It is only natural that for something as complex the draft or the trade market, some deals will be sensible, others head scratching, some will be diamonds in the rough, while a few others will just be straight up busts.
The NHL has had its share of all of those and since success never really goes unnoticed, here are some the deals that have gone the other way; the draft and trade deals that just didn’t work out for teams.
5 of the worst deals in the past few years
Capitals trade for Martin Erat, 2013
In 2013, the Capitals traded their 11th pick of the draft, Filip Fosberg, to the Nashville Predators for right wing Martin Erat and center, Michael Latta. This was a terrible deal for both teams, but more so for the Capitals who were counting on Erat’s experience and got only two goals in 62 games in return.
New York Islanders trade for Thomas Vanek, 2013
Vanek was traded to the Islanders and he scored 44 points in 47 games, that now is not a bad thing. What soured this move was that the Islanders and Vanek were not on the same page, they were rebuilding, not aiming for the playoffs and Vanek didn’t have the patience for it and was heading to free agency. To salvage the situation, the Islanders traded him to the Montreal Canadiens in a hasty deal that was nowhere close to the value of Vanek.
Vancouver Canucks trading Cory Schneider to the Devils, 2013
Cory Schneider would easily rank as one of the top 10 goaltenders in the league (a few years back)and Roberto Luongo is a steady hand too, but both players were traded by the Canucks with no real look at the big picture, which as it turned out, showed they had no proper backup plan.
Boston Bruins trade Dougie Hamilton to Calgary Flames, 2015
After the Dougie Hamilton trade, the Bruins were crawling through the league looking to add depth to a largely undermanned defense, which made us wonder why they traded Hamilton in the first place.
Florida Panthers let go Jonathan Marchessault in expansion draft, 2017/18
The Panthers exposed Jonathan Marchessault in the expansion draft and did the Vegas Golden Knights hit a home run with him. The Panthers then traded Reilly Smith for a fourth round pick from the Golden Knights.
The Panthers missed the playoffs, and the Golden Knights almost made it the perfect fairytale ending and guess which two guys led them.
5 draft busts in the past few years
Jake Virtanen, 6th overall by the Vancouver Canucks
17 goals in 140 NHL games tells the story of the Canucks and Virtanen, who passed up on William Nylander in 2014 to pick Virtanen who was fresh off a great season with the Hitmen. We can’t really fault the Canucks for their choice, Virtanen was projected for much more but it just hasn’t happened.
Michael Dal Colle, 5th overall by the New York Islanders
The New York Islanders drafted a 5th overall pick who has played only 4 games for them since his draft in 2014 and is still to standout during his time down with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Connor Bleackley, 23rd overall by the Colorado Avalanche
Connor Bleackley is still to play an NHL game since his draft in 2014 and had to eventually re-enter the draft in 2016 when the Avalanche didn’t sign him to an entry level contract He was picked in the fifth round by the St. Louis Blues.
Josh Norris, 19th overall by the San Jose Sharks
This is considered a draft mistake by the San Jose Sharks largely because they passed up on Robert Thomas, who is already showing the Blues he is meant for the NHL, while Norris plays for the University of Michigan in the Big-10.
Juuso Valimaki, 16th overall by Calgary Flames
On a team stacked with Dougie Hamilton, Travis Hamonic, Mark Giordano, and T.J Brodie, it is hard to fathom why the Flames went for another defenseman with their pick when it is clear that their most pressing need is offense after their bottom five finish amongst goal scoring in the league. Valimaki is not a terrible player, but the Flames could have been smarter.
While many people may not agree with this list, I believe these misses and busts were defining moves for the respective teams and ultimately dealt them a blow to whatever ambitions or plans they had.
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