5 Worst Trades done by the Montreal Canadiens

  The trade deadline happened two and a half weeks ago. The Montreal Canadiens managed to acquire one of the best players out their in Thomas Vanek. While this deal is considered to be a success, the Habs have made some horrible trades over the years. Here are the five worst trades that the franchise has made in its 106 year history.

5) Trading quality for some garbage ice cream: The Canadiens had drafted Jyrki Lumme 57th overall back in 1986. However GM Serge Savard did not think much about him and dealt him to Vancouver for a second round pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft which was used to select Craig Darby. Lumme was a quality player for the Canucks and put up good offensive numbers for a defenceman while Darby spent the bulk of his career in the AHL.
4) Trading a prospect for a washed-up playmaker: Before Scott Gomez joined the New York Rangers, he was a terrific playmaker setting up his teammates for glorious chances. After signing that huge contract with New York before the 07-08 season, his performance went down considerably. So he was traded from New York to Montreal for prospect Ryan McDonagh. Gomez's performance went down even more to the point that it took him a full calendar year to score a goal while McDonagh has developed into a reliable defencemen for the Rangers.
3) Giving up a forward for a defencemen who only played half a year: Before the start of the 2006-2007 season, the Canadiens had a lack of depth on defence. This prompted GM Bob Gainey to trade Mike Ribeiro to Dallas for Janne Niinimaa. The Canadiens got that defencemen they wanted but it ended up being a mistake as Ribeiro became a terrific playmaker with the Stars and now with the Coyotes.
2) Trading a budding star: In the midst of a dismal 1994-1995 shortened season, GM Serge Savard traded John Leclair, Eric Desjardins and Gilbert Dionne to Philadelphia for Mark Recchi. Recchi had a couple of good years in Montreal but this trade is considered to be one of the worst the Habs made. The reason is because Leclair formed a deadly partnership with Eric Lindros and became the first American born player to score 50 goals in three consecutive seasons. Desjardins meanwhile proved to be a steady defencemen during his time with the Flyers.
1) Trading their star goaltender: After giving up nine goals in a game vs the Red Wings in December 1995, goaltender Patrick Roy felt frustrated that he was not pulled by Head Coach Mario Tremblay. When he finally got pulled, he walked up to President Ronald Corey and told him "it is my last game in Montreal". Four days later, Roy and Mike Keane were traded to the Colorado Avalanche for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko. The aftermath of the deal was simple, Roy won two more Stanley Cups while Thibault, Rucinsky and Kovalenko left town within a few years and did not produce at the same rate that Roy did. Ever since "Le Trade" happened, the Canadiens have been mediocre by missing the playoffs on numerous occasions and winning only six playoffs series since.