New Jersey Devils: 5 Historic Trades To Base Taylor Hall Deal On

Marian Hossa Trade

This one will sound familiar to the New Jersey Devils general manager. Ray Shero pulled off this blockbuster when he was running the Pittsburgh Penguins, but he was on the side of getting a superstar. Minutes before the end of the 2008 NHL Trade Deadline, Shero brought Marian Hossa to the Penguins for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, highly regarded prospect Angelo Esposito and a 1st-round pick. Pascal Dupuis also went to Pittsburgh.

Armstrong ended up being a player who filled out a roster spot, and was alright for Atlanta for three years. Erik Christensen was a bottom of the roster player for them. Angelo Esposito was a major bust. He scored 98 points in Juniors the year before the trade. He scored 79 the year of the trade, and 69 the year after. He actually never made it to the NHL, showing that scouts were very wrong about him.

With the 1st-round pick, the Thrashers took Daultan Leveille. He’s another player that never made it to the NHL. That same draft, the Thrashers took Zach Bogosian before Alex Pietrangelo, Erik Karlsson, John Carlson, Michael Del Zotto, Jake Gardiner and Tyler Myers. That’s just defensemen. It has nothing to do with the trade, just shows the incompetence of this franchise before they moved to Winnipeg.

The Devils would be very upset if this was the return they got. Three years after the trade, the Thrashers had nothing to show for this trade. This is the type of trade that gets GMs fired. Luckily, the man fleecing the other team was Shero himself, so we won’t have to worry about that.