Trades you thought were bad at the time, but turned out well

[SabresRule]

First,

I'd like to say that this is my last post on here for now. Tomorrow, I fly back home to Wisconsin with my family- tonight's my last night in California.

Anyway,

can you recall any trades that, when they went down, you thought it was a terrible trade, but it turned out that it was a good transaction after all?

For instance, I wasn't too happy at the time when my Sabres traded Phil Housley for Dale Hawerchuk. He was Buffalo's best defenseman and the Sabres already had some solid forwards.

However, a pair of 96 and 98 point seasons, as well as great on-ice chemistry with LaFontaine and Mogilny and Andreychuk made it seem a lot better.

(Still, Housley's three sensational seasons in Winnipeg makes me wonder what might have been...)

OTOH, Puppa and Andreychuk for Grant Fuhr is a trade I am STILL bitter about! :down:down!protest

 

[HD MM]

Yeah, I can think of one....

In 2002, the Indians traded our ace, Bartolo Colon, to the Expos for: Lee Stevens, Brandon Phillips and two throw-ins. Those two throw-ins turned out to be Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore! At the time, the city was devastated. This move was seen as a rebuilding sign. Something this town didn't want to see. It signaled an end to a multi-year run of success which dated back to the mid-90's.

The 2 main guys in the Trade never worked out for the Indians. Stevens never amounted to anything and Phillips didn't start off too well with the Tribe. Pillips has since been traded to the Reds and is having a good career now.

The 2 throw-ins (Lee and Sizemore) completely made this deal for the Indians. G.Size is one of our core guys and is an all-star center fielder in which we built the team around. Lee turned out to be a pretty decent pitcher himself! Thanks Expos!

 

[Jimbo]

Yeah, I can think of one....

In 2002, the Indians traded our ace, Bartolo Colon, to the Expos for: Lee Stevens, Brandon Phillips and two throw-ins. Those two throw-ins turned out to be Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore! At the time, the city was devastated. This move was seen as a rebuilding sign. Something this town didn't want to see. It signaled an end to a multi-year run of success which dated back to the mid-90's.

The 2 main guys in the Trade never worked out for the Indians. Stevens never amounted to anything and Phillips didn't start off too well with the Tribe. Pillips has since been traded to the Reds and is having a good career now.

The 2 throw-ins (Lee and Sizemore) completely made this deal for the Indians. G.Size is one of our core guys and is an all-star center fielder in which we built the team around. Lee turned out to be a pretty decent pitcher himself! Thanks Expos!

This is the one that first came to my mind too.

Did Manny leave Cleveland as a free agent, or was it a trade ?

 

[Skyhi]

Yeah, I can think of one....

In 2002, the Indians traded our ace, Bartolo Colon, to the Expos for: Lee Stevens, Brandon Phillips and two throw-ins. Those two throw-ins turned out to be Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore! At the time, the city was devastated. This move was seen as a rebuilding sign. Something this town didn't want to see. It signaled an end to a multi-year run of success which dated back to the mid-90's.

The 2 main guys in the Trade never worked out for the Indians. Stevens never amounted to anything and Phillips didn't start off too well with the Tribe. Pillips has since been traded to the Reds and is having a good career now.

The 2 throw-ins (Lee and Sizemore) completely made this deal for the Indians. G.Size is one of our core guys and is an all-star center fielder in which we built the team around. Lee turned out to be a pretty decent pitcher himself! Thanks Expos!

I agree.

Also: I was pretty upset when the traded Joe Carter for Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar Jr and Chris James.

 

[Skyhi]

This is the one that first came to my mind too.

Did Manny leave Cleveland as a free agent, or was it a trade ?

Free Agent. I'd still love to have him back....

 

[BillD1984]

Free Agent. I'd still love to have him back....

You can have him back and I'll drive.

 

[SabresRule]

Bill,

in your case,

I'd like to nominate the Bruins trading Barry Pederson for a future Hall of Famer.

 

[BillD1984]

Bill,

in your case,

I'd like to nominate the Bruins trading Barry Pederson for a future Hall of Famer.

Absolutely. Cam Neely was the face of the Bruins for years, and I'm convinced they would have won a Cup if Cam stayed healthy.


BTW, I liked Barry Pederson, but he was no Neely.

