Why was Steve Duchesne moved around so much?

[Al Bundy*]

Steve Duchesne is a very interesting player.

He was known for being the top-scoring defenseman for whoever he played for over a long periof of time, especially with L.A., St. Louis, and his one year in Quebec.

Yet, the reliable defenseman was moved around so much.

Why did L.A. even trade him in the first place? Who exactly did they get in return for him, and was it a good choice?

And what about Quebec? He had a monster year there, yet he only lasted a single year?

Ditto for the Blues.

The guy was a solid and very reliable player, yet he was tossed around like a hot potato...

 

[TheBannermen]

Duchesne was sent to philly in the deal that brought Kurri to the Kings.

 

[Al Bundy*]

Duchesne was sent to philly in the deal that brought Kurri to the Kings.

Did you think that was a good trade or not?

I thought it was bad- Duchesne was on the rise while Kurri was on the decline.

I think Duchesne could have gotten L.A. over the hump in 1993- maybe Melrose puts him on the ice instead of McSorley on a fateful June night...

 

[Robert Pahlsson]

He was dealt by St Louis Blues' GM/Coach Mike Keenan's for a 2nd rounder to then horrible Ottawa Sentators as a punishment. They had a conflict. For similar reasons Shanahan was dealt to Hartford for the unproven Chris Pronger.

Keenan's time as a GM/Coach in St Louis deserves its own thread... lots of crazy stuff, headless signings and mad trades

 

[MS]

Biggest reason he was somewhat nomadic was that he was considered soft and mediocre defensively, despite his excellence on the PP.

The trade out of Quebec was also his own doing, as he was a contract holdout before being dealt to St. Louis. Probably a big mistake on his part, career-wise. He'd put up a career year the year before with the offensive juggernaut they were building in Quebec and if he stays there, they never aquire Ozolinsh and he probably puts up a string of huge seasons for a powerhouse team. Instead, he goes to St. Louis and puts up a couple decent seasons before Keenan decides to dump him, and he ends up on a crap Ottawa team while Colorado is winning the Cup.

 

[Hartline19]

I think Duchesne could have gotten L.A. over the hump in 1993- maybe Melrose puts him on the ice instead of McSorley on a fateful June night...

Yeah, one would think Duchesne wouldn't "forget" to change sticks between the second and third...

Seems like the Kings really had a history in the 90's of developing/acquiring scoring D and then trading them away (so they could win Stanley Cups elsewhere), only to realize they needed D's who could score and start the cycle all over again.

 

[Wet Sprocket]

I would say it was a good trade for the Kings. LA had a solid replacement in Rob Blake, who was already better defensively than Duchesne ever was, and put up 48 points as a rookie playing behind Steve. As stated earlier, the trade netted Jari Kurri, who was no longer the high scoring winger he was in the 80s, but brought much needed depth to the forward position as well as a strong 2 way game. Kurri would also prove to be important when he filled in for Gretzky for the first part of the 92-93 season and did an respectable job keeping the Kings very much alive in the Smythe Division race.

Did you think that was a good trade or not?

I thought it was bad- Duchesne was on the rise while Kurri was on the decline.

I think Duchesne could have gotten L.A. over the hump in 1993- maybe Melrose puts him on the ice instead of McSorley on a fateful June night...

I disagree here. You have to remeber than in 1993 the Kings had Blake putting up over 55 points (don't remember the exact number) as well as rookie Alexi Zednick putting up over 45. They also had Paul Coffey for the first half of the season, and he was putting up over a point a game. It's too bad Coffey was given up to Detroit for so little. There was little need for Steve Duchense, who would have been just another offensive Dman, on a team that had many. Also, it's easy to bash McSorely in hindsight, but he filled a very important role on that team, and did it well. There was just no beating Patrick Roy that June is what it all ended up boiling down to.

For all the stupid trades that the Kings would make that decade, and their sure was no shortage of them...the Duchense deal simply wasn't one of them.

 

[mcphee]

He was good enough offensively that someone always wanted him and not good enough defensively that someone wouldn't let him go.

 

[discostu]

I know in Ottawa, he was trade for contract reasons. Of course, the fact that as most indicate here, that his time in Ottawa was a punishment for him probably was the reason why getting him to a long term contract was probably impossible for Ottawa. It's a shame, because he was such a fundamental piece for Ottawa during his time. He scored one of the franchises legendary goals to get the team in the playoffs for the first time ever.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Did you think that was a good trade or not?

I thought it was bad- Duchesne was on the rise while Kurri was on the decline.

I think Duchesne could have gotten L.A. over the hump in 1993- maybe Melrose puts him on the ice instead of McSorley on a fateful June night...

LA had lots of skill on their blue-line in the 1993 playoffs. They traded Paul Coffey midway through that season, and while the Kings didn't get much for Coffey, it allowed them to give more responsibility to three promising young defencemen - Rob Blake, Alexei Zhitnik and Darryl Sydor. They responded. Especially Zhitnik, who played probably the best hockey of his life, and looked like a sure-fire future Norris winner. If Duchesne and/or Coffey is there, those three young blue-liners don't get the responsibility they had, and the Kings maybe don't make it to the Cup final. Those were three of the Kings top players.

