Small trades with big results is a series that looks at trades throughout NHL history that seemed small or insignificant at the time but turned out to be much, much more. In this installment, we look at how Joe Nieuwendyk ended up with the Calgary Flames.
Small NHL Trades With Big Results: Joe Nieuwendyk
Sometimes a trade seems really awful at the time but ends up being really good in the long run. It’s hard for fans and media to see a fan favourite get moved for something unknown. Trading a key contributor and major point producer can be difficult in the moment. People can react very negatively. It happens all the time across all sports. This is one such trade.
The Trade
On June 15, 1985, the Flames traded Kent Nilsson and a 1986 third-round pick to the Minnesota North Stars for a 1985 second-round pick and a 1987 second-round pick.
Kent Nilsson
Kent Nilsson began his career playing in his native Sweden in 1973. During his time with Djurgårdens and AIK, Nilsson established himself as a strong offensive player. So much so, he was lured to North America to join the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA for the 1977-78 season. Any concerns about Nilsson’s ability to adjust to a North American style were quelled right away. With the Jets, Nilsson posted back-to-back 107 point seasons, scoring 42 and 39 goals as well.
When the WHA folded, Nillson was claimed by the Atlanta Flames. Any concerns about Nilsson being able to replicate his production in the NHL were put to rest. Nilsson scored 40 goals and 93 points in his NHL debut campaign.
When the Flames moved to Calgary, Nilsson continued his scoring pace. In his first season in Calgary, Nilsson had his best-ever season, scoring 49 goals and 131 points. In 425 games with the Flames, Nilsson scored 229 goals and 562 points. Nilsson scored at least 31 goals for the Flames in five of his six seasons. The only season he did not reach the 30-goal plateau was in 1981-82, where he scored 26 goals in only 41 games.
Brad Turner (1986 third-round pick)
Brad Turner attended the University of Michigan from 1986 to 1990. He was a solid defenceman known for being a stay-at-home defender without much offensive upside. Still, there is always a need for a smart defenceman that can play in his own end.
Joe Nieuwendyk (1985 second-round pick)
Joe Nieuwendyk went undrafted in the OHL draft, so he played a year of Junior ‘B’ with Pickering Panthers in 1983-84. Nieuwendyk was eligible for the NHL draft in 1984 but he went unselected. So he chose to attend Cornell University where he played hockey and lacrosse. In his first season with the Big Red, Nieuwendyk earned ECAC rookie of the year by scoring 45 points in 23 games.
After being selected by the Flames in the 1985 draft, Nieuwendyke returned to Cornell for two more seasons. His 21 goals and 45 points in 21 games earned him an ECAS first-team All-Star nod as well as NCAA All-American. In his final year with the Big Red, Nieuwendyk led the ECAC in scoring with 52 points. He was named the team’s MVP along with being again named a first-team ECAC All-Star and NCAA All-American. He also a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
Stephane Matteau (1987 second-round pick)
Stephane Matteau played Junior for the Hull Olympic of the QMJHL. He established himself as a gritty physical player, but with a touch of offensive upside. In his second season with Hull (1986-87), Mattteau saw his numbers jump from nine goals to 27 and 14 points to 75. That jump in output led to the Flames taking Matteau in the second round of the ’87 draft.
Matteau would play two more seasons with Hull, scoring 57 and 89 points respectively. He would turn pro following the 1988 season and join the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the IHL for their playoff run.
The Aftermath
North Stars
The North Stars were hoping to get an elite goal-scoring centre to help propel them in the standings. Unfortunately, Nilsson fizzled out. In his first season win Minnesota, Nilsson only scored 16 goals and 60 points. Considering he was coming off a 37-goal and 99-point season prior to the trade, it was a major disappointment. Even more discouraging was after 44 games in the 1986-87 season, he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers. After winning a Stanley Cup with the Oilers in 1987, Nilsson went back to Sweden where he would play the rest of his professional career (except for a six-game return to Edmonton in 1994-95).
Brad Turner never played for the North Stars, nor did he ever establish himself as an NHL player. He would have the proverbial cup of coffee in the NHL, playing three games, for the New York Islanders, in 1991-92.
Flames
Joe Nieuwendyk joined the Flames at the tail end of the 1986-87 season, playing in nine games. Nieuwendyk gave fans a glimpse into what to expect, by scoring five goals and six points in nine games. In his official rookie season, Nieuwendyk would score 51 goals and 92 points in 75 games. His performance earned him the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year. The following year, Nieuwendyk would again score 51 goals and 82 points. Nieuwendyk played a major part in the Flames 1989 Stanley Cup win, scoring 10 goals and 14 points in 21 games. In 577 games with the Flames, Nieuwendyk would score 314 goals and 616 points.
Interestingly enough, in 1995, Nieuwendyk would be traded to the Dallas Stars (formerly the North Stars) as the Flames were looking to rebuild. Nieuwendyk would win another Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999, also winning the Conn Smyth as playoff MVP. Nieuwendyk would win a third Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2003. In his career, Nieuwendyk played 1,257 games, scored 564 goals and 1,126 points. Nieuwendyk was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.
Stephane Matteau joined the Flames for the 1990-91 season. After playing one season in Calgary, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. While Matteau never reached the career heights of Nieuwendyk, he was a clutch member of the 1994 New York Rangers Stanley Cup-winning team, scoring arguably the biggest playoff goal in team history.
Big Things Can Have Small Beginnings
Sometimes knowing when to cut bait with a player is extremely important. That’s what the Flames did here, despite the fact the trade was hated by the fans and media. It’s understandable that there might be a negative reaction when trading a key player, but sometimes (but only sometimes) the team might know what they are doing. Even after drafting Nieuwendyk, people were not thrilled with a player coming from the NCAA. Famously, a Calgary newspaper criticizing the trade had a headline “Joe Who?”. Fortunately, a trade like this can’t be judged at the moment but it never stops people from doing just that.
This trade was a stroke of genius by the Flames today. They were able to trade Nilsson at the absolute perfect time as his career was about to drop off, and drafted one of the best players in the history of the NHL. Sometimes things just work out perfectly and it did for the Flames here.
For the next installment, we are going just a few years back to the 1983 draft where one of the greatest American-born players ended up with the New York Islanders.
