The 5 worst trades of 2014

Let’s face it. Not every trade works out well for both teams. Sometimes one team ends up with a valuable piece to their team, while the other is left scratching their heads wondering what went wrong. Whether it is because a player is disgruntled, or GM’s are looking to dump salary, at times a great player can be traded for very little in return. In any case, some trades end up very lopsided. These are the worst trades we saw in 2014. The Buffalo Sabres trade Thomas Vanek to the New York Islanders for Matt Moulson, a conditional 2014 1st round draft pick, and a 2015 2nd round draft pick. With Tomas Vanek wanting out of Long Island and the Islanders season all but over, Islanders GM Garth Snow was hoping to get the most he could for Vanek at the 2014 trade deadline. Unfortunately for the Islanders the market for Vanek’s services was slim. There just did not seem to be that much interest at the time. Snow traded Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens at the last minute for what turned out to be Swedish prospect Sebastian Collberg. Although it does not seem that lopsided of a trade, whn you consider what the Islanders gave up to bring Vanek to Long Island (Matt Moulson, a conditional 2014 1st round draft pick, and a 2015 2nd round draft pick), that is a lot to give up with very little in return. Edmonton trades Sam Gagner to Tampa Bay in exchange for Teddy Purcell. After Gagner played out his four-year extension with the Oilers, it was becoming apparent that Gagner was not going to help the team improve very much. GM Craig MacTavish moved the 25-year old to Tampa Bay in exchange for Teddy Purcell in June. Gagner was a member of the Lightning for a meagre two hours before being traded again to the Arizona Coyotes for a 6th round pick. Both teams could have gotten more for Gagner, as both the Coyotes and Oilers failed to make their teams better in these trades. They currently occupy the NHL’s two last places. The Vancouver Canucks trade Roberto Luongo (and Steven Anthony) to the Florida Panthers for forward Shawn Matthias and goaltender Jacob Markstrom. The Vancouver Canucks found themselves with two very capable goaltenders in Roberto Luongo and Corey Schneider. They only had the opportunity to keep one of them. In the end, they messed this up so badly they ended up with none of them. Vancouver GM Mike Gillis pulled off a shocking trade at the 2013 NHL Draft by trading Cory Schneider, not Roberto Luongo, to the New Jersey Devils. It seemed as though the Canucks were stuck with Luongo’s enormous contract through 2022. Well apparently not as Gillis would shock the hockey world once again at the 2014 trade deadline by trading Luongo (and Steven Anthony) to the Florida Panthers for forward Shawn Matthias and goaltender Jacob Markstrom. Moving Luongo’s huge contract only made sense a few months earlier when they still had Corey Schneider on the payroll. For some reason they felt the need to trade both of them, leaving them with just Markstrom and Eddie Lack to backstop the Canucks. This series of moves forced Vancouver into signing Ryan Miller and a three-year, $18 million contract. And it ultimately cost Gillis his job. Flyers acquire Andrew Macdonald from the New York Islanders for two draft picks Although Andrew Macdonald was not considered a premier blueliner in the NHL, his contract was about up in Long Island and the consensus was that a team would want to sign him. The Philadelphia Flyers saw MacDonald as an upgrade to their defence corp, so they sent two draft picks to the Islanders and planned on signing the 28-year old to a long-term deal. The Flyers then locked up MacDonald with a six-year, $30 million contract. MacDonald and his defence partner Luke Schenn combine to make $8.6 million, annually. They are one of the worst defensive pairings in the NHL this season and the Flyers defence remains as porous as it was last season. The Colorado Avalanche trade P.A. Parenteau to the Montreal Canadiens for Daniel Briere The Colorado Avalanche sent two years of P.A. Parenteau at $4 million per to the Montreal Canadiens for one year of Daniel Briere at the same price. The Canadiens appear to be the winners in this deal as Parenteau has been playing on a top line with Max Pacioretty and Briere has had difficulty remaining relevant on the Avalanche. Parenteau is still a very useful and effective player who’s 31-years old. Briere is a 37-year old, one-dimensional player who’s not really worthy of a regular spot in an NHL lineup anymore. Briere has spent most of his time in the press-box this year.