How New Jersey Devils Turned Jason Arnott Into Shakir Mukhamadullin

On January 4th, 1998, the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers made a deal that fit both teams. The Devils traded Stanley Cup Championship duo Bill Guerin and Valeri Zelepukin to the Oilers in exchange for Jason Arnott and Bryan Muir. The trade was a “change of scenery” type of deal that both clubs thought would benefit the players involved.

According to an article in the Edmonton Journal, Guerin believed his relationship with then-general manager Lou Lamoriello soured. Guerin wanted more money in his salary after scoring 29 goals in 1996-97. Arnott was the runner-up in the Calder Trophy voting to Devils legend Martin Brodeur in 1993-94 after scoring 33 goals and 68 points. However, he didn’t break the 30-goal plateau again in Edmonton.

The two sides made a deal that would see the two young forwards in new cities. One was trying to reignite his scoring touch, while the other wanted a new management and coaching staff. Glenn Sather and Lamoriello did not expect the deal they made in 1998 would stretch all the way to the year 2020. How does the trade back on January 4th, 1998 trace all the way to the Devils’ current roster today? One clue, the Devils took him as a Russian defenseman just a few months ago.

There are a few big moves to make before we get there, but it all connects. This trade also, somehow unbelievably, ties to the Rangers trading for Jaromir Jagr in 2004 and the Oilers trading for Chris Pronger in 2005. So hop on down the rabbit hole and see how many deals we can connect along the way. We’ll do this in the same vein as the trade trees that Steve Dangle is famous for.

First, the original Arnott trade went very well for the Devils. Arnott wouldn’t find the same scoring touch he had during his rookie season, however, his playmaking abilities fit perfectly on this Devils team. He had 15 points in 35 games after the midseason trade. The next season, he had 54 points in an offensive system that was historically known for not having players with high point totals. After that, he was put together with what would become one of the most iconic lines in Devils history. With Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora, the ‘A’ Line spearheaded an attack that would see one Stanley Cup championship and going to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final the next season.

Arnott was hurt for a good chunk of the 2000-01 season but was still a point per game player for Larry Robinson. The next year, the Devils struggled and Lamoriello thought that the ‘A’ Line took center stage more than the team itself. Lamoriello pulled the trigger on another deal that would send a Stanley Cup champion to another market to try and make his team better. But more on that deal later. The other piece the Devils got in the original Arnott trade was defenseman Bryan Muir. Muir played one game with the Devils and played only ten minutes. Muir was traded the next season. How did it pay off for the Oilers?

Oilers Side of the Trade Tree and Subsequent Deals Pt. 1

The main piece the Oilers got in return for Arnott was the then 27-year-old Bill Guerin. Guerin would play 211 games with the Oilers and score 161 points. He would hit 30 goals for the first time in his career in the 1998-99 season. The team didn’t find any success as a whole and his Oiler career wasn’t as long as some might of hoped. He only played in two full seasons with the Oilers before being traded to the Boston Bruins. He would win another Stanley Cup later on in his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins and retire at the age of 39.

The other piece of the trade was Zelepukin. The Russian forward started hot in New Jersey but cooled off immediately after the Stanley Cup victory in 1995. Zelepukin had 152 points in his first three seasons. He only played four games in 1994-95 after a freak injury. In the next three seasons, he had only 53 points in 132 games. He was thrown in as a player who needed a change of scenery. Zelepukin played just half of the season with the Oilers before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. His leg of the trade tree ends quickly. Zelepukin played two seasons in Philadelphia was dealt for Daniel Lacroix. Lacroix played four games with the Oilers and left in free agency in August of 1999.

Guerin has a lot more attached to him. He was traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a 1st-round pick, a 2nd-round pick, and Anson Carter. Guerin would set a career high in goals in 2001-02 with 41, then leave in free agency the following season. Meanwhile, the 1st-round pick turned into Ales Hemsky and the 2nd-round pick became Doug Lynch.

Ales Hemsky played 652 games and scored 477 points with the Oilers over the span of ten and a half seasons. He was one of the most well-known Oilers of the decade. He was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2014 for a 5th-round pick and a 2015 3rd-round pick. The 5th-round pick became Liam Coughlin who spent last season in the ECHL. The 3rd-round pick was packaged along with two other picks to the New York Rangers when the Oilers traded for goaltender Cam Talbot. Talbot was traded to the Flyers in 2019 after three and a half seasons with the Oilers in exchange for another goalie, Anthony Stolarz.

