The 10 Worst King Trades

The NHL trading deadline passed last week and King fans breathed deep sighs of relief. Considering some of their moves, perhaps the best King trade is no trade at all.

Not included in this list of 10 worst are trades involving only draft picks, of which there have been plenty. The Kings, in fact, have thrown away first-round picks in droves. Some of them became Ray Bourque, Phil Housley and Tom Barrasso. But then, it can be argued that the King scouting staff might not have had the foresight to draft these eventual All-Stars.

More often than not, the Kings have been victimized in dealings with Pittsburgh and Buffalo. Beware of Penguins and Sabres bearing gifts.

* 1. Alexei Zhitnik, Robb Stauber and Charlie Huddy to Buffalo for Grant Fuhr, Philippe Boucher and Denis Tsygurov, Feb. 14, 1995. (General Manager Sam McMaster). The initial thought was to wait and then judge it. But it takes only one sip of wine to see that this bottle is bad. Garcon, send it back.

* 2. Butch Goring to the New York Islanders for Billy Harris and Dave Lewis, March 10, 1980. (George Maguire). The enormously popular Goring can spend his time counting his Stanley Cup rings--four--thanks to this move.

* 3. Paul Coffey, Jim Hiller and Sylvain Couturier to Detroit for Jimmy Carson, Gary Shuchuk and Marc Potvin, Jan. 29, 1993. (Nick Beverley). Where’s Jimmy? Two teams later, he’s in Hartford, and Coffey remains a dazzling, offensive force with the Red Wings.

* 4. Rights to Kevin Stevens to Pittsburgh for Anders Hakansson, Sept. 9, 1983. (Maguire). By George, Maguire was a master at trading away future All-Stars.

* 5. Larry Murphy to Washington for Brian Engblom and Ken Houston, Oct. 18, 1983. (Maguire). Engblom is an All-Star on the King radio network and Murphy is an All-Star on the ice with the Penguins.

* 6 (tie). Marty McSorley to Pittsburgh for Shawn McEachern, Aug. 27, 1993. (Beverley). Tomas Sandstrom and McEachern to Pittsburgh for McSorley, Feb. 15, 1994. (Beverley). Next time Pittsburgh General Manager Craig Patrick calls, just say no.

* 8. Garry Galley to Washington for Al Jensen, Feb. 14, 1986. (Rogie Vachon). Al who? Jensen, a goaltender, played five games in Los Angeles. Galley, an offensive-minded defenseman, scored 72 points last season in Philadelphia.

* 9. Mike Donnelly to Dallas for fourth-round draft pick, Feb. 17. (McMaster). Dealing for dollars is one thing but in the same conference?

* 10. Corey Millen to New Jersey for a fifth-round draft pick (Jason Saal), June 26, 1993. (Beverley). Millen, now in Dallas, joked that the Stars could get Tony Granato for a sixth-round draft pick. Granato wasn’t laughing.