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Every year the trade deadline creates a panic for GMs around the league, for once that date passes they can no longer make significant changes to their roster except under emergency circumstances (and then only from within the organization). In the last decade or so, with expansion diluting talent and an ever-increasing number of teams in a position to win the Cup, the deadline has prompted an ever-greater flurry of trades, some far more successful than others.
 Recall, for instance, in 1980, the Islanders thought they were one centre away from the Cup. They wanted Darryl Sittler, but when GM Bill Torrey couldn't work out a deal for the Leaf superstar he acquired Butch Goring (pictured) from Los Angeles for Billy Harris and Dave Lewis and the Islanders did, indeed, win their first championship. More recently, though, the Detroit Red Wings acquired Chris Chelios, Wendel Clark, Bill Ranford, and Ulf Samuelsson at the deadline in 1999. The team immediately became serious Cup favourites once again, yet in the playoffs they evaporated after one round.
Let us take a look back over the past decade. In 1992, the March 10 deadline saw some action in the days leading up to the date, but on the 10th some eleven trades were completed. Yet the Cup-winning Penguins made only two moves, neither of consequence to their roster. The other finalists, Chicago, also stood pat, their shrewdest "move" of the season.
 In 1993, the Oilers made a deal just before the deadline that proved to be only moderately successful in the short term, but perhaps their best trade in team history in the long term. They sent Esa Tikkanen to the Rangers for young Doug Weight (pictured), and Weight has gone on to become the team's best player and captain in the ensuing eight years.
As the 1994 deadline approached, there was no clear cut favourite for the Cup, though the Rangers certainly were contenders. As a result, there were an incredible 18 deals on March 21, and unlike previous years, the Blueshirts were the most active team. They traded Mike Gartner to the Leafs for proven playoff hero Glenn Anderson; sent young Todd Marchant to the Oilers for veteran Craig MacTavish; sent Peter Anderson to Florida and Phil Bourque to Ottawa for futures in a simple roster shuffle; and moved Tony Amonte and Matt Oates to Chicago for Stephane Matteau and Brian Noonan. In all, they added four new players to the roster, a change of 20% of the team in one day! And, they won the Cup.
The 1994-95 season almost didn't occur at all because of the owners' lockout. The shortened 48-game schedule pushed that year's trade deadline back to April 7 when another 19 moves were made, but none had a significant impact on the playoffs and the Devils won the Cup with virtually the same lineup they had the day the season opened in late January.
The 1996 deadline saw much maneuvering on many fronts. The Devils, figuring they were pretty close to the Cup-quality team of the year before, made only one trade, getting scorer Dave Andreychuk from the Leafs for nothing more than draft choices. The Rangers, Cup-winners two years previous but hopeful of resuscitating their chances, unloaded four more young players (as they had in '94) and a draft choice for Marty McSorley, Jari Kurri, and Shane Churla, but won only one round of the playoffs. Pittsburgh and Philly both felt as though they were on the upswing and might surprise some people with the right additions. The Flyers scored big by acquiring Dale Hawerchuk, Kerry Huffman, and John Druce. The Penguins, with Lemieux and Jagr still in their primes, added Dave McLlwain, J.J. Daigneault, Kevin Miller, and Alek Stojanov. But the Flyers won only one series, and the Pens were stunned by the Panthers in game seven of the semi-finals.
 At the '97 deadline, the eventual champs in Detroit made just one move, acquiring Larry Murphy (pictured) from the Leafs. Murphy played better in the Winged Wheel than he had in Toronto, and coach Bowman sited his play as a contributing factor to bringing Detroit its first Cup in 40 years. Interestingly, the biggest trade at the time featured two non-playoff teams, Boston sending Adam Oates, Bill Ranford, and Rick Tocchet to Washington for Jim Carey, Anson Carter, Jason Allison, and two draft choices.
The next year, the Wings replicated their strategy, picking up two more experienced defenceman at the deadline--Jamie Macoun from the Leafs and Dmitri Mironov from Anaheim.  Washington, the other Cup finalists in 1998, were starting to realize rewards from the previous year's deadline deal with Boston and added two important pieces to their puzzle, defenceman Jeff Brown and super-checker Esa Tikkanen. Interestingly, Dallas acquired Brian Skrudland, Mike Keane, and a draft choice for Todd Harvey, Bob Errey, and a draft choice, a deal that had ramifications for the following year when the team won it all.
Last year, Colorado traded for Ray Bourque (pictured in his final game with the Bruins) at the deadline, but never won the Cup. Will the "year's-delay" hypothesis hold up for the Avs in 2001? Acquiring Rob Blake has made that possibility that much more likely, but history has proved it's often the trades a team DOESN'T make at the deadline that helps it win the Stanley Cup.
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