Eyes On Isles
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Islanders top 3 trades ever with the Los Angeles Kings

By Michel Anderson

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 29: Former New York Islander Butch Goring is honored by the team as his #91 jersey is retired and hung in the rafters prior to the game between the Islanders and the Boston Bruins at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on February 29, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 29: Former New York Islander Butch Goring is honored by the team as his #91 jersey is retired and hung in the rafters prior to the game between the Islanders and the Boston Bruins at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on February 29, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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We know the top trade made between the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings, but what would be the other two top trades made between these two teams?

The New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings have made a number of trades since 1972, and it hasn’t always gone so well for the Islanders. We can all name at least one good and one bad trade for the New York Islanders with the Los Angeles Kings.

But could you make a top three trades with the Kings? (The Ziggy Palffy trade was a big-time L for the Isles.) With that in mind, here are the top three trades made with the west coast franchise.

1. March 10, 1980: Butch Goring

The Butch Goring trade is the gold standard of trade deadline day acquisitions. Moved for Bill Harris and Dave Lewis, the Islanders acquired a top-tier two-way center leading up to the 1980 playoffs.

Goring would help the Islanders win the cup that year and another three cups in the three following years. In 1981 he was named the playoff MVP winning the Conn Smythe trophy with 20 points in 18 games.

Goring was (and continues to be) an integral part of this franchise that his number 91 now hangs from the rafters after it was retired earlier in 2019-20.

It just doesn’t get better than that.

2. January 3, 2001: Jason Blake

In 2001, Mike Milbury sent a fifth-round pick to the Kings for Jason Blake. The 27-year-old forward had 28 points in 82 games for the Kings up to that point. So the trade seemed fair at the time.

But over time, Blake became a quality top-six player for the Islanders. By 2002-03 he was a 25 goal scorer with 55 points over 81 games. In his final year with the Isles (07-08), Blake scored 40 goals and 69 points. That was and would remain, his career-high.

Over 426 games on the Island, Blake totaled 127 goals and 258 points with the Islanders. For a fifth-round pick.

3. February 22, 1989: Kelly Hrudey

On Feb 22, 1989, the Islanders traded goalie Kelly Hrudey to the Los Angeles Kings for two players and future considerations. I know, trading Kelly Hrudey doesn’t seem like a good trade for the Islanders and there’s certainly some truth to that. But, consider this:

The Isles would get Mark Fitzpatrick (G), Wayne McBean (D), and Doug Crossman (D) in return for Hrudey.

  • Fitzpatrick would average a 3.41GAA and 0.891SV% over five years with the Islanders. Hrudey would average a 3.47GAA and 0.895SV% for the Kings. Fitzpatrick would also win a Masterton trophy in 1992 after beating a potentially terminal blood disease (eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome).
  • Wayne McBean would play 120 games for the Isles and score 32 points.
  • Doug Crossman played just one season for the Islanders and scored 59 points for the blueline. The Isles would trade Crossman the next season for Ray Ferraro.

That’s a lot to get for a single player. Losing Hrudey wasn’t fun, but the return was justified.

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