When the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche confronted off within the 2022 Stanley Cup Remaining, it dropped at thoughts one of the vital vital interactions between the franchises of their historical past. Greater than a decade in the past, issues regarded very completely different for each Colorado and Tampa Bay, as neither group was objectively horrible (that might are available 2012-13), however they have been each exterior the playoffs and trying to make some adjustments on the 2012 commerce deadline.
This led the Lightning to ship fan-favorite ahead Steve Downie to the Avalanche for defenseman Kyle Quincey. Had the participant swap ended there, this could have been a reasonably commonplace hockey commerce, as Tampa Bay acquired a wanted defenseman for his or her weak core, whereas Colorado introduced in some toughness with Downie.
In fact, this isn’t the place this commerce ended. It turned out that the Detroit Purple Wings have been additionally involved in Quincey, however the Avalanche weren’t prepared to commerce a chief defensive asset inside their very own division. The Lightning, nevertheless, had no qualms in betraying Colorado’s belief, as they instantly flipped him to Detroit, returning a first-round decide on the 2012 draft and defenseman Sebastian Piche.
2012 3-Manner Deadline Deal Was Far From a Blockbuster
Following this deadline deal, the 2 beginning gamers went about making their mark on their new groups. First let’s focus on Downie, who by no means discovered a spot in Colorado as he did in Tampa Bay. Accidents drastically diminished his capacity, as he solely began in 33 video games with the Avalanche, posting three targets and 21 factors together with 58 penalty minutes.
By all means, this was properly under Downie’s anticipated output, however after a sizzling begin to the 2013-14 season, he was traded by the Avalanche to the Philadelphia Flyers and continued taking part in properly. In 51 video games, he posted 3 targets and 17 factors, whereas racking up 70 penalty minutes.
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For Detroit, Quincey became a five-year starter on their blue line, placing collectively respectable taking part in numbers every season. He wasn’t a star by any means, however he averaged greater than 19 minutes of ice time per sport, and whereas he by no means acquired again to scoring as he did with Colorado, he nonetheless contributed 10 to fifteen factors every season.
Now, is that this a participant you’d anticipate to commerce a first-round decide for? No. However a minimum of the Purple Wings acquired a helpful participant on this commerce, who went on to start out 269 video games. There’s worth in that, particularly for a group that was making an attempt to make deep postseason runs with an ageing core.
Lightning Struck Gold with Purple Wings’ Choose
Regardless of being a really proficient group, the Purple Wings didn’t make it out of Spherical 1 of the 2012 Playoffs, as they have been eradicated by the Nashville Predators. This made the first-round decide acquired by the Lightning a lot increased within the draft than anticipated, coming in at nineteenth general.
Heading into the draft, it was clear that the Lightning wished to pick a top-end defenseman and a top-end goaltending prospect with their two picks. With their first choice, which was tenth general, they took defenseman Slater Koekkoek, who was seen as a high-risk, high-reward participant. With the nineteenth general decide, Tampa Bay determined it was time to assert the highest goaltender, and so they chosen Andrei Vasilevskiy.
There’ll at all times be a debate about deciding on a goaltender that top within the draft, as there are issues over the lengthy growth cycles of goaltenders and the various dangers concerned with committing a prime choice to such an uncertain asset. Nevertheless, by drafting Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay modified the course of its franchise endlessly.
For greater than 20 years, the Lightning struggled to seek out constant goaltending, but as soon as Vasilevskiy took over because the starter, he by no means regarded again. He has been a franchise-defining backstop to a championship-caliber group, and his heroics in internet all through the Lightning’s dominant runs to 3 straight Stanley Cup Finals are shortly turning into a factor of legend.
Lightning Betrayed the Avalanche to Construct a Champion
Following this 2012 commerce, the Lightning and Avalanche have but to make one other commerce collectively. That is odd for Tampa Bay, as they’re a franchise that may make minor strikes with anybody, even their cross-state rivals. Whereas it’s at all times attainable that there simply has by no means been a deal the 2 groups agreed upon, it’s additionally attainable that Colorado merely blacklisted the Bolts for betraying them on this deal, and even a decade later this historical past has but to be forgotten.
Whilst you can rightfully blame the Lightning for stabbing the Avalanche within the again, all they did was maximize their belongings so as to construct the very best future attainable. Had this decide not been used to pick Vasilevskiy, this probably would have been nothing greater than an fascinating piece of trivia like so many deadline offers.
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Nevertheless, since Tampa Bay managed to draft the most effective goaltenders on the planet with this decide, the commerce turns into a little bit of a warning. Certain, you might not need to commerce a participant inside your division, however there isn’t a assure that another person received’t. Hockey is a enterprise in spite of everything, and there isn’t a common supervisor within the NHL who wouldn’t make the identical deal because the Lightning again in 2012.
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