Let’s face it: It’s the blockbuster trades that sell the NHL draft, not the selection of little-known 18-year-olds who may not play in the NHL for another year or two.
Caps fans may remember the 1987 draft day deal that brought Dale Hunter and Clint Malarchuk to Washington in exchange for Gaetan Duchesne, Alan Haworth and a first-round pick that turned out to be Joe Sakic.
And who can forget the back-to-back draft day detonations set off by former New York Islanders general manager Mike Milbury, who in 2000 traded Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen to Florida for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha, and in 2001 sent the No. 2 pick of the draft [Jason Spezza], Zdeno Chara and Bill Muckalt to the Ottawa Senators for Alexei Yashin?
With those trades in mind, will new Caps general manager Brian MacLellan roll the dice in his attempt to land a high-end defenseman or a backup goaltender, two of the Caps’ greatest needs heading into this weekend’s draft, which begins 7 p.m. Friday in Philadelphia?
League-wide, some of the most intriguing names on the trade market are Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler, Ottawa’s Jason Spezza, Winnipeg’s Evander Kane and Dustin Byfuglien, Toronto’s Dion Phaneuf and Buffalo’s Tyler Myers.
Thanks to the new CBA, a team can absorb up to half of an outgoing player’s salary in a trade, which makes a player like Phaneuf, who carries a $7 million cap hit for the next the next seven years, much more attractive.
When it comes to trade chips, the Caps own the 13th pick overall, along with three players that could interest other teams — forwards Marcus Johansson and Troy Brouwer and defenseman Mike Green.
The Caps would need to get a top-four defenseman in return for Green, who has one year and $6.25 million remaining on his contract. In a perfect world, the Caps might be more interested in keeping Green and giving him a reliable left-handed defense partner for next season.
The Capitals have made 20 trades on draft day, including one in each of the last six years. Here’s a complete list of the Caps’ draft-day trades:
June 30, 2013: Caps acquired a second-round pick (Zach Sanford) in the 2013 Entry Draft from Winnipeg for a third-round pick (Jimmy Lodge), a fourth-round pick (Jan Kostalek) and a fifth-round pick (Tucker Poolman) in 2013 Entry Draft.
June 22, 2012: Caps acquired Mike Ribeiro from Dallas for Cody Eakin and a second round-pick (Mike Winther) in the 2012 NHL Draft.
June 24, 2011: Caps acquired Troy Brouwer from Chicago for a first-round pick (Phillip Danault) in the 2011 Entry Draft.
June 26, 2010: Caps acquired a fourth-round pick (Philipp Grubauer) in the 2010 Entry Draft from Toronto for a fourth-round pick (Petter
Granberg) and a fifth-round pick (Daniel Brodin) in 2010.
June 27, 2009: Caps acquired a fifth-round pick (Caleb Herbert) in the 2010 Entry Draft from Phoenix for Sami Lepisto.
June 20, 2008: Caps acquired a first-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft (John Carlson) from Philadelphia for Steve Eminger and a third-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft (Jacob Deserres).
June 24, 2000: Caps acquired a second-round pick in the 2000 Entry Draft (Matt Pettinger) from Calgary for Miika Elomo.
June 26, 1999: Caps acquired their own ninth-round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft (Igor Shadilov) from Chicago for a seventh-round pick in the 2000 Entry Draft.
June 28, 1994: Caps acquired Rob Pearson and Philadelphia’s first-round pick (previously acquired, Nolan Baumgartner) in the 1994 Entry Draft from Toronto for Mike Ridley and St. Louis’ first-round pick in the 1994 Entry Draft (previously acquired, Eric Fichaud).
June 26, 1993: Caps acquired a seventh-round pick in the 1993 Entry Draft (Andrew Brunette) from Calgary for Brad Schlegel.
June 26, 1993: Caps acquired Craig Berube from Calgary for a fifth-round pick in the 1993 Entry Draft (Darryl Lafrance).
June 20, 1992: Caps acquired Kevin Miller from Detroit for Dino Ciccarelli.
June 22, 1991: Caps acquired Toronto’s second-round pick in the 1991 Entry Draft (previously acquired, Eric Lavigne) from Quebec for Mikhail Tatarinov.
June 17, 1989: Caps acquired Alan May from Los Angeles for a fifth-round pick in the 1989 Entry Draft (Thomas Newman).
June 17, 1989: Caps acquired Bob Mason from Quebec for future considerations.
June 13, 1987: Caps acquired Clint Malarchuk and Dale Hunter from Quebec for Gaetan Duchesne, Alan Haworth and a first-round pick in the 1987 Entry Draft (Joe Sakic).
June 8, 1983: Caps acquired Dave Christian from Winnipeg for a first-round pick in the 1983 Entry Draft (Bobby Dollas).
June 9, 1982: Caps acquired Alan Haworth and a third-round pick (Milan Novy) in the 1982 Entry Draft from Buffalo for a second-round pick (Mike Anderson) and a fourth-round pick (Timo Jutila) in the 1982 Entry Draft.
June 9, 1982: Caps acquired Ken Houston and Pat Riggin from Calgary for Howard Walker, George White, a sixth-round pick in the 1982 Entry Draft (Mats Kihlstrom), a third-round pick in the 1983 Entry Draft (Parry Berezan), and a second-round pick in the 1984 Entry Draft (Paul Ranheim).
June 11, 1980: Caps acquired Mike Palmateer and Toronto’s third-round pick in the 1980 Entry Draft (Torrie Robertson) from Toronto for Tim Coulis, Robert Picard and a second-round pick in the 1980 Entry Draft (Bob McGill).
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