 

[BillD1984]

That reminds me of another Bruins heist. They traded goalie Ron Grahame to the Kings for a first round draft choice. The draft choice ended up being Ray Bourque.



Grahame had one great year with the Bruins, and was part of a three-headed goalie monster with Gilles Gilbert and Gerry Cheevers. It's the only year in my following the NHL that a team had in essense three #1 goalies ( two maybe, but not three). Anyways, the Bruins used this surplus to get what ended up being one of the greatest defensemen to ever lace up their skates.

 

[Ramy]

Larry Anderson for Jeff Bagwell.

 

[hockeynut5150]

You can have him back and I'll drive.

I'll pack his bags

 

[hockeynut5150]

the Bruins used this surplus to get what ended up being one of the greatest defensemen to ever lace up their skates.

The good old days, when Sinden still had his fastball

 

[BillD1984]

The good old days, when Sinden still had his fastball

Exactly. Harry was the Bruins version of Red Auerbach in those days.

 

[hockeynut5150]

Exactly. Harry was the Bruins version of Red Auerbach in those days.

that Cam Neely trade is still active today!

that 3rd pick we got back from Edmonton turned into Glen Wesley who in turn got us the picks to draft Sergei Samsonov and Kyle McLaren when the Whalers signed Wesley to an offer sheet. I believe the 2nd round pick that Samsonov brought back (along with Marty Reasoner and Yan Stasny) was used to draft Milan Lucic. Kyle McLaren was traded with a pick to SJ for Jeff Jillson (along with Jeff Hackett) which got us Brad Boyes who was traded to St. Louis for Dennis Wideman

 

[BillD1984]

that Cam Neely trade is still active today!

that 3rd pick we got back from Edmonton turned into Glen Wesley who in turn got us the picks to draft Sergei Samsonov and Kyle McLaren when the Whalers signed Wesley to an offer sheet. I believe the 2nd round pick that Samsonov brought back (along with Marty Reasoner and Yan Stasny) was used to draft Milan Lucic. Kyle McLaren was traded with a pick to SJ for Jeff Jillson (along with Jeff Hackett) which got us Brad Boyes who was traded to St. Louis for Dennis Wideman

That's right , I had forgotten about Wesley. Good call! :up

 

[HD MM]

You can have him back and I'll drive.

For whatever reason, I can't recall all the Manny drama when he was in Cleveland. Periodically, he was short with reporters, but as I remember him in a Tribe uniform, his antics were nothing like what I've seen from him in Boston.

A major reason I'm lead to believe in this change of character is that his head was HUGELY inflated by that enormous contract. When he was with the Tribe making "peanuts", he didn't know any better than to shut up and just play.

 

[BillD1984]

For whatever reason, I can't recall all the Manny drama when he was in Cleveland. Periodically, he was short with reporters, but as I remember him in a Tribe uniform, his antics were nothing like what I've seen from him in Boston.

A major reason I'm lead to believe in this change of character is that his head was HUGELY inflated by that enormous contract. When he was with the Tribe making "peanuts", he didn't know any better than to shut up and just play.

You're correct in that he's changed from his Cleveland days. A lot of it I lay at the feet of Red Sox management, Manny has had pretty much carte blanche since he came here in Dec. 2000. Then there's the fans who constantly make up excuses for him ("Manny Sycophants"). But now a lot of the fans are turning against him (granted not all....by a long shot) because of his latest shenanigans. I myself LOVED Manny at one time (equal to my feelings for Papi), but his antics definetly caught up with me.

 

[HD MM]

You're correct in that he's changed from his Cleveland days. A lot of it I lay at the feet of Red Sox management, Manny has had pretty much carte blanche since he came here in Dec. 2000. Then there's the fans who constantly make up excuses for him ("Manny Sycophants"). But now a lot of the fans are turning against him (granted not all....by a long shot) because of his latest shenanigans. I myself LOVED Manny at one time (equal to my feelings for Papi), but his antics definetly caught up with me.

It's a shame at what's become of Manny.

Early on in his career, he was a very promising player. You never heard any steroid talk surrounding him either. By strictly looking at numbers, Manny would be considered a HOFer. But these latest bouts of distractions take away from all of the good that he did for the game.

He just doesn't take the game serious. And that's ok to an extent, except for when it starts to reflect badly on your team, in which it has. Unfortunately, I don't see this ending well for either party....