What is the single worst decision your team ever made?

[TheTotalPackage]

Rask for Raycroft is right on up there and it gives me PTSD to this day.

I'll put the trade to bring Wendel Clark back to Toronto right beside it. The '97 draft was considered to be a bumper crop, the Leafs seriously needed an injection of youth. Tt cost them a swift-skating 22-year old Kenny Jonsson and of course, most notably, the 1st included turned into the 4th overall pick and became Roberto Luongo. The Leafs would have been set for nearly two decades in net had they kept and made that pick.

 

[Herby]

I think for the Kings it’s Tuebert over Erik Karlsson in 2008. What is so frustrating is the Kings were obviously looking for another offensive minded RHD because they took Voynov at the top of the 2nd round of the same draft, so they could have easily filled that hole right there and addressed whatever it was they saw in Tuebert in the 2nd.

Imagine coming out of the same draft with Karlsson and Doughty.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Rangers: Never made any mistakes
Jets: Byfuglien fiasco and keeping Maurice too long.

Huge Specimen...

 

[rfournier103]

Boston Bruins: trading Ken Dryden to the Canadiens.

They drafted him in the 3rd round in ‘64, and traded him to Montreal days later. Even if Dryden never played for the Bruins, Dryden NOT playing for Montreal might have allowed the Bruins to win the Cup in ‘71, ‘77, ’78, and/or ’79.

No other decision in Bruins history has cost them nearly as much.

 

[Ovi895]

I'd say punting Scott Stevens but that chain of events possibly got us Ovechkin down the road, they'd need to have won like 4-5 cups to overshadow having Ovi's entire career here. Same applies to getting Jagr where his pouting directly led to Ovechkin. And the terrible Forsberg for Erat trade led to the chain of events that led to the 2018 cup.

Probably letting Trotz go after the cup win and clowning around with Reirden/Laviolette at this point

 

[BostonBob]

View attachment 659065

this should be high on Boston's list, I still reflect on this to this day

That's funny - I still reflect on the Bruins trading Ron Grahame to LA for a 1st round pick in the 1979 draft which turned out to be Ray Bourque. Ah - good times indeed.

 

[HockeyWooot]

Just of the recent era:

-Olli Juolevi over Matthew Tkachuk
-OEL trade
-Letting Chris Tanev go

HM: JT Miller contract (tbd he'll likely be productive for a while but term is scary)

 

[Tofveve]

Probably trading Brett Hull way back when, before he rocketed to superstardom.

 

[patnyrnyg]

I'd say punting Scott Stevens but that chain of events possibly got us Ovechkin down the road, they'd need to have won like 4-5 cups to overshadow having Ovi's entire career here. Same applies to getting Jagr where his pouting directly led to Ovechkin. And the terrible Forsberg for Erat trade led to the chain of events that led to the 2018 cup.

Probably letting Trotz go after the cup win and clowning around with Reirden/Laviolette at this point

They lost Stevens after '89? Not sure that had much of an impact on landing Ovechkin. Definitely would have been more competitive in the mid-90s, possibly beat Pittsburgh in 91, 92, 95. Don't think they would have won a Cup, though.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Trading Rick Middleton.

 

[Snuggs]

Red Wings Fan:

Frazen over Hossa. (Easily another cup or two, maybe make Chicago stumble vs win those cups. )

Letting Sergei Fedorov leave. (Again, easily another cup or two, would have been good for both parties.)

Drafting Zadina over *Quinn* Hughes when Wings wanted Hughes till Zadina fell in their laps. (Huges/Seider would be ridiculous to ignite a way for a rebuild.)

 

[golgoXIII]

Trade Patrick Roy

 

[Reality Czech]

I'd give up Tage THREE times for us to win the Cup once. And win one we did ( Sorry Bergy).

I said it earlier and it was mentioned again. For us Blues fans It's Mike f-kin Keenan

I'd say either Keenan or trading a young Rod Brindamour (and Dan Quinn) for the coach's brother Ron Sutter and Murray freakin Baron. Not often you see a team trade away the best two players in a deal, let alone a guy who had a career like Rod the Bod.

