Last year, when the B’s traded away Kessel for Toronto’s first-round pick in the 2010 NHL draft, Bruins fans kept a sharp eye on the standings all year long, and it wasn’t just to see where their B’s stood. After a year of rooting for any team taking on the Leafs, Boston was given the second overall pick, where they nabbed Seguin without an ounce of hesitation.
But will this trade go down as the best in Bruins history?
Believe it or not, the Bruins scored one of the franchise’s most legendary players in Ray Bourque via trade. Bourque was drafted eighth overall in 1979 by Boston, which received the pick from the Kings in exchange for goalie Ron Grahame (father of former Bruins keeper John Grahame), who was traded to L.A. in October of 1978. Grahame, who went 26-6-7 with a 2.76 GAA with the B’s in the 1977-78 season, would post just 25 total wins over the next three seasons with the Kings and Quebec Nordiques before retiring.
Another Bruins legend and one of the game’s most lethal goal scorers was brought to Boston via trade in May of 1967. Phil Esposito was dealt to the B’s from the Blackhawks in a blockbuster trade along with Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield in exchange for Pit Martin, Jack Norris and Gilles Marotte. Espo led the league in assists in his first year with the Black and Gold and in year two, he became the first player in league history to break the 100-point plateau when he potted 126 total points. He led the league in goals six times and points five times and helped being two Stanley Cup titles to the Hub.
Cam Neely is to Boston what the cheesesteak is to Philadelphia. But if it weren’t for Barry Pederson, Neely may have never donned the spoked-B. On June 6, 1986, Neely was traded to Boston by the Canucks (along with Vancouver’s 1987 first-round draft choice, which ended up being Glen Wesley) for Pederson. Neely went on to score 344 goals with the B’s from 1986-1996 despite average fewer than 53 games per season. Wesley was no slouch either as the defenseman played seven seasons in Boston and had four seasons of notching 40 or more points.
