New York Rangers complete massive trade with the Edmonton Oilers today in history
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The New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers completed a massive trade on this day, October 4th, in NHL history. The deal would be completed with Edmonton Oilers General Manager Glen Sather. The deal would lead to the team's Stanley Cup drought being broken in 1994.
On October 4th, 1991, the Edmonton Oilers made the decision to trade their Captain, Mark Messier, to the New York Rangers.
Little did General Manager Glen Sather know,the deal would lead to his former team breaking their Stanley Cup drought in 1994.
The Oilers would receive a haul of NHL players in return for their Captain, with Louis DeBrusk, Bernie Nicholls, and Steven Rice going back to Alberta.
The trade seemed awfully lopsided, considering that the Rangers received a five-time Stanley Cup champion from the Oilers. The Edmonton Oilers would receive players who wouldn't ever have the same impact as Messier had beforehand.
Mark Messier's effect on the New York Rangers
The New York Rangers would benefit from Messier's arrival in the lineup immediately. During the 1994 season, they would win the Presidents' Trophy with a record of 52-24-8, and 112 points (1994), and they won the trophy twice during his reign as Captain, the first time in 1991-92.
He would end their 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994, with Messier scoring the game-winning goal in Game 7.
The more and more we break this trade down, it's apparent that the Edmonton Oilers lost this trade.
Players like Bernie Nicholls, Louis DeBrusk, and Steven Rice.
Rice would spend the majority of his time with Edmonton's AHL affiliate, but would establish himself as an NHL player in 1993-94, scoring 17 goals.
DeBrusk would play for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Arizona Coyotes, and the Chicago Blackhawks after his tenure in Edmonton ended, playing his final professional hockey game in the AHL.
While Nicholls, who was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1980, wouldn't be long for the Oilers would help the Oilers defeat the Kings in the first round of the 1991-92 playoffs.
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