8 Times NHL Stars Forced Trades Out of Town

The NHL offseason is over, and the regular season is on the horizon. That said, we have a unique situation surrounding two superstars. Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck isn’t reporting to camp and the Detroit Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin reported but definitely would like to find a new home.

With the specter of those two potentially big deals hanging out there, it would make for a fun exercise to think back on some of the biggest forced trades we have seen in the NHL. There are way more to speak of, but these eight resonated with their respective fanbases for a litany of reasons.

Chris Pronger, Edmonton Oilers

After nine seasons with the St. Louis Blues, Pronger arrived in Edmonton following the 2004-05 lockout and helped lead the team to a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final. He then blindsided the team and city with a request out of town.

He was vilified for it at the time, and a half-hearted explanation recently didn’t help to quell those feelings. It also doesn’t feel great for Oilers fans that he won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks the very next season. The return of Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa, two first-round picks (John Moore and Emerson Etem) didn’t exactly assuage those feelings, either.

Eric Lindros, Quebec Nordiques

This is probably the example everyone thinks of when it comes to famous forced trades. The Nordiques made Lindros the first overall pick in 1991, and he refused to report even after being offered a historic $50 million contract.

Lindros sat out a full year and then was involved in one of the craziest sagas in NHL history in which he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers, with the former’s offer being approved because their deal was agreed to first. The Nordiques received Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, Steve Duschene, Kerry Huffman, Chris Simon, two first-round picks, and $15 million in cash.

The Nordiques would move to Denver and win a pair of Cups with Forsberg as a franchise cornerstone. Lindros had an eventful career in Philadelphia before it turned ugly and he again had to force his way out – this time to the New York Rangers.

Pavel Bure, Vancouver Canucks

Things were already contentious well before they came to a head in 1998, Bure supposedly holding out during the 1994 playoffs. After multiple disputes over a new contract, Bure sat at home for nearly half of the 1998-99 season before being dealt to the Florida Panthers with Bret Hedican and Brad Ference for Ed Jovanovski, Mike Brown, Dave Gagner, Kevin Weekes, and a first-round pick.

Bure went on to have seasons of 58 and 59 goals before knee injuries derailed his career. Like Lindros, he was also dealt to the Rangers, though he played just 51 games (scoring 31 goals) before the aforementioned knee injuries finally put the nail in his career coffin.

Bryan Berard, Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators of the mid-1990s were not exactly a beacon of stability as a franchise. When they sent Berard, the first overall pick in the 1995 NHL Draft, back to junior he decided that he wasn’t on board with the direction they were going.

Berard, Don Beaupre, and Martin Straka went to the New York Islanders for Wade Redden and Damian Rhodes. It worked out for both sides, though Berard never quite lived up to his lofty status as the first overall pick, though an eye injury played a role.

Keith Tkachuk, Phoenix Coyotes

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Tkachuk was eventually moved to the St. Louis Blues. He held out in 1997 and once again the following year, incurring suspensions from the team in both cases. When he was moved to St. Louis for Michal Handzus, Ladislav Nagy, the rights to Jeff Taffe, and a 2002 first-round pick (Ben Eager), it allowed both parties to move on.

Tkachuk was very good in St. Louis, averaging just short of a point per game and scoring 31 goals or more in all three full seasons. He didn’t last all that long, however; he was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers during the 2006-07 season, though he did return to St. Louis the following season.

Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens

The writing may have been on the wall regarding a trade out of Montreal before it actually happened, but the story itself is one of legend. After getting shelled against the Detroit Red Wings, Roy walked past Montreal management and vowed he’d played his last game for the bleu, blanc, et rouge. Four days later, he was dealt in one of the worst moves in NHL history.

Trading a franchise icon, one who had a massive hand in the team’s last two Stanley Cup wins, hurt enough. Getting a return of Andrei Kovalenko, Martin Rucinsky, and Jocelyn Thibault back hurt even worse. Seeing him win a pair of Stanley Cups in Colorado, winning his third Conn Smythe Trophy along the way, may have hurt worst of all.

Alexei Yashin, Ottawa Senators

Yashin’s entire tenure in Ottawa was weird with contract disputes to start. He rounded into form, even finishing as the runner-up to Dominik Hasek for the Hart Trophy in 1998-99. He sat out 1999-00 and returned in 2000-01 before ultimately getting his wish, going to the Islanders for Bill Muckalt, Zdeno Chara, and the second overall pick in 2001 (Jason Spezza).

Yashin had a good first season on Long Island with 32 goals and 75 points, but it was all downhill from there. Add in one of the worst contracts in NHL history and the entire ordeal turned into one of the greatest disasters of all-time.

Dany Heatley, Ottawa Senators

Heatley had been a stud for the Senators, logging a pair of 50 goal, 100-point seasons coming out of the lockout. By the time he finished the 2008-09 season, however, he was unhappy with what he felt like was a diminishing role. As a result, he was moved to the San Jose Sharks for Jonathan Cheechoo, Milan Michalek, and a 2010 second-round pick (Kent Simpson).

The trade was largely a bust for the Senators, but the Sharks really only got one good season out of Heatley before turning around and dealing him to the Minnesota Wild for Martin Havlat prior to the 2011-12 season. It was one of those deals where both sides didn’t really win or lose.

Will Larkin and Hellebuyck Deliver in Their New Homes?

Time will tell if and when the two are traded. When they arrive in their new home, will they manage to deliver results like Roy or will it end in heartbreak like Heatley and Lindros? Both the Jets and Red Wings have the unenviable task of trying to gain a significant enough return to keep them off one of these lists.