Oilers Side of the Trade Tree and Subsequent Deals Pt. 2

Doug Lynch is definitely not a name that should jump out of the page for you. Unless you are a fan of the St. Louis Blues, this is probably the first time you are hearing his name. Lynch only played two games in the NHL, both with the Edmonton Oilers. Lynch was then traded along with Eric Brewer and Jeff Woywitka to the St. Louis Blues for former league MVP Chris Pronger. Woywitka played 152 games with the Blues before signing with the Dallas Stars. Brewer would play 332 games with the Blues becoming a solid piece of their blueline. Later, Brewer was dealt by the Blues to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Brock Beukeboom and a 3rd-round pick. Beukeboom never made it to the NHL. Interestingly enough, the Blues used that 3rd-round pick on a goaltender by the name of Jordan Binnington.

The third piece the Oilers got for trading Guerin to the Bruins was the 1st-round pick that turned into Anson Carter. Carter played 211 games with the Oilers and scored 69 goals from 2000-01 to 2002-03. The Oilers traded Carter to the New York Rangers on March 11th, 2003 along with Ales Pisa in exchange for Cory Cross and Radek Dvorak. Cross played 113 games with the Oilers and was packaged with Jani Rita to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Dick Tarnstrom. All small names, but a part of this tree.

Carter would play just 54 games with the Rangers. The Rangers then sent him to the Washington Capitals for superstar Jaromir Jagr. Jagr’s full salary was deemed a big enough price to pay to take on instead of players and prospects. Jagr would terrorize Devils fans until he left for Russia in 2008. Carter played 38 games with the Capitals before being traded to the Kings for Jared Aulin. Carter didn’t score a goal in 15 games with the Kings before signing with the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent. Aulin never played a game with the Capitals, thus ending the Oilers’ side of the trade tree.

Devils Side of the Trade Tree and Subsequent Deals Pt. 1

We have already covered what Jason Arnott did his first time around with the Devils immediately after the trade from the Edmonton Oilers. We all know what happens next. He scored a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2000. He wasn’t able to stay healthy the following season, and he was eventually traded to Dallas in 2002. But if you stop and look at it, that trade with the Stars has reach far beyond its original intention. Before we get to that, we should talk about Bryan Muir and his contribution to the Devils. Spoiler alert, it is not much.

Muir didn’t play a game with the Devils during the rest of the 1997-98 season. He then played a singular game in the 1998-99 season. Lamoriello traded Muir to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a 3rd-round pick in the 2000 draft. The Devils used that pick on Mike Rupp. Rupp would famously score the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Final. Rupp would then be dealt to the Phoenix Coyotes along with a 2004 2nd-round pick for Jan Hrdina. Hrdina played 13 games with the Devils before leaving in free agency to the Blue Jackets.

Muir played 64 games with the Blackhawks before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning with Reid Simpson in exchange for Michael Nylander, William and Alex’s father. Simpson left Tampa Bay for St. Louis in free agency. Nylander was traded after 239 games with the Blackhawks to the Washington Capitals with a draft pick for Chris Simon and Andrei Nikolishin. The draft pick would become Stephen Werner who never made it to the NHL. Chris Simon left Chicago in free agency. He would become to be more well known for cross checking Ryan Hollweg in the face. Nikolishin was later traded to the Colorado Avalanche in return for a draft pick that became Mitch Maunu, who also never played a game in the NHL.

Before returning to New Jersey in 2006, Rupp was dealt by the Coyotes along with Cale Hulse and Jason Chimera to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Geoff Sanderson and Tim Jackman. Hulse played a few games for the Blue Jackets before being traded to the Calgary Flames for Cam Severson, who has no relation to Damon. Chimera was dealt to the Capitals for Milan Jurcina and Chris Clark. Neither of them was traded. Chimera left the Capitals to join the New York Islanders in free agency. Tim Jackman was traded to Los Angeles for Yanick Lehoux, who was never traded again.  Geoff Sanderson left in free agency to join the Philadelphia Flyers. Interestingly, Sanderson is the second father of players drafted into the NHL on this side of the tree.