the trade helped the Colorado Avalanche win two Stanley Cups.
8. Jim Devellano, Detroit Red Wings, 1989
The Red Wings dealt setup man Adam Oates and winger Paul MacLean, who was coming off a 36-goal season, to the St. Louis Blues for aging forward Bernie Federko and forward Tony McKegney. Federko played one season in Detroit and had 17 goals and 57 points before retiring and McKegney had all of three points before being traded away to Quebec. MacLean only played two more seasons, but Oates scored 102 points in his first season with the Blues and put up 1,231 NHL points after being traded away from Detroit.
7. Doug Risebrough, Calgary Flames, 1992
Risebrough had just taken over from Cliff Fletcher as GM of the Flames and decided to deal with his predecessor, who had joined the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bad move. Fletcher fleeced Risebrough in a five-for-five deal that featured plenty of chaff but at least one golden nugget. The Leafs got Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Ric Nattress, Rick Wamsley and Kent Manderville for Gary Leeman, Michel Petit, Jeff Reese, Craig Berube and Alexander Godynyuk. Gilmour went on to score 765 NHL points, most of them as heart and soul of the Leafs, and Macoun had seven productive seasons in Toronto. Almost everyone else in the deal was a bust, especially Leeman, who had just 11 goals in two seasons with the Flames.
6. Craig Patrick, Pittsburgh Penguins, 1996
The Penguins needed toughness, apparently, so they made a move to acquire Alex Stojanov from the Vancouver Canucks. To get this tough guy, who would go on to play 45 NHL games, the Penguins gave up forward Markus Naslund, who has 748 points in 12 seasons with the Canucks.
5. Mike Keenan, Florida Panthers, 2006
The Panthers were worried they wouldn't be able to sign goalie Roberto Luongo, so they dealt him along with defenceman Lukas Krajicek to the Vancouver Canucks for forward Todd Bertuzzi, goalie Alex Auld and defenceman Bryan Allen. Luongo is widely considered one of the top-five players in the NHL after his 47-win season in Vancouver last year, while Florida got a bunch of duds. Bertuzzi had seven points before becoming a free agent and Auld was released after posting a 3.35 GAA and recording only seven wins. Allen is the only player still with Florida and he has 37 points in two seasons.
4. Mike Milbury, New York Islanders, 2000
Milbury could easily make this list a few times. He once traded Zdeno Chara and a first-rounder that turned out to be Jason Spezza for Alexei Yashin. He once dealt a young and effective Todd Bertuzzi and a young and effective Bryan McCabe to the Vancouver Canucks for Trevor Linden. But the cake-taker was when he dealt goaltender Roberto Luongo AND forward Olli Jokinen to the Florida Panthers for forwards Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha. Luongo and Jokinen have become stars, while Parrish is a decent scorer with the Minnesota Wild and Kvasha has long since departed for Europe after scoring 81 NHL goals.
3. Tommy Ivan, Chicago Blackhawks, 1967
The Blackhawks made a major blunder that changed the balance of power in the NHL when they dealt forwards Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield to the Boston Bruins for forward Pit Martin, goalie Jack Norris and defenceman Gilles Marotte. Esposito went on to score 643 more goals in his career, Hodge had 763 more points and Stanfield had 594 more points. Although Martin put up a solid 702 points for the Hawks, Norris played only 10 games and Marotte had 10 goals in three seasons. The Bruins, of course, became a powerhouse and won two Stanley Cups. Bruins GM Harry Sinden made the deal even better by trading Hodge to the New York Rangers in 1976 for Rick Middleton. Hodge scored 23 goals over two seasons for the Rangers, while Middleton had 400 goals and 900 points for the Bruins.
2. Harry Neale, Vancouver Canucks, 1986
The Canucks dealt promising power forward Cam Neely AND a first-round draft choice that turned out to be defenceman Glen Wesley to the Boston Bruins for forward Barry Pederson. The Canucks got a total of 45 goals from Pederson in three seasons, while Neely went on to have three 50-goal seasons and score 349 goals over the rest of his NHL career, during which he was considered the ultimate power forward. To add insult to insult, Wesley has played 1,439 NHL games and is still active today.
1. Mike O'Connell, Boston Bruins, 2005
Somehow, O'Connell thought it made sense to trade one of the most talented players in the NHL in Joe Thornton and it immediately looked like an idiotic move. It got worse for O'Connell when Thornton went on to win the Art Ross and Hart Trophies for the San Jose Sharks that same season. Boston got forward Marco Sturm, defenceman Brad Stuart and plugger Wayne Primeau in return for a player who has 274 points in two and a half seasons in San Jose. Sturm has been decent for Boston, but Stuart and Primeau are long gone. So is O'Connell.





