Boston Bruins Flashback: Trade that cost team multiple Stanley Cups

A few great, good, bad and several truly terrible trades in Boston sports history. The Boston Bruins might have made the worst.

Teams trade all the time. There are small trades, big trades and some trades that may appear minor at the time but have monumental consequences for the teams involved. We all seem to love trades. Some work out. Some don’t. Some turn out great, and some are disastrous. The ultimate gist of this story is one that was the latter for the Boston Bruins. A colossal disaster.

First, some other trades. One all-time great Boston trade was the trade of two rather inconsequential minor league pitchers to the Montreal Expos for a certain pitcher named Pedro Martinez. That one was an all-time great trade by Dan Duquette.

Then there was the all-time terrible trade (sale actually but that’s a trade for cash isn’t it?) of a certain slugger named Babe who was shipped out of Boston by then-owner Harry Frazee. That was an all-time, all-time bad trade. Maybe THE all-time bad trade, actually.

Yet, there have been other monumentally good Boston trades as well. The trade for the rights to the all-time best winning basketball player ever, the incomparable Bill Russell was a Celtics masterpiece by the great Red Auerbach The trade for Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale by Auerbach, two Hall of Fame players was another masterpiece.

And there have been several other memorable trades by Boston teams both good and bad that have punctuated Boston Sports history. Fans for some reason love trades. Maybe it’s the mystery. Maybe it the gamble of outfoxing the other side (they hope). Maybe it’s just fun to get in new faces who may just take your team to another level. We just love trades.