As for McSorley, he also probably played the best hockey of his life in the spring of 1993. People remember the illegal stick incident. They don't remember how well Marty played in the playoffs. He parlayed his performance into a fat, long-term offer sheet from the Pens that summer.

Kurri probably played his best post-Oilers dynasty hockey in 1992-93. He was outstanding in the first half of the season playing centre on the Kings WOW Line (without Wayne, as Gretzky was sidelined with a back injury). Sandstrom and Robitaille were his wingers.

LA's biggest problem, according to Melrose, was a lack of grit. They had lots of gunners and smooth skaters up front. So they tried to move some of the danglers for more grit. Guys like Corey Millen were gone. Yet in what proved to be an ironic move, the Kings matched the five-year offer sheet for McSorley, then flipped Marty to the Pens (yes, you could do that back then) for smooth-skating Shawn McEachran.

As for Duchesne, his nomadic career is attributable to various factors. Philly and Quebec wanted him. He held out from Quebec. (Incidentally, that Quebec-St. Louis trade really changed the complexion on the Blues, and not for the better. They became a really soft team in a hurry without Bassen and Sutter). He wasn't a Keenan type of player. He signed as a free agent a couple times.

 

[gare joyce]

Biggest reason he was somewhat nomadic was that he was considered soft and mediocre defensively, despite his excellence on the PP.

The trade out of Quebec was also his own doing, as he was a contract holdout before being dealt to St. Louis. Probably a big mistake on his part, career-wise. He'd put up a career year the year before with the offensive juggernaut they were building in Quebec and if he stays there, they never aquire Ozolinsh and he probably puts up a string of huge seasons for a powerhouse team. Instead, he goes to St. Louis and puts up a couple decent seasons before Keenan decides to dump him, and he ends up on a crap Ottawa team while Colorado is winning the Cup.

Exactly what you say.

Covering the Senators in their run-up to their first playoff berth, they seemed like a pretty tight team in Ottawa (with a notable exception or two) but Duchesne was in his own bubble a bit. Likeable enough guy, I don't remember him being tight with anybody. Soft and not particularly driven. But it was money that ended up getting him out of there.

 

[Wet Sprocket]

On a side note, Steve Duchesne was probibly one of my favorite hockey names. I can still hear Bob Miller giving the play-by-play "...and Duchesne, back to Gretzky..." Loved how that name rolled off the tongue!

 

[Dark Shadows]

Biggest reason he was somewhat nomadic was that he was considered soft and mediocre defensively, despite his excellence on the PP.

The trade out of Quebec was also his own doing, as he was a contract holdout before being dealt to St. Louis. Probably a big mistake on his part, career-wise. He'd put up a career year the year before with the offensive juggernaut they were building in Quebec and if he stays there, they never aquire Ozolinsh and he probably puts up a string of huge seasons for a powerhouse team. Instead, he goes to St. Louis and puts up a couple decent seasons before Keenan decides to dump him, and he ends up on a crap Ottawa team while Colorado is winning the Cup.

This post pretty much covers all the bases. Duchesne was basically Housley-lite. Terrible in his own end, and not as good offensively

 

[guinness]

I liked him in Detroit, but maybe Bowman broke him of some bad habits when he was here.

However by the time he got here, he wasn't the offensive defenseman he was in his prime.

 

[Psycho Papa Joe]

Some times, for whatever reason good players just don't stick on one team. Guys like Recchi and Gilmour are good examples. As far as I know they are good players and good teammates, but for whatever reason move around alot.

 

[TheBannermen]

In retrospect, I love the deal to get Kurri here. We were ready to make that last good push and you have to get champions on your roster. Duchesne was great in L.A., but the team just could never get over that last hill. 92-93 Kurri was amazing as our #1 center when Gretzky was out. Luc's 63 goals wouldn't have happened otherwise. Not to mention that Gretzky and Kurri were dynamite together in any situation.

I hate the Coffey trade for Carson and Shuchuk. Carson didn't do anything of consequence, but Shuchuk did go on to score that huge GWG in game 5 vs Vancouver, so I can't hate it too much. Still, I think I hang on to Coffey to make our defense really incredible. Blake, Coffey, Zhitnik, Sydor, Huddy, and Mcsorely is a championship defense in my opinion.

 

[Tarpan]

Biggest reason he was somewhat nomadic was that he was considered soft and mediocre defensively, despite his excellence on the PP.

I fell in love with Duchesne after he won me a hockey pool in his first breakout year...followed him a fair bit after that pretty much right until his last day in the NHL.

That said...mediocre is giving him a lot of credit.



He had a lot of talent, but was not a dominant player by any stretch despite what his numbers might indicate which ultimatly meant that he was very moveable. I think someone prior to this said it perfectly: he was good enough offensivly that someone always wanted him, but not good enough defensivly to make you not willing to lose him.