NHL Trade Deadline: Turning Draft Picks Into Super Stars

There have been a number of notable trades made at the trade deadline featuring draft picks that would turn into star players.

March 10, 1980 – The L.A. Kings trade a 1st round draft pick to Buffalo to land veteran defenseman Jerry Korab. Buffalo used the 1st round pick to acquire Phil Housley.

March 10, 1981 – A year later Los Angeles Kings obtained veteran winger Rick Martin from Buffalo 1st round pick two years down the road. In 1983 the Sabres selected Tom Barrasso.

March 23, 1995 – The Rangers complete a package deal with Hartford sending Pat Verbeek to New York. The Whalers landed Jean-Sebastien Giguere with the 1995 draft pick included in the package.

March 24, 1998 – Tampa Bay traded veteran defenders Bryan Marchment and David Shaw to San Jose for tough guy Andrei Nazarov and a 1st round draft choice in the 1998. That pick turned out to be #1 overall, and was used to select none other than Vincent Lecavalier.

March 24, 1998 – On the same day Tampa Bay obtained RW Sandy McCarthy, a third-round draft pick in 1998 and a fifth-round choice from Calgary for Jason Weimer. The 3rd round pick was used to select Brad Richards.

March 23, 1999 – Buffalo obtained a fifth-round pick and D Rhett Warrener from Florida for a guy named Mike Wilson. Warrener became a dependable rearguard, while the draft pick was used to select goaltender Ryan Miller.

March 13, 2001 – Los Angeles made up for the trades 20 years earlier, obtaining Adam Mair and a second-round pick in the 2001 Entry Draft from Toronto for Aki Berg. Mike Cammalleri was selected with the draft choice.