Tampa Bay Lightning: Top Five Trades In Franchise History

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Sep 28, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin (39) during the first period against the Washington Capitals at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Contract disputes happen all the time in professional sports. Sometimes players hold out, whine and cry, and take their problems to the internet in the form of social. Usually a deal ends up getting done, but in the case of Nikolia Khabibulin and the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, that was not the case.

Khabibulin didn’t give into his demands and sat out the entire 1999-2000 NHL season. Instead, he played with the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League. The Coyotes later saw an opportunity to move the goaltender, and did so to the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 5th, 2001.

The deal was made up of five players and a draft pick exchanging hands. The Lightning would receive defenseman Stanislav Neckar and Khabibulin in exchange for defenseman Paul Mara, forward Ruslan Zainullin, forward Mike Johnson, and a 2001 2nd round draft pick (player selected was defenseman Matthew Spiller)

Let’s first start with the Lightning and their end of the trade. Neckar would spend three seasons with the team as a stay at home defenseman. He later signed with the Nashville Predators as a free agent before the 2003-04 season before returning to Tampa Bay after being acquired for a sixth round selection that same year.

However, as we all know, Khabibulin was the key player in that trade and proved to be worth the price. The Russian goaltender would sign with the team after he was acquired and once again prove that he was one of the best goaltenders in the league.

During his first full season with the team in 2001-02, along with a nucleus of young talent around him, Khabibulin would help turn around a team that had lost 50 or more games in the two season prior. The growing process had begun that season and it would be an important milestone for the young team as they continued to gain experience and get better.

The next two seasons would be some of the most magical years in franchise history. The 2002-03 season saw the team finish with 92 points. It was the first time in franchise that a team had cracked 90 points, and saw them reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs to face the Washington Capitals in the first round.

After defeating the Caps in six games, the team would lose in its first ever Stanley Cup Semifinal appearance to the New Jersey Devils in five games. Khabibulin would be an All-Star that season, and it would be the building block to a historic 2003-04 season.

The next year, Khabibulin would continue to lead the Lightning between the pipes. He posted an impressive 2.33 GAA and .910 SV% in a regular season that saw the team finish with the year with 106 points and the second best record in the NHL behind only the Detroit Red Wings.

Khabibulin would take his play to a new level in the playoffs posting a 1.71 GAA and .933 SV% to go along with five shutouts. He would help the team defeat the New York Islanders, Montreal Canadians, Philadelphia Flyers, and Calgary Flames on the way to the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Over in Phoenix, however, the players they received from the trade were alright, but there were also some complete busts. Ruslan Zainullin never even came over to play in the NHL and instead stayed to play hockey in Russia, and Matthew Spiller only played eight NHL games with the Coyotes and spent most of his career in the AHL.

Paul Mara was a solid player for the Coyotes playing four seasons and scoring 95 points before being traded to the Boston Bruins. Mike Johnson was probably the best player from the trade that the Coyotes received. He scored 159 points in five seasons, but most of those seasons involved injuries that caused him to miss time.

Overall, the Coyotes couldn’t pull off what the Lightning did in 2014 when Marty St. Louis backed the team into a corner and requested to be traded and get good players in return. Khabibulin made it difficult for the team not to trade him, and in the end they tried to get the best return possible. Even though they did not get a star player in return, you really cannot blame them for trading the Russian netminder.

Though the NHL lockout would cause Khabibulin to come home from playing in his native Russia and sign with the Chicago Blackhawks, there is no doubt that this trade brought us one of the most important pieces to that Stanley Cup winning team. Without him, the organization could still be searching for its first cup.

Next: Number One: Lightning Trade For The First Selection In 1998 Draft

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