Ranger trades…from the unusual to just plain weird

Trades are a fact of life in the NHL and the New York Rangers have had their fair share of notable ones

Ask a New York Rangers fan about the biggest trade in team history and the answer will inevitably be the 1975 deal between the Blueshirts and the Boston Bruins.  Jean Ratelle, Brad Park and Joe Zanussi went to Beantown in exchange for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais.   That was a swap of three future members of the Hall of Fame.

It worked out for both team. Park and Ratelle had productive careers in Boston and Esposito took the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final in 1979.

Other fans may point to the trade for Mark Messier or the acquisition of Jaromir Jagr as biggest deals.   Here’s a look at some notable Ranger trades.

Swapping Hall of Famers

The trade with the Boston Bruins was not the only time that the Rangers have traded future Hall of Famers.  It’s actually happened quite often.

Chabot for Roach – The first time was October 18, 1928 when Toronto send goalie John Ross Roach to New York for Lorne Chabot.  While Chabot would go on to win the Vezina Trophy with the Blackhawks, Roach starred in New York and had an amazing 37 shutouts in his 180 games with the Blueshirts.

Seibert for Coulter – On January 15, 1936 the Rangers traded defenseman Earl Siebert to the Blackhawks for Art Coulter.  Siebert was an outstanding defender who was a first or second team all star for 12 straight years. Coulter was not his equal as a defender, but was an all-star for three seasons in New York.

Stanley for Gadsby –  This deal on November 23, 1954, involved five players with two destined for the Hall of Fame.  The Rangers acquired 27 year old defenseman Bill Gadbsy  from the Blackhawks in exchange for 28 year old  Allen Stanley.  Gadsby was one of the best defensemen and a first or second team all star for four years, a Norris Trophy contender every year.   Stanley lasted only two years in Chicago before playing for three more teams.  He found stardom as an all star with the Maple Leafs in the early 1960s.

Kelly for Gadsby – This is a trade that never happened.  On February 5, 1960 the Rangers traded defenseman Gadsby, after six seasons in New York, to the Detroit Red Wings along with Eddie Shack for center Red Kelly and winger Billy McNeil.  Both players refused to report so the deal was voided and the two Rangers stayed with the team.  Talk about awkward.

Plante for Worsley –  This  June 4, 1963 deal was notable for a couple reasons.   First and foremost it was a trade of two Hall of Fame goalies.   It also involved a large number of pieces, something we will get into a bit later.

Plante was already 35 when acquired by New York and he played only two seasons with them.  The 33 year old Worsley was coming off a deal when he had led the NHL in games, minutes played, shots faced and saves.  He went on to win two Vezina Trophies with the Canadiens.

In this deal, it was the other assets picked up by New York (Phil Goyette and Don Marshall)  that mattered more.

Ratelle and Park for Esposito –  We’ve gone over this November 7, 1975 deal and it still remains the only Rangers deal involving three future Hall of Fame players.

Zubov for Robitaille – The last deal for the Rangers involving future Hall of Fame players was on August 31, 1995 when the Rangers sent Sergei Zubov and Petr Nedved to Pittsburgh for Luc Robitaille and Ulf Samuelsson.   The Blueshirts were looking for a more physical defenseman and Mark Messier didn’t like Nedved, hence the deal.  The trading of Zubov was misguided and Robitaille never lived up to the scoring prowess he showed in Los Angeles.

Most players in one trade

The trade that involved the most players in franchise history dates back to February 10, 2003.  That’s when the Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins pulled off a massive, eight player deal

While the number was large, the impact was barely felt.  The biggest name in the deal was Alexei Kovalev who returned to the Rangers four and a half years after they sent him to the Penguins in exchange for Petr Nedved.

The trade was of little consequence to the Rangers as Kovalev played 90 games for the Blueshirts, scoring 23 goals before being dispatched in the purge of March 2004.

The Rangers have made several trades involving seven players.  The first was on June 4, 1963 when the Rangers acquired Jacques Plante, Don Marshall and Phil Goyette from Montreal for Dave Balon, Gump Worsley, Len Ronson and Leon Rochefort.

Another big 7 player deal was on February 22, 1964 when the Blueshirts sent Andy Bathgate and Don McKenney to Toronto for Bob Nevin, Rod Seiling, Arnie Brown, Bill Collins and Dick Duff.   That deal payed an important part in the revival of the franchise of the late 1960s.  Although they gave up a Ranger legend in Bathgate, they got a future captain in Nevin and important building blocks of the Stanley Cup contenders.

The last deal involving seven players was on June 30, 2009 and it is recognized as Glen Sather’s best deal as general manager.  He was able to unload Scott Gomez and his $7.3 million annual salary in exchange for Chris Higgins and a NCAA blueliner named Ryan McDonagh.  Who else was in that deal?  Michael Busto and Tom Pyatt went to Montreal with Gomez and the Rangers got Pavel Valentenko and Doug Janik along with McDonagh and Higgins.

