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

Teemu Selanne Trade

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim broke up the dynamic duo of Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya when they sent him to the San Jose Sharks for center Jeff Friesen, goaltender Steve Shields and a conditional 2nd-round draft pick. Friesen, the biggest name in the trade, was on the Devils a season and a half later.

Steve Shields played one season in Anaheim before bouncing around the league until his career ended a few seasons later.

Selanne spent parts of three seasons in San Jose before leaving. He was alright with San Jose, but he watched his old team, the Ducks, go to the Stanley Cup finals two seasons later. He left the Sharks the year after.

This trade shows a winger being traded in his prime. The Ducks were looking for more NHL players in a return, and if the Devils wanted something similar, this is what it would look like. Getting multiple NHL players in exchange for a superstar usually works out like this. To get the best possible return, the team giving up the superstar has to take chances on players that haven’t made the NHL. Once they make it to the league, they’ve established their worth for the most part.

This probably won’t be like the Hall trade, because Shero is going to be looking towards the future. The Devils have nothing to play for this season. Selanne went to the Sharks, and things didn’t go the way we thought. The Sharks won the trade, but it’s nothing to really brag about.