A majority of NHL trades have an immediate effect on clubs. But there are some deals that have a trickle-down effect that can last years and impact a bunch of teams league-wide.
Sportsnet’s Steve Dangle recently recorded a new Trade Tree video that involves a forgettable Washington Capitals goaltender. It kinda sorta helped Washington win the Stanley Cup years later.
It all starts with the Buffalo Sabres acquiring Jaroslav Halak shudders from the St. Louis Blues and then trading him and a 2015 third-round draft pick to Washington only six days later. The Capitals sent Buffalo Michal Neuvirth and the corpse of Rostislav Klesla.
From there we get all of this nonsense.
- In true early 2010s Buffalo fashion, the Sabres eat the contract of Klesla, trade the Caps the better goaltender, and still send George McPhee an extra draft pick…seemingly just because.
- The Sabres then dealt Neuvirth to the Islanders for another goaltender in Chad Johnson and got a third back as well. What is this bizarro world goaltender market?
- Shutter Island plot twist, that third-round pick vanished almost as soon as it arrived. The Sabres had to give it up to the Penguins as compensation for hiring Dan Bylsma as their new head coach. Remember when that was a thing? Would have been nice to have had that when Barry Trotz left DC.
- In another stage of rarer NHL moves in this acid trip of a trade tree, the Caps were able to offload Halak’s unrestricted free agency rights to the Islanders for a fourth-round pick in 2014.
- The Caps then moved up in that 2014 draft using that pick and another fourth dealt to the Rangers (every New York team needed a piece of this) to go and get Australian Nathan Walker. Steve outlines how important Walker was to the Capitals’ eventual 2018 Stanley Cup run in his video.
- That fourth-round pick from the Islanders that ended up with Washington and then was sent to New York though? Who did that turn into? Oh, just Igor Shesterkin, your 2022 Vezina Trophy winner and Hart Trophy finalist.
- Surely, it’s over there? Wrong. That original third the Caps got from Buffalo was used to move up in the 2015 draft (another deal with the Rangers) to take defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler.
- Who did the Caps trade Siegenthaler to? Oh, just the last piece of that New York area puzzle in the New Jersey Devils for a third-round pick. These no good, darn tootin’ incestuous Metro Division teams.
- Did the Caps use that pick? Nope, they traded it to…the New York Rangers to garner an extra pick in the 2021 draft. Alas, it finally ends there, but those picks are still in the Caps system (Brent Johnson, Dru Krebs) so theoretically, this tree could still grow more leaves.
In typical lovely Steve fashion, he ended his video with a shoutout to both Ian and RMNB because he’s just the best.
“Before we wrap up this trade tree video, I want to give a huge shoutout to Ian Oland of Russian Machine Never Breaks,” he said. “Sometimes I need a little help in researching these trade trees and he was a huge help. One of the biggest Washington Capitals fans out there. RMNB is the best fan blog I can think of.”
Finally, here’s what Ian had to say about his contributions to the insanity that is this tree.
“One random day a few weeks ago, Steve texted me out of the blue asking me about Michal Neuvirth. Immediately I had flashbacks and thought he stumbled upon #TranslationGate, but it was actually because he created another one of his amazing Trade Trees,” he said. “I could not believe what this completely forgetable trade turned into. Steve was ecstatic when I told him Nathan Walker, one of the picks the Capitals ended up getting, had a role in them winning the Stanley Cup in 2018. It was such an honor to participate in this with him. Thanks, Steve. We all love you.”
Anyways, thank you, Completely Forgettable 2014 Trade Deadline Day Deal, for helping my favorite team win a championship.
