Tuesday marks the last occasion teams in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) can make their final moves of the season with the trading deadline.
Blockbuster trades at this time of year are common as teams across the country load up their rosters to make a run at the Memorial Cup.
On the weekend, the Kamloops Blazers made their expected big trade when they acquired Olen Zellweger and Ryan Hofer from Everett. The Silvertips received an attractive package from the Blazers, including ten draft picks with first-round picks in four consecutive drafts.
Even with the Blazers hosting the 2023 Memorial Cup, they will still look to add a league championship banner this spring but will face stiff competition from teams like Seattle and Portland.
The Regina Pats sit in the seventh spot heading into Tuesday’s action. They would hold the largest trade chip possible in Connor Bedard, but unless something changes in the final hours into the deadline, it appears that Bedard will remain in the Queen City.
If the current top scorer was available at the deadline, what kind of package would the Pats receive in return?
Here is a look at three significant trades in the history of the Canadian Hockey League and the effect they had on the teams involved in the transaction.
Eric Lindros
Eric Lindros was dubbed the “Next One” with his dominance in hockey at a young age compared to the “Great One,” Wayne Gretzky. With the hype surrounding Lindros heading into the 1988 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft, he was selected first overall by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
With the distance between the Soo and Toronto, Lindros and his family felt this education would be hampered if he decided to play with the Greyhounds. To illustrate his point, Lindros elected to spend two seasons in the North American Hockey League. The Greyhounds would soon grant the forward’s wish when they completed a trade with the Oshawa Generals.
In exchange for Lindros, Sault Ste. Marie received goalie Mike Lenarduzzi, forwards Jason Denomme and Mike DeCoff, a second-round pick in the 1991 OHL draft, a fourth-round pick in the 1992 OHL draft and up to $80,000.
The trade worked out for both sides. The Generals would win the OHL and Memorial Cup championships in 1990 with the “Big E” playing a huge role in the General’s success.
The move also paid dividends for the Greyhounds, led by head coach Ted Nolan, Sault. Ste. Marie claimed the back-to-back championships in 1991 and 1992, followed by a loss in the OHL Finals in 1993.
John Tavares
The Oshawa Generals were involved in another trade involving a teenage Canadian phenom in 2009 when they moved John Tavares. The first player who was granted exceptional status in the OHL was sent to the London Knights along with defenceman Michael Del Zotto and goalie Daryl Borden, the Generals would receive forward Christian Thomas, defenceman Scott Valentine, goalie Michael Zador along with four second-round draft picks and three third-round picks.
Even with the addition of Tavares and Del Zotto, the Knights were unable to get past the Windsor Spitfires in the 2009 OHL playoffs.
After missing the postseason in 2010, the Generals would finish in second place twice and in third spot on a pair of occasions before D.J. Smith took over the team and led them to a divisional title in 2014 before losing out in the third round of the OHL playoffs that season.
Leon Draisaitl
A Memorial Cup host was involved in another significant trade in the WHL in the 2014-15 season. After being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the third overall pick of the draft, Leon Draisaitl made the NHL team out of training camp. In his rookie season, the German struggled with only nine points over 37 games. Following being sent down by the Oilers, Draisaitl’s original WHL team, the Prince Albert Raiders traded him to the Kelowna Rockets. The Raiders received forward Kris Schmidli, defenceman Dalton Yorke and three draft picks including one first-round pick.
Kelowna benefited with Draisaitl on their roster as he was named the Memorial Cup MVP. The Rockets were defeated by the Oshawa Generals in the Memorial Cup Final that season.
It would take the Raiders some time before they would achieve some success of their own. Prince Albert would win the WHL championship in 2018-19.
For the teams that were on the selling end of the big trades, Sault Ste. Marie and Prince Albert would go on to win league championships with the Greyhounds enjoying immediate success while the Raiders experienced success a couple of years after their big moves were completed.
How would the Pats’ fortunes turn out if they decided to move Bedard? It looks like we will never know.
