Have any notable UFAs been traded only to sign back with the team that traded them?

[NJDevilsFan21]

Like a, "hey, if we trade you for some assets and then sign you again this summer, we will be FAR better off next year". Not that I believe Rantanen will end up back on the Avs, but has anything notable like this happened in the past?

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[Ace Card Bedard]

Antoine Vermette 2015

Traded from the Coyotes to the Blackhawks for a 1st round pick and Klas Dahbeck.
Wins the Cup with Chicago.
Signs with the Coyotes again in the summer as a UFA.

 

[Moose Head]

Keith Tkachuk was traded by the blues to Atlanta at the deadline and went back to the blues in the summer.

 

[algernon]

Does Ollie count?

 

[Nico Hischier]

It doesn’t meet the specific criteria for this thread but David Perron has played for the blues 3 different times.

Originally drafted by stl. Traded. Ended up resigning in stl a few years later. Was left unprotected in the expansion draft. Vegas selects him. Resigns back in stl.

 

[RickyLafleur]

Keith Tkachuk
Roman Polak
Zbynek Michalek
Matt Moulson
Antoine Vermette

 

[amikaro]

I m surprised it doesn't happen more often. Why not give a vet some cup chances and get him back as FA. Win-Win.

 

[Moose Head]

Plekanec, but he was done at that point. Rejoined the Habs after a deadline deal with the Leafs, but only played 3 games, and that was it for his NHL career.

 

[kerrabria]

Couple of years ago Utah traded pending UFA Bjugstad to the Oilers for Kesselring and a third round pick, then signed Bjugstad a few months later, and he scored 22 goals and 45 points.

Pretty sure Kesselring is a good middle pair guy for Utah now.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

I m surprised it doesn't happen more often. Why not give a vet some cup chances and get him back as FA. Win-Win.

Ya, bit weird how little it happens. I get legacy and everything, but the pens are in such shit shape- you really couldn’t sell Crosby on playing with Mac for 3 months, then coming back to Pens with a few more picks? They coulda rinsed and repeated that for 3 years, and by that point Crosby is closer to done and the rebuild has actually already started. Ah well.

 

[Coach Reggie Dunlop]

Not really and if started happening often the league would ban it from being able to happen. I think the NBA did that.

 

[TheBigLetowski]

2006- Doug Weight

 

[Brodeur]

I m surprised it doesn't happen more often. Why not give a vet some cup chances and get him back as FA. Win-Win.

It depends on the mentality of the player. Some guys are programmed like Mark Recchi and are ready to join a club for a couple months. Rare guys like Teemu Selanne who had no desire to be a rental. I remember Mike Modano commenting something about not being interested in being a rental during his final season with Dallas although he conceded that he might feel different had he not won a Cup previously.

From a team standpoint, you risk the player changing his mind and not coming back.

---------------

New Jersey traded Sami Vatanen at the 2020 deadline and then he lost the game of musical chairs as teams were navigating a flat cap that first pandemic offseason. Vatanen would end up signing back with the Devils for 1 year, 2 mil. His previous deal was for 4.875 mil AAV.

That one didn't feel like a handshake deal by any means.

 

[Voight]

I m surprised it doesn't happen more often. Why not give a vet some cup chances and get him back as FA. Win-Win.

Some players think of it as a slight, specifically if they weren't asked about being traded or didn't get to choose where they went.

Some guys dont wanna pack up and move, even if its for only a short time. Especially the ones with young kids.

 

[kerrabria]

Not really and if started happening often the league would ban it from being able to happen. I think the NBA did that.

I don't see why they would. It's not circumvention, and tampering rules already exist for when the other team owns the player's rights.

IIRC, the League did express displeasure when the Capitals cap dumped Brooks Orpik to the Avalanche in June, so the Avs could buy out his contract, and the Caps could re-sign Orpik at a lower rate on July 1. That seems to be de facto banned.

 

[Jumptheshark]

It doesn’t meet the specific criteria for this thread but David Perron has played for the blues 3 different times.

Originally drafted by stl. Traded. Ended up resigning in stl a few years later. Was left unprotected in the expansion draft. Vegas selects him. Resigns back in stl.

For the first 10 years of his career had signed 3 nhl contract, all contracts signed with the blues but he played with 4 other teams not named the blues over that time

Blues 07 to 13 blues
13 to 15 Oilers
15 to 16 Pens
15-16 Ducks
16-17 Blues
17-18 Knights
18 to 22 Blues

 

[benfranklin]

Few teams treat their players that well for the player to want to improve the team via picks for him, to then come back at likely a discount compared to the open market.

 

[Gilles Meloche]

Not a big name but didn’t goalie Bob Sauve do this back in the day?? Traded from Buffalo to Detroit and then resigned with Buffalo??

 

[qc14]

I don't see why they would. It's not circumvention, and tampering rules already exist for when the other team owns the player's rights.

IIRC, the League did express displeasure when the Capitals cap dumped Brooks Orpik to the Avalanche in June, so the Avs could buy out his contract, and the Caps could re-sign Orpik at a lower rate on July 1. That seems to be de facto banned.

The league only cleared it because the Caps did not expect Colorado to buy out Orpik, there was no pre-agreed plan for it. After like a 3 month investigation they then promptly changed the rules lol.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Does Nick Bjugstad count

 

[Doubledose]

Everytime I think about Glen Wesley to leafs then back to Carolina

 

[dirtydanglez]

keith thachuk is probably the most notable.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Oddly enough, it usually seems to be with AZ or St Louis.

I wonder if the trend will continue in Utah. Probably not.

 

[thewookie1]

Aside from the Keith Tkachuk occurrence where he did so twice I believe.

Matt Moulson & Cody McCormick were traded to Minnesota at the deadline and then both returned to the Sabres that following offseason. A rare 2/2 return

 

[Habsrule]

My thought process is the the players who get traded who are upcoming UFAs are all in the middle of their careers or on the back half of them. Typically only rebuilding / retooling teams trade off their upcoming UFAs. It’s very rare for a team to go from seller one year to contender the next year.

My thinking is that players on the back half of their careers may start to value being on a winning team as more important.