So...to sum up...in the last 15 years the Bruins would overall get an A/A- on trades? I'll take that any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

I don't think anyone could make a case that the current regime has done a sub-par job on the trade front.

Drafting is a whole different ballgame.

 

Harry dismantled the 83' Bruins, Presidents trophy winners, pretty quickly because he didn't think that team was tough enough and that is why they got beat by the Islanders in 1983. Yah I know Ken Linesam was a fan favorite but Krushelnyski scored 43 goals in 85'. Fergus to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Bill Derlago was another 80's failure. McNab was traded to Vancouver for Jim Nill...like as in "Nil" for nothing.

However you have to take the good with the bad when it comes to Harry. Aquisitions of Ratelle and Middleton in the mid70s was complete thevory. As mentioned the tree, of eventual Boston players, out of the three picks that were eventually in Bruins uniforms out of the Wesley trade was another gem.

Park, Ratelle for Espo & Vadnais turned out pretty well.

 

Sheesh guys, modern times, not last century.  This is like history class fer Chrissakes.  Next you guys will be talking about the Christians and Lions and the deals Harry made in the Roman Colisseum.  Yes I know ice wasn't even invented then.  Yes I believe Harry is that old.

In response to BadHabitude's comment:

How old are you BadHab ??   Are you still a Teenager ??   I guess you have never seen Bobby Orr playing ??

In response to ProudBruinsfan's comment:

Older then old.

I think he once told Cassius Juvenicus to go storm Carthage.

Everyone has studiously avoided the worst deal of the last decade in terms of value for value - JT Superstar for three Rondelles.  And the subsequent management of the fallout by Chiarelli, which in many ways was how he started to carve out the team he wanted.  Stuart and Primeau for Kobasew and Ference is still paying dividends.  Boyes for Wideman - which once looked awful now looks pretty good with Boyes back to a depth scorer and Wideman the key piece in the Horton and Campbell acquisitions.  Mara for Ward worked out fantastically, and, in a minor move, Bochenski for Hnidy wasn't a terrible way to cut your losses.  That's a lot of dead weight moved for guys who've held value in later moves or who are still on the roster, and it created a bunch of room for Lucic and others to move into NHL jobs quickly.  And the team was almost instantly better - totally different vibe and culture if you believe the stories about this being one of the closest dressing rooms in the league.

Cooney Weiland traded to Boston from Minneapolis for cash

 

In response to ProudBruinsfan's comment:

Chowda is right.  I'm ancient.  I thought old fat bastards who told me how things were back in their day were obnoxious and boring.

I don't want to be one of them.

Yes.  I saw Orr play and he was incredible, but that was then and this is now.

That line made me laugh!  Nice analysis of more recent trades.  

In response to Bookboy007's comment:

In response to boborielly224's comment:

All time steal for Bruins.......Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge & Freddie Stanfield to the B's for Gilles Marotte, a young hard hitting d'man, Pit Martin-a decent center & Jack Norris-basically a minor league goaltender.

 

In response to StanleyCuptotheBruinsin2011's comment:

They called him "Harry Houdini" after those two.... He always said whoever go the best player, no matter how many were involved in a trade, won   

In response to SanDogBrewin's comment:

That was Cherry's quip on Coach's Corner the Sat nite after that trade - "Is that his name or the number of goals he's scored ?"

   

In response to Griswal65's comment:

Grapes got both right Gris!

Best B's trade ever... fleecing Chicago out of Esposito/Hodge/Stanfield

 

Worst B's trade ever... Ken Dryden to Montreal for uh... nobody?

In response to BadHabitude's comment:

 

 

Sheesh guys, modern times, not last century.  This is like history class fer Chrissakes.  Next you guys will be talking about the Christians and Lions and the deals Harry made in the Roman Colisseum.  Yes I know ice wasn't even invented then.  Yes I believe Harry is that old.

 

You don't remember the Bruins when Caligula was the GM:

 

Spartacus was our first line center/and cpt. with Priscus and Verus riding the wings.

2nd line was Triumphus,Spiculus and Tutuba

3rd line Tetriades,Nero, and Hilarus

4th line was Montanus, Crescene and Hierocles

d men were Mariatianus, Retiarus, Priscus, Raecius (won the James Norris trophy 12 years in a row but then he under perform one season and was beheaded).

We can't forget our Vezina trophy winner Verus

The bruins use to have a 6 man d  until a brawl started and tow of d men were killed, Caligula could not make a trade because the trade deadline was over past the date. But the bruins did win the first Stanley Cup. Verus our goalie held up the cup with only one arm.

I am very shock you do not remember that season.

I feel like I just read a portion of the script for "History of the World Part I"...

Surprised I haven't seen anyone mention Samsonov for Reasoner, Yan Stastny and the 2006 50th pick, Milan Lucic. (BTW, Samsonov was part of the Wesley trade, and Wesley of course came over in the Neely trade - 27 years later and that trade is still paying dividends)

Are there any other cool connections like that? Like was it the B's actual pick that got Kessel? Or was it a pick that came by way of trade? That could be fun to trace back :)

In response to lambda13's comment:

 

Are there any other cool connections like that? Like was it the B's actual pick that got Kessel? Or was it a pick that came by way of trade? That could be fun to trace back :)

 

There's a long and winding one that I can think of - The Bruins got Horton and Campbell for Wideman plus picks; They got Wideman for Boyes; They got Boyes for Jilson; They got Jilson for McClaren; they got McClaren for Wesley; and they got Wesley for Barry Pederson.

So that's three current Bruins roster players whose trade lineage can in some way still be traced back to the Pederson for Neely/Wesley trade.

I thought Samsonov to Edm. for a package that led to Lucic was covered - no one bothered to mention Reasoner.

I'd say we came out ahead in the Bitz + second rd pick for Seidenberg deal.

In response to SoxFanInIL's comment:

You can't forget how the B's also "gave away" Reggie Leach, Rick Macleish, Dan Bouchard,  Doug Favell & BERNIE PARENT!! 

Expansion probably cost the Bruins of the Orr era the kind of decade that the Scabs had in the 70s.  That and Orr's injuries.  But imagine the impact not just of the Bruins having Dryden and Parent, but the Shabs and Philly not having them.  From 1970-74, the Bruins won, lost to Dryden, won, lost to Chicago who then lost to Montreal, and then lost to Parent.  Parent won the Smythe again in 1975, and then Dryden and the Scabs dominated even though Leach scored his playoff record 19 goals in 1976.

Just crazy to think about what might have been if Philly hadn't raided the Bruin cupboards and if all of those players had stayed in Boston.