5 Best Trades in Dallas Stars History

I thought while I have hockey on my mind that perhaps I could share a sports discussion I had in my head Tuesday night during the first period of the game. I was marvelling at one of my current hockey fascinations, Mike Ribeiro, and once again pondered the absurd fleecing the Stars (Doug Armstrong, in particular) put on the Montreal Canadians (Bob Gainey, in particular) in the trade that brought the Stars their best offensive player all 3 seasons he has played in Dallas. Where would they be without that deal?

Here are the stats for the Stars' leading scorers since the start of the 2006 when the Ribeiro trade was made:

Player	Games	Points
Ribeiro	230	210
Modano	212	144
Morrow	140	120
Eriksson	201	107
Lehtinen	160	103

Table Tutorial

He is absolute proof that the "change of scenery" theory has some validity.

So, I grabbed a media guide and every time there was a stoppage in play, I decided to put together my list of best trades in Dallas Stars History:

1) June 22, 1996 - Stars Acquired D Sergei Zubov from Pittsburgh for D Kevin Hatcher - This one is pretty much locked in at the top. Zubov is going to the Hall, #56 is going to the rafters, and Kevin Hatcher really gave nothing after the trade.

2) September 30, 2006 - Stars Acquired C Mike Ribeiro and a 2008 6th round pick from Montreal in exchange for D Janne Niinimaa and a 2007 5th round pick. - The modern day fleecing that will always be one of my favorites. To get anything for Janne is amazing. To get a #1 Center is beyond amazing. Holy Cow.

3) October 2, 1995 - Stars Acquired C Guy Carbonneau from St Louis for RW Paul Broten. - Once again, Guy was such a huge part of this franchise and its cup. And they got him for almost nothing.

4) March 24, 1998 - Stars Acquired RW Mike Keane, C Brian Skrudland, and a conditional pick from the Rangers for LW Bob Errey, RW Todd Harvey, and a 1998 4th round pick. - Could this team have won the cup without Keane and Skrudland? Maybe. But, Keane's Game 7 in the 1999 Western Finals is reason enough to make this trade a worthy one.

5) March 10, 2003 - Stars Acquired C Stu Barnes from Buffalo for C Mike Ryan and a 2003 2nd round pick. 330 games from Stu for Mike Ryan? Sold.

Honorable Mention:

December 12, 2005 - Stars Acquired LW Niklas Hagman from Florida for a 2007 7th round pick.

February 17, 1996 - Stars Acquired D Darryl Sydor and a 1996 5th round pick from Los Angeles for RW Shane Churla and D Doug Zmolek.

January 22, 2000 - Stars Acquired LW Scott Thornton from Montreal for LW Juha Lind.

October 4, 2003 - Stars Acquired D Stephane Robidas from Atlanta for future considerations.

What say you?

Update: I have received a fair amount of feedback about my omission of both the Joe Nieuwendyk/Jarome Iginla trade and the Brad Richards deal. The fact is, I am to blame for not at least explaining my rationale during the blog entry. I have a rationale for not putting them on the list, but I need to explain it.

The Nieuwendyk trade is one of the most famous in franchise history, and to acquire a guy who goes on to win the Conn Smythe for you is absolutely a wonderful deal. However, if Jarome Iginla was kept, does he become a league MVP here? If so, does that bring cups? I guess my thought on that deal was it was a great deal for each team. Therefore to count it as a “win” for the Stars, you must also count it as a “loss” for Calgary. Both teams would do the same trade over again in a heart-beat, which makes a great distinction from the trades included on the list.

As for the Brad Richards deal, I think the Stars did a very nice job here, and it already paid off nicely in the 2008 playoffs, but I would like to see what Mike Smith in particular does before we render a verdict on the outcome of the deal from a historical perspective.