With the passing of the NBA and NHL trade deadlines, along with the NFL’s new league year, here are ten trades that changed the sports' landscape.
1. The Los Angeles Lakers’ acquisition of legend Wilt Chamberlain in 1965 set the stage for many classic matchups against the Boston Celtics. He was added to a star-studded roster built to go head to head against the Celtics, changing the course of the Lakers franchise forever while losing only three insignificant players to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange.
2. The Detroit Tigers traded a half-dozen prospects to the Florida Marlins for future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera. In his nine years in Detroit, he has continued to belt home runs and became the first player to win the prestigious triple crown—leading the league in RBI’s, batting average, and home runs—since 1968.
3. Goaltender Patrick Roy’s split from the Montreal Canadiens sent shockwaves through the NHL. After letting in nine goals in an infamous 11-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Roy told the Canadiens he would never play for them again. He was then traded to the Colorado Avalanche, where he won another two Stanley Cups.
4. After he led the Edmonton Oilers to their fourth Stanley Cup in five years, the team traded the Great One—Wayne Gretzky—to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9, 1988, reshaping the NHL hierarchy.
5. In 1965, the Reds made the mistake of trading future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for three insignificant players. In 1966, the outfielder was named World Series MVP en route to leading Baltimore to its first-ever championship. He was also named AL MVP after winning the Triple Crown batting title in 1966.
6. On Feb. 10, 2000, the Seattle Mariners sent Ken “The Kid” Griffey Jr. to the Cincinnati Reds for four mid-level assets. During his 11-year reign in Seattle, “The Kid” won 10 Gold Gloves, made 10 All-Star appearances, took home seven Silver Slugger awards, and was named the 1997 AL MVP.
7. The Lakers acquired yet another Hall of Famer in 1975 when they traded a package of four irrelevant players for Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Walk Wesley from the Milwaukee Bucks. Abdul-Jabbar was already a superstar and had led the Bucks to the team’s only title in 1971. Milwaukee’s loss was L.A.’s gain: The Hall of Fame centre spent the next 14 seasons there and led the Lakers to five NBA titles.
8. The Indianapolis Colts’ acquisition of Eric Dickerson, one of the most lethal running backs in NFL history, from the L.A. Rams shocked the world. The stud ball carrier was traded in a three team, four player, and six draft pick deal after a contract dispute in Indianapolis.
9. After wearing out his welcome in Minnesota, the Vikings deemed wide receiver Randy Moss moveable for a top-10 pick in the draft from the Oakland Raiders. Moss ended up disappointing in Oakland before being shipped off the to New England Patriots in 2007.
10. The Hartford Whalers traded away three-time All-Star Ron Francis, sending their star centre to the Pittsburgh Penguins with just 14 games left in the 1990-91 season. While in Pittsburg, he helped lead the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.
