Can we agree the trade Sunday that brought Erik Karlsson to the Penguins is fabulous? The team not only picked up a three-time Norris Trophy winner and future Hall of Famer. It shed the weighty contracts of unproductive Jeff Petry and Mikael Granlund.
Fabulous doesn’t even begin to describe the deal.
But I have my doubts the Karlsson trade will go down as one of the top five in Penguins history or one of the top 10 in Pittsburgh sports history.
The Penguins need to win the Stanley Cup with Karlsson for the trade to make my top-10 list. I’ll eliminate it from consideration if that doesn’t happen, just as I eliminated the Penguins’ trade for Norris Trophy winner Randy Carlyle and separate trades for Hall of Famers Sergei Zubov, Marian Hossa and Jarome Iginla.
I also eliminated players selected by Pittsburgh teams after a draft-day trade. The Penguins traded up to take Marc-Andre Fleury. The Steelers traded up to take Troy Polamalu and down to select Casey Hampton. All turned out to be sensational moves that led to championships.
One other qualification for my top-10 list:
I am limiting the time frame to the past 60 years or about when I first fell in love with sports. That means the Pirates’ trade for Smoky Burgess, Harvey Haddix and Don Hoak in exchange for Frank Thomas before the 1959 season doesn’t make the cut. Otherwise, it belongs high on the list because Burgess, Haddix and Hoak all made significant contributions to the franchise’s world championship in 1960.
OK, it’s time.
10. Joey Mullen from the Calgary Flames on draft day in 1990It’s still hard to believe the Penguins had to give up just a second-round pick. Mullen was a key part of the franchise’s Cup wins in 1991 and 1992. He had eight goals and 17 points and was an NHL-best plus-17 in the 1991 playoffs and had 42 regular-season goals in 1992. He finished his career with 502 goals and made the Hall of Fame.
9. Larry Murphy and Peter Taglianetti from the Minnesota North Stars in December 1990 for Chris Dahlquist and Jim JohnsonIt’s no wonder Murphy made the Hall of Fame after winning Cups with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992 and with the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. He provided the Penguins with a steadying presence on defense and was just about technically perfect.
8. The rights to Kevin Stevens from the Los Angeles Kings before the 1983 season for Anders HakanssonStevens became one of the best power forwards of his generation, scoring a combined 94 goals in the Cup years of 1991 and 1992 and a total of 30 more in the playoffs. Who will ever forget his guarantee after an overtime loss in Game 2 against the Boston Bruins in the 1991 Wales Conference final left the Penguins in an 0-2 hole? “We’ll beat this team. I’ll say it right now. We’ll beat them.”
The Penguins won the next four games against the Bruins before beating the North Stars in the Cup final.
7. Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson and Ken Wregget from the Philadelphia Flyers at the 1992 trade deadlineIt hurt to give up future Hall of Famer Mark Recchi, but Tocchet inspired a Penguins team that had won just five games between Dec. 31 and Feb. 27. He did it with his offensive production — 30 points in 19 regular-season games and 19 more in 14 playoff games on the way to the Cup. He also did it with his toughness, fighting twice with a broken jaw.
6. Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maple Leafs in July 2015 for, among others, Kasperi KapanenQuirky? Sure, Kessel was quirky. But the Penguins wouldn’t have won the Cup in 2016 and 2017 without him. His work on the “HBK Line” with Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino will go down in franchise lore. Take a bow, Hall of Fame general manager Jim Rutherford, for pulling off this trade.
5. Paul Coffey from the Edmonton Oilers in November 1987 for Dave Hannan, Chris Joseph, Moe Mantha and Craig SimpsonCoffey was worth the price of admission during the 4 1/2 seasons he was here and played a big role in the Cup win in 1991. Only Bobby Orr was better as an offensive defenseman. There wasn’t a faster skater until Connor McDavid came along.
4. Bill Madlock from the San Francisco Giants in June 1979 for Al Holland, Ed Whitson and Fred BreiningFormer Pirates general manager Harding “Pete” Peterson made a number of outstanding trades, getting Phil Garner from the Oakland Athletics before the 1977 season and Tim Foli from the New York Mets in April 1979. But the deal for Madlock, a two-time National League batting champion, pushed the Pirates all the way to the 1979 World Series championship. Madlock later won two more batting crowns with the Pirates.
3. Tom Barrasso from the Buffalo Sabres in November 1988 for Doug Bodger and Darrin ShannonBarrasso easily could have been the Conn Smythe winner instead of Mario Lemieux during the Penguins’ Cup runs in 1991 and 1992. It is ridiculous that it took him 17 years before he finally — deservedly — was voted into the Hall of Fame in June.
2. Jerome Bettis from the St. Louis Rams on draft day in 1996 for second- and fourth-round draft picksGive former Steelers director of football operations Tom Donahoe credit for this steal. Blame former Rams coach Rich Brooks for misjudging Bettis’ character and ability. “The Bus” became a Hall of Famer and one of the best team leaders in franchise history, inspiring the Steelers to a win in Super Bowl XL after the 2005 season.
1. Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson from the Hartford Whalers at the 1991 trade deadline for John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley ZalapskiThis was the best of Hall of Fame general manager Craig Patrick’s many terrific trades and was the biggest building block of the Penguins’ Cup wins in 1991 and 1992. Francis long will be remembered as one of the great players in franchise history. Samuelsson — “Jack Lambert on Skates,” as he was affectionately known — became a folk hero here. “Man, I can’t believe how much this town loves defense,” he once told me.
If you listen closely, you still probably can hear the “Ulf!” chants that nearly blew the roof off of Civic Arena.
