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Edge goes to Islanders in biggest deadline deal

Sporting News, The, April 17, 1995 by Larry Wigge

I'm sitting between Eric Lindros and John LeClair in the Flyers locker room when word comes that the Canadiens have traded captain Kirk Muller, defenseman Mathieu Schneider and center prospect Chris Darby to the Islanders for center Pierre Turgeon and defenseman Vladimir Malakhov in what proved to be the biggest deal before the NHI's trading deadline last Friday.

"No way," LeClair says. "No way would the Canadiens trade Kirk Muller. No way."

"Way," says the teammate who delivers news of the trade.

"I just can't believe it," LeClair rays. "Pierre Turgeon? He would have to score 150 points in Montreal to come close to doing for the Canadiens what Kirk Muller did."

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Says Lindros: "Turgeon didn't give the Islanders the grit and leadership that Muller will. Except for the age, if s a very good trade for the Islanders."

Lucky for me -- sitting between two guys who could probably take my head off if they disagreed with me -- I agree that the Islanders got the better of this deal.

The reason this anecdote is so interesting is that LeClair, the guy who can't believe the Canadiens would trade a valuable team player such as Muller, is probably the biggest reason the Canadiens made the trade. Since trading LeClair to the Flyers on February 9 in a deal that turned into a disaster, Canadiens General Manager Serge Savard had been under pressure -- and acquiring a high-profile French Canadian is always a good way to counter the negativity.

Turgeon, who scored 58 goals and 13 points in 1992-93 but dropped to 94 points last season, provides the Canadiens with a formidable No. 1 line with Vincent Damphousse and Mark Recchi. Turgeon is the most-talented player in the deal, but he wasn't an offensive threat for the Islanders this season. And Malakhov, a talented offensive defenseman, had disappeared completely since his rookie season.

Muller and Schneider, however, are winners, not whiners. They have been to the Stanley Cup finals -- and won. And Darby, the leading scorer at Montreal's Fredericton farm club, makes up the difference in years the Islanders traded away between Turgeon's 25 and Muller's 29.

The Islanders win this deal because Muller and Schneider can teach the young Islanders how to win. Turgeon and Malakhov won't fix the Canadiens' problems. The chemistry for winning is just not there.

Edmonton's Shayne Corson, Buffalo's Dale Hawerchuk, Calgary's Phil Housley and some other big names were not traded, but the deadline produced 19 trades on Friday and 26 for the week. The Kings were the only team not to make a deal.

Here are the winners:

Penguins. The biggest winners because they got defensive help -- offensive-minded defensemen Norm Maciver and Drake Berehowsky -- without having to trade Kevin Stevens. Martin Straka went to Ottawa for Maciver, and Troy Murray and Grant Jennings to Toronto for Berehowsky. This is the best depth Pittsburgh has had on defense since winning the Cup in 1992.

Canucks. Getting Russ Courtnall from Dallas and putting him on a line with his brother Geoff and Trevor Linden was a smart move. Greg Adams, traded to the Stars, works hard every night but his magic with Pavel Bure is done. The Canucks also got offensive prospect Roman Oksiuta from Edmonton for unproductive defenseman Jiri Slegr. And in getting Corey Hirsch from the Rangers for utility forward Nathan LaFayette, the Canucks finally have a decent backup goaltender to Kirk McLean.

Islanders. The biggest steal they made was getting goaltending prospect Eric Fichaud from Toronto for moody left wing Benoit Hogue and a couple draft choices. Fichaud, a first-round pick last summer, outplayed Felix Potvin in training camp but was sent back to juniors because he was only 18.

Mighty Ducks. Red Wings V.P. Jimmy Devellano is right when he says that five years from now he may regret giving up center Mike Sillinger and defenseman Jason York for tough guy Stu Grimson and defenseman Mark Ferner. These young guys are definitely players for Anaheim to build on.

Sabres. Defenseman Garry Galley became spotty in Philadelphia after baring his soul to a reporter when the Flyers missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season last spring. And G.M. John Muckler got tired of waiting for Petr Svoboda to be in the Buffalo lineup. Grit. That's what the Sabres get in Galley and left wing Scott Pearson, who came from the Oilers for defenseman Ken Sutton.

Here are the losers:

Oilers. When St. Louis' Mike Keenan did not bite on trading prospects lan Laperriere, Patrice Tardif, Craig Johnson and David Roberts for Corson, G.M. Glen Sather was left with Slegr for Oksiuta and Sutton for Pearson. He still has Corson and Bryan Marchment and Bill Ranford -- and a non-playoff team.

Stars. Mike Modano was lost for the season with a tom tendon in his left ankle, and Courtnall was dealt to Vancouver for Adams and prospect Dan Kesa. Dallas' offense is gone -- as may be its playoff hopes.

Blackhawks. Even G.M. Bob Pulford warned his fans that Denis Savard isn't the same player who once scored 100 points almost every season son. That's an understatement. But it was worth a sixth-round gamble with Jeremy Roenick out for the season. Defenseman Gerald Diduck from Vancouver for a draft choice was a good deal. But this team needs more to fill the huge hole left by Roedick's injury to be contenders for the Cup.

Edge goes to Islanders in biggest deadline deal

Sporting News, The, April 17, 1995 by Larry Wigge

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