Blackhawks’ April Fools: The Worst Trade Ever Made

One of the worst trades in NHL history was when the Chicago Blackhawks traded Phil Esposito to the Bruins.

The Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins have had a historic rivalry dating back to the beginning of the NHL. The Blackhawks and Bruins matchup in the 2013 Stanley Cup where Chicago got the better of Boston.

Did you know, in 1967, Boston got the better of Chicago? Though it wasn’t a Stanley Cup, it was a move that would shape the Bruins’ franchise for almost a decade. It was a move that helped Boston win two Stanley Cups in three seasons.

Well, before I start, Chicago got their revenge in 2013, it just took 46 years.

You’ve heard of Phil Esposito and his brother Tony. Well, have you heard of Gilles Marotte? If you answered no to this question, I don’t blame you. Marotte played for seven different teams, one of them being the Blackhawks.

In two and a half seasons with the Blackhawks, Marotte 192 games. During those games, he scored just 10 goals and has 63 assists for a total of 73 points. See, if he wasn’t apart of the worst trade in Blackhawks’ history, those numbers would have been fine; but, Esposito during that same time, he scored 127 goals with 182 assists for 309 points.

How about Pit Martin? He did better in Chicago than Marotte did. He played there for 11 seasons, where he assessed 243 goals and 384 assists in 740 games. Do you know how well Esposito did during the same period of time? He had 560 goals, 680 assists, 1,240 points, and two Stanley Cups.

How about Jack Norris? I mean, he has the last name as a trophy. The young goalie played in 10 games over two seasons for the Blackhawks. He was 3-3 as a starter, giving up 4,42 goals per game.

Those three players mentioned were what the Blackhawks got in return.

So, let’s compare Marotte and Martin’s stats to Esposito’s. Combined, Marotte and Martin had 700 points in Chicago. Those guys played 13 seasons combined with the Blackhawks.

Esposito hit 700 points in his ninth NHL season. So yeah, this was a really bad trade for Chicago.

To sum this up, Boston got a Hall of Fame player and two Stanley Cups while Chicago wasted their time and set their franchise back a few seasons. The next time we talk about how bad trading Artemi Panarin away was, think what could have been for Chicago in the 1970s.