History has shown that the majority deals made at the NHL trade deadline usually don’t work out. Many cases are bad trades for teams trying to find success in the playoffs.
The 2019 NHL trade deadline has come and gone. We saw a few blockbuster trades this year, with names like Mark Stone and Matt Duchene finding new homes.
It remains to be seen how these deals will turn out for their respective teams.
Here is a Look at Some Bad Trade Deadline Deals in Recent Memory
2018: Tomas Tatar Trade to the Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights wanted to improve their scoring depth for the 2018 playoffs. They believed Tomas Tatar was their guy and gave up three draft picks to acquire him, including a first and a second.
All in all, it was a bad trade deadline deal for the Golden Knights. Tatar wasn’t really a factor for the Golden Knights during their playoff run. He was a healthy scratch for all but eight games and only scored once for the Golden Knights in the postseason.
2018: Toronto Maple Leafs Trade for Tomas Plekanec
One of the biggest acquisitions for the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2018 trade deadline was trading for Tomas Plekanec from the Montreal Canadiens.
The Leafs got Plekanec along with Kyle Baun. Montreal added Kerby Rychel, Rinat Valiev and a second-round pick (Jacob Olofsson) in 2018.
As we all know, Plekanec did not do much in helping Leafs get over the hump. After losing in the first round, Plekanec quickly re-signed with the Canadiens on July 1st, 2018. He then retired from the NHL in November 2018.
2018: Boston Bruins Trade for Rick Nash
The Boston Bruins had to give up five assets to acquire Rick Nash at the 2018 trade deadline.
Nash scored five points for the Bruins in 12 playoff games but failed to help the Bruins get past the second round.
Overall, it was bad trade deadline move by the Bruins, as it was the last time we saw Nash play in the NHL.
It’s fair to say that the New York Rangers did not win that trade by a huge margin. They did a nice job in getting what they could for Nash.
However, we should keep a close eye on the first round pick. The Rangers traded their 26th overall pick to Ottawa to acquire the 22nd overall pick and used it to select K’Andre Miller. It is still early, but Miller might turn out to a player for the Rangers in the future.
2017: Kevin Shattenkirk Trade to Washington
Kevin Shattenkirk was supposed to be the final piece to help Washington get over the hump. But as we all know, the Washington Capitals once again failed to get past the second round that year.
This was a bad deal for the Capitals, it was a huge swing and a miss for a team desperately trying to win a Stanley Cup.
After his short stint with the Capitals, they lost him for nothing as Shattenkirk opted to sign with the Rangers in the off-season.
The St. Louis Blues did well with their 2017 first round pick. They were able to use it to acquire Brayden Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers in the summer.
2017: Brian Boyle Trade to Toronto
Acquiring Brian Boyle from the Tampa Bay Lightning was another bad trade deadline deal for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Boyle’s playoff experience was highly coveted, but he failed to score in the 26 games he played for the Leafs that season.
The Leafs’ playoff hopes were shortlived as they were eliminated by the Washinton Capitals in six games. Shortly after that, Boyle went on to sign a two-year, $5.1 million contract with Eastern Conference rivals, New Jersey Devils.
Meanwhile, Byron Froese is no longer with the Tampa Bay organization. The Lightning used the second round pick in the trade to draft Alexander Volkov. He seems to be developing nicely in the AHL right now.
2019 Trades Deadline Deals
It is still early but the Dallas Stars acquiring Mats Zuccarello might turn out to be a very bad trade for the team. The newly acquired veteran is expected to miss at least four weeks after suffering an injury in his first game as a Dallas Star.