The trade that sent Courtnall and Ronning to Vancouver was pretty brutal too.

 

[Reality Czech]

Don't forget ROR sat out half a season because he wanted more money. Guy was a cancer also.

Oh no, how dare a player expect to get paid what he's worth. ROR is universally respected by his teammates, both former and current. Not even close to a "cancer"

 

[orby]

Making Paul Steigerwald the TV play-by-play guy.

 

[Drij]

Oh no, how dare a player expect to get paid what he's worth. ROR is universally respected by his teammates, both former and current. Not even close to a "cancer"

yeah I'm sure his teammates where overjoyed that he put himself first over his teem. Real team player.

 

[Reality Czech]

yeah I'm sure his teammates where overjoyed that he put himself first over his teem. Real team player.

Landeskog spoke very highly of ROR during his interview on Spittin Chiclets. If he can get over it, so can you.

 

[CharlestownChiefsESC]

Huge Specimen...

Ughh Getzlaf

 

[MM917]

Probably trading Brett Hull way back when, before he rocketed to superstardom.

The Hull trade is an interesting debate because many people will point to it helping the Flames win a Cup and I would never give that up or bemoan a trade that results in a Cup win. However, I have seen more recently some discussion of how much that deal really was key to winning the Cup, if they could have still won the Cup without it and/or how many Cups might they have won by keeping Hull instead.

I was too young at the time to have a solid opinion on it, so will go with it helped us win a Cup so won't complain much, and Brett Hull is a complete jackass so glad I didn't have to cheer for him.

 

[Statto]

I think for the Kings it’s Tuebert over Erik Karlsson in 2008. What is so frustrating is the Kings were obviously looking for another offensive minded RHD because they took Voynov at the top of the 2nd round of the same draft, so they could have easily filled that hole right there and addressed whatever it was they saw in Tuebert in the 2nd.

Imagine coming out of the same draft with Karlsson and Doughty.

Our board seems to think that we are about to make the worst move ever by trading Quick but I think you nailed it.

 

[GMR]

Red Wings Fan:

Frazen over Hossa. (Easily another cup or two, maybe make Chicago stumble vs win those cups. )

Letting Sergei Fedorov leave. (Again, easily another cup or two, would have been good for both parties.)

Drafting Zadina over Luke Hughes when Wings wanted Hughes till Zadina fell in their laps. (Huges/Seider would be ridiculous to ignite a way for a rebuild.)

You mean Quinn Hughes? Yeah, seeing him with Seider would have been nice. Kenny Holland just didn't know how to draft unfortunately. He got lucky with Zetterberg/Datsyuk but missed on pretty much everything else.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Boston Bruins: trading Ken Dryden to the Canadiens.

They drafted him in the 3rd round in ‘64, and traded him to Montreal days later. Even if Dryden never played for the Bruins, Dryden NOT playing for Montreal might have allowed the Bruins to win the Cup in ‘71, ‘77, ’78, and/or ’79.

No other decision in Bruins history has cost them nearly as much.

I'd lump a series of decisions at that time that cost them a big time dynasty

'64 - trading Dryden like you mentioned
'67 - losing Parent to the expansion draft
'71 - trading MacLeish to the Flyers
'71 - trading Boldirev to the Seals
'72 - trading Leach to the Seals

Adding one of Dryden/Parent plus MacLeish/Leach/Boldirev to the Bobby Orr Bruins is beyond unfair

 

[P10p]

Not my team but Vegas took Tuch instead of Kaprizov in a trade from Minnesota so that the Wild could protect who they wanted in the expansion.

Vegas was offered a choice of Kunin, Tuch, or Kaprizov at the time. Imagine lol

 

[Garbageyuk]

Chicago Blackhawks.

Well the big one is obvious and disturbing, so Im going to keep this to hockey-specific stuff.

Trading Hasek is the first that leaps to mind.

In hindsight, I guess. No one could have foreseen what was to come with Hasek, and the Hawks had Ed Belfour, who was a workhorse playing 60-70 games a season and winning Vezina Trophies.

 

[LT]

Oilers:

I don't get the reference and at this point I'm too afraid to ask