Wayne Gretzky with Gordie Howe (AP Photo)
When Los Angeles Kings fans think of great trades in team history, one easily dwarfs all the rest. But while the August 1988 deal that brought Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles from Edmonton not only changed the course of hockey history, both in Los Angeles and the entire league, forever, it was a deal made during the off-season.
So as the March 4th NHL Trade Deadline approaches and we wait to see if the Kings will be buyers or sellers, it got us thinking about the five greatest in-season trades in Kings history. And the common thread among them was not any instant success, but rather helping build towards future success for the team.
March 10, 1980 – Acquired Billy Harris and Dave Lewis from the New York Islanders for Butch Goring. Sure, most Islander fans will say that this is one of the five best in their team history, as Goring was a key member of four consecutive Stanley Cup championships. Still, the acquisition of Lewis is important in Kings history if only because it was he that drew the five-minute major penalty on Edmonton’s Garry Unger in the famous Miracle on Manchester game in the 1982 playoffs. Trailing 5-3 with five minutes left in regulation time, the Kings scored twice to finish a 5-goal third period flurry that the Kings eventually won 6-5 in overtime.
February 3, 1989 – Acquired Kelly Hrudey from the New York Islanders for Mark Fitzpatrick, Wayne McBean and future considerations. The deal allowed the Kings to upset Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs that season, but like two other deals listed here, was a major reason for their biggest season of success. Hrudey was a key figure between the pipes, backstopping the Kings during their 1993 run to the Stanley Cup finals.
January 20, 1990 – Acquired Tony Granato and Tomas Sandstrom from the New York Rangers for Bernie Nicholls. Even though Nicholls had scored a career-high 60 goals the previous season, the Kings doubled their pleasure by acquiring two solid forwards to bolster their scoring options. And both paid dividends for the Kings during the 1993 playoff run.
February 15, 2001 – Acquired Felix Potvin from Vancouver for future considerations. See next paragraph.
February 21, 2001 - Acquired Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, two picks and a player to be named from Colorado for Rob Blake. While the Colorado Avalanche would go onto win the Stanley Cup later that spring, thanks in part to the play of Blake, they also were given a great assist by the Kings upsetting Detroit in the first round. Potvin was outstanding in goal during that series, and Deadmarsh and Miller provided necessary sparks at both ends of the ice to help propel the Kings to their last playoff series triumph.
For more info: Be sure to check out NHL.com for all the latest trade news. Later this month, we'll review 5 trades the Kings wish they could have had back.
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