Most players and picks in a trade

While the most players exchanged in any one New York Rangers deal is eight, there were two other trades involving eight pieces.

The first was on October 24, 1986 with the Edmonton Oilers and it was a complicated deal that took two days and two separate transactions.  On October 2, the Rangers announced that they had acquired Mike Golden and Don Jackson from Edmonton.  Three weeks later,  the teams concluded the deal, sending Clark Donatelli, Ville Kentala and Jim Wiemer along with the rights to Reijo Ruotsalainen in exchange for future considerations (turned out to be Stu Kulak) and the rights to defenseman Miroslav Horava, playing in Europe.

Ruotsalainen eventually signed with Edmonton and won two Stanley Cups.  Horava did come over from Czechoslovakia and played 80 games over three seasons.

Ten years later the Rangers swapped eight pieces with the Los Angeles Kings.   On March 14, 1996 they traded four players and a draft pick for three Los Angeles Kings in one of the worst deals in Blueshirts history.

In an effort to rekindle the magic of the Edmonton Oilers with Wayne Gretzky now a Ranger they traded for two over-the-hill players in Jari Kurri, and Marty McSorley and a physical forward in Shane Churla.   What did they give up?  Three centers in Ray Ferraro, Nathan Lafayette and Ian Laperriere and defenseman Mattias Norstrom. The fourth round draft pick turned into Sean Blanchard.

How one sided was it?   Mattias Norstrom was the backbone of the Kings defense for nine seasons and played 11 years in the NHL. Ian Laperriere played 13 more seasons for three teams.  Nathan   Lafayette played three years.  Ray Ferraro played six more years, topping the 20 goal mark twice.

The players the Rangers got?  Kurri played 14 games, scoring one goal. McSorley was scoreless in nine games. Only Churla lasted more than the remainder of that one season, ultimately playing 55 games in New York with one assist.

The totals?  The players the Rangers traded played  2,373 games in the NHL after the deal and scored 240 goals.  The players the Rangers got?  78 games played.  One goal.   If you ever wonder why the Blueshirts missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons from 1998 to 2004, just look at this trade as a big reason.

The last time as many as seven elements changed hands in a deal was on April 3, 2013 when the Blueshirts sent Marian Gaborik and two prospects to Columbus for Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett, John Moore and a draft pick.

Other unusual deals

There have been a few other trades that are worth noting.

Swapping captains – The Rangers made the first and only captain for captain trade in NHL history when they swapped forward Ryan Callahan to Tampa for Martin St. Louis on March 15, 2014.  With the leadership of St. Louis the Blueshirts made it to the Stanley Cup Final that spring.

Sheppard went on to score 24 goals in his one year in New York before signing with Detroit as a free agent. They should have kept him.  He scored over 30 goals  in each of the next five season, topping out with 52 goals in 1993-94.

Ironically, Quebec was happy to see him go and Bergeron lasted less than two seasons in New York before Esposito fired him.

Sort of trading for a coach – In 1978 Flyer coach Fred Shero resigned after winning two Stanley Cups with the Flyers and signed to coach the Rangers.  In order to avoid tampering charges, the Rangers gave the Flyers cash and their 1979 first round pick (Ken Linseman).  Shero led the team to the 1979 Stanley Cup Final while Ken”The Rat”Linseman played 14 years in the NHL.

A loan, not a trade – On November 1, 1969 the Rangers and St. Louis Blues announced a peculiar transaction.  They were making a trade, but they were just loaning players to the other organization for the remained of the 1969-70 season.  Defenseman Sheldon Kannegiesser played the rest of the season for the Blues top minor league team while defenseman Larry Hornung did the same for the Rangers.  The next season, it was back to their original organizations.

In those days in the NHL and earlier, loaning players was not unheard of, though this one was announced as a trade.

Two days later, the Blueshirts did the same with the Islanders, sending them a seventh and eighth round pick in exchange for a promise to not take certain Rangers in the expansion draft.   The Isles ended up taking only defenseman  Bryan Lefley from the Rangers.

This was one of only three trades between the Islanders and the Rangers in almost 40 years.  In November of that year the Rangers swapped defender Ron Stewart to the Isles for cash,  The next deal took over 37 years to materialize when the Blueshirts traded their sixth round pick for defensive prospect Jyri Niemi.

Who knows what deals are in store for the New York Rangers in their future?   With the salary cap and the value placed on draft picks these days, it’s not likely we will see any massive trades or multiple picks swapped.   if we’ve missed any unusual deals, feel free to let us know in the comments below.