Sometimes, NHL teams must search for the final piece of the puzzle to complete their Stanley Cup masterpiece. The Edmonton Oilers felt compelled to do precisely that when they traded for Tristan Jarry, offloading Stuart Skinner to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
While it’s still too early to know whether Jarry will help the Oilers clear the final Stanley Cup hurdle, clutch, playoff-proficient goaltenders often represent the difference between inconsolable heartbreak and euphoria.
The majority of these deals, the five most influential goaltender trades in the history of the NHL, helped the receiving team reach its ultimate goal. Those who didn’t came agonizingly close.
Top 5 influential NHL goalie trades
5. Miikka Kiprusoff to the Calgary Flames (2003)
On Nov. 16, 2003, the Calgary Flames acquired Miikka Kiprusoff from the San Jose Sharks, and they only had to cough up a 2005 second-round pick to make the deal happen.
Kiprusoff propelled the Flames to the Stanley Cup Final that same season, where they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games.
The legendary netminder enjoyed a sparkling .928 save percentage and a 1.85 goals-against average during that equally improbable and impressive playoff run, in which they knocked off the higher-seeded Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and his former team, the Sharks, en route to the Final.
4. Roberto Luongo to the Vancouver Canucks (2006)
The Vancouver Canucks landed Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek and a sixth-round pick from the Florida Panthers on June 6, 2006, sending Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alex Auld the other way.
As we await the impact of the recent Quinn Hughes deal, the Luongo trade manifested as arguably the most important trade in franchise history. Luongo, inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022, won the William Jennings Trophy with the Canucks in 2011, also finishing as a Vezina finalist.
He set various records in Vancouver, including most franchise shutouts (38) and wins (252), coming within a game of securing the Canucks’ first Stanley Cup. In 2011, they lost 4-0 at home in Game 7 to the Boston Bruins.
3. Dominik Hasek to the Buffalo Sabres (1992)
The under-the-radar trade for Dominik Hasek turned out to be anything but, as ‘The Dominator’ became the Buffalo Sabres’ franchise goaltender, lifting the club to prominence for the duration of his nine seasons there.
Hasek was traded on Aug. 7, 1992, for Stephane Beauregard and a fourth-round pick in the 1993 draft, facilitating one of the most impactful trades in NHL history.
Hasek led the Sabres to the 1999 Stanley Cup Final and won two Hart Trophies, two Ted Lindsay Awards, two William Jennings Trophies, and six Vezina Trophies during his time in Buffalo.
2. Dominik Hasek to the Detroit Red Wings (2001)
The Detroit Red Wings got their man on July 1, 2001, trading Vyacheslav Kozlov and a 2002 first-round draft pick.
This deal can be added to the steal-of-the-century category as Hasek led the Red Wings to two Stanley Cups, including in his first season after arriving in Hockeytown. Hasek acquired one more piece of silverware in Detroit, securing his third William Jennings Trophy.
1. Patrick Roy to the Colorado Avalanche (1995)
The Colorado Avalanche made a move for Patrick Roy on Dec. 6, 1995, landing Mike Keane and the eventual Hall of Famer for goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko.
Roy won two Stanley Cups with the Avalanche, the first of which came in the same season he landed in Colorado.
He also backstopped them to the 2001 Stanley Cup, winning the Conn Smythe after the Avs beat the New Jersey Devils in a seven-game thriller. Roy also won the William Jennings Trophy in 2001-02, the season before retiring.
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