NHL history: Best trade in each team’s history

NHL history: Best trade in Anaheim Ducks history

The Anaheim Ducks had two really great runs in their history. In 2003, they went to the Stanley Cup Final mostly on the backs of Paul Kariya and Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Something was missing, though. The player most attributed with this franchise. Teemu Selanne came to the Ducks in a trade with the original version of the Winnipeg Jets. Selanne was already a star, but Winnipeg was about to move to Arizona and they could use a pool of prospects to build around.

The Ducks called the Jets new owners Richard Burke and Steven Gluckstern wanted to keep Selanne, but it became clear that the team was going to move him one way or another. So, when the Ducks called, the talks never really stopped. They talked through the GM meetings in Tuscon. Eventually, a deal got done.

The Ducks won this trade in spades. Oleg Tverdovsky was a decent player for Winnipeg and Arizona, but he was a role player at best. The 3rd-round draft pick turned into Per-Anton Lundstrom, who never played in the NHL.

Meanwhile, Selanne would play 966 games with the Ducks. He scored 988 points and helped the Ducks win the 2007 Stanley Cup in his second stint with the Ducks. He became a franchise legend and a Hall of Famer because of his time in Anaheim.