This Day in Hockey History – June 29, 1990 and 2016 – Star Swap

Jun 29, 2019

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Twice, 26 years apart on June 29, the Montreal Canadiens traded away one of their most famous players in return for a star player from down the middle of the U.S. In 1990, they traded defenseman Chris Chelios and a second-round draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in return for French-Canadian center Denis Savard. In 2016, they swapped defensemen so that P.K. Subban went to the Nashville Predators while their Shea Weber came up to Montreal.

Chelios and Savard each felt that they were returning home in 1990. The former had grown up in Chicago but was drafted by Montreal in the 2nd round (40th overall) during the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. Meanwhile, the latter hailed from Pointe Gatineua, Quebec and played for the Montreal Juniors only to be passed over when Montreal had first pick overall at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Instead, Chicago drafted Savard third overall, leaving him to worry about knowing so little English.

Though Chicago was his hometown, Chelios played well for the Canadiens for seven seasons, helping win a Stanley Cup and earning the Norris Trophy in 1989. After the trade, he took home the Norris Trophy as best defenseman twice more. Chelios also helped Chicago make it to the Stanley Cup Final in 1992. According to his former coach, Mike Keenan, “Chris Chelios changed the culture of the Chicago Blackhawks. He was one of the fiercest competitors I ever coached. He was without fear, courageous in his play, a risk-taker, but also an intelligent hockey player.” Unfortunately, within five seasons, contract negotiations fell through resulting in another trade.

Meanwhile, Savard set Chicago’s record for points during a rookie season with his 75 (28G, 47A). The very next season, he set a team record for points with 119 (32G, 87A), which he beat in 1987-88 by scoring 131 points (44G, 87A). In fact, he remained Chicago’s top scorer for seven straight seasons. After moving to Montreal, Savard could not keep up his high scoring. In his final season with them, 1992-93, he scored a personal low of 50 points, but the team went on to win the Stanley Cup.

As for the next generation of players traded, Montreal drafted Subban as their second-round pick (43rd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He had already become a big deal at the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Championships, helping Canada win gold at both. Also selected in the second round, Weber was chosen 49th overall by the Predators at the renowned 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He too had earned a gold for Canada at a World Junior Championship.

Subban, in his first full-time season of 2010-11, led Montreal in power-play goals (9) and became their first rookie to score a hat trick. Two seasons later, he earned the Norris Trophy and tied for top scoring defenseman with 38 points. After the trade, Subban scored even more for the Predators and helped them take their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017. The following season, Nashville won the Presidents’ Trophy.

Just before Subban began playing in the NHL full-time, Weber won a gold medal with Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics and had been named the Predators’ captain. He was so valuable to the team that they matched an offer rather than let him play for the Philadelphia Flyers. Weber earned the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award for 2015-16 just before the trade. He had a decent season for his first in Montreal, but he has not been able to play a full one for the past two seasons.

Three of the four players ended up moving on to other teams. Chelios was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in 1999, despite hoping to finish his career in Chicago, because in his nearly ten seasons there, he helped them win two Stanley Cup championships in 2002 and 2008. Along the way, he also managed a silver medal for the U.S. at the 2002 Winter Olympics. He finally retired in 2010, after spending some time with Chicago’s AHL team and the Atlanta Thrashers, after 26 seasons, matching Gordie Howe’s record. Savard quickly signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1993, but they traded him back to Chicago in 1995. He finished his career there, retiring in 1997. Mere days ago, on June 22, 2019, Nashville traded Subban to the New Jersey Devils for Steven Santini, Jeremy Davies, New Jersey’s 2nd-round pick in 2019 NHL Draft, and their 2nd-round pick in 2020 NHL Draft.

When they retired, Chelios had played the most games by any NHL defenseman (1,651), and Savard had the third-highest number of points (1,096) in Chicago’s club history. The latter went on to serve the Blackhawks as assistant coach (1997-2006) then head coach (2006-2008). They named Savard a Blackhawks ambassador in 2010 and Chelios one in 2018. Savard was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000, and Chelios followed him in 2013.