Remember Nicolas Perreault?
No, probably not.
Odds are that not many people outside of his friends and family do, at least for his on-ice accomplishments.
Perreault was a Michigan State defenseman Calgary claimed with the 26th overall choice in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, using a second-round pick the Flames acquired from the Penguins.
The Penguins' return in that trade was right winger Joe Mullen.
Perreault never played a game in the NHL and retired after bouncing around the minors for a few seasons following his college career.
Mullen, conversely, became an integral part of the Penguins' Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1991 and 1992. He eventually secured his place in hockey history by being the first U.S.-born player to score 500 goals in the NHL and was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Although the deal for Mullen might not have been Craig Patrick's most important move at that draft at BC Place in Vancouver -- that's when he invested the Penguins' first-round choice in a young Czech winger named Jaromir Jagr -- it certainly reinforced the notion that trades made in conjunction with the draft can have a profound impact on a franchise.
The majority of deals struck while the draft is in progress tend to involve relatively inconsequential exchanges of draft choices -- Team A sends its fifth- and seventh-rounders this year to Team B for its sixth-rounder this year and next -- but there can be significant personnel exchanges then.
Indeed, Jim Rutherford made several during his tenure as GM, as well as a couple of others shortly after the draft that almost certainly had been discussed when Rutherford and his eventual trading partner had been together a few days earlier.
Coincidentally enough, both of the latter involved Phil Kessel.
Four days after the 2015 draft, Rutherford finalized a multiple-asset swap with the Maple Leafs that landed Kessel. Four years later, he shipped Kessel to Arizona a week after the draft.
How aggressive Ron Hextall will be in trying to forge trades during the 2021 draft, which will be conducted remotely July 23-24, remains to be seen, and just because he might press hard to pull off a deal doesn't assure that one will happen. History, though, shows that conditions usually are conducive to negotiating player exchanges then.
Trades on or around draft day are nothing new -- the Penguins got Randy Carlyle and George Ferguson from Toronto for Dave Burrows and a sixth-round choice two days before the 1978 draft, and Randy Gilhen, Jim Kyte and Andrew McBain from the Jets for Randy Cunneyworth, Dave McLlwain and Rick Tabaracci on draft day a dozen years later -- but do seem to be more common during the past few decades, especially for the Penguins.
Here's a look at their major draft-day deals since the turn of this century:
2003
No. 1 (Marc-Andre Fleury) and No. 3 (Daniel Carcillo) draft choices from Florida for a No. 1 (Nathan Horton), No. 2 (Stefan Meyer) and Mikael Samuelsson.
The scene: Patrick knew the Penguins needed a franchise-caliber goalie if they were to develop into a contender, and convinced Florida to allow him to move up two spots in the draft order, to No. 1 overall, so he could claim Fleury. The Panthers already had Roberto Luongo, so had no reason to invest such a high pick in a goaltender and believed Horton could be a productive power forward for a lot of years. Which he might have been if not for the back injury that ended his career.
Grade the trade: A. Despite some ups and downs, Fleury earned three Stanley Cup rings with the Penguins and eventually will be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Carcillo, whose NHL career was most memorable for his reckless, penalty-filled style, was traded to Phoenix for Georges Laraque in 2007.
2012
Harrison Ruopp, Marc Chevrie and a No. 3 pick (Oskar Sundqvist) from Phoenix for Zbynek Michalek.
The scene: Ray Shero needed salary-cap space and Michalek, an accomplished shot-blocker and earnest defender, had an annual hit of $4 million, which led to him being deemed expendable, even though the Penguins were pleased with how he'd played during his two seasons with them.
Grade the trade: C-. The Penguins met their primary objective of clearing cap space, but neither Ruopp nor Chevrie ever played a game for them. Sundqvist has developed into a solid NHLer, but he's done it mostly in St. Louis, where the Penguins sent him in 2017.
2012
Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin and a No. 1 pick (Derrick Pouliot) from Carolina for Jordan Staal.
The scene: Shero was in a tough spot, because Staal had made it clear that he wanted to play with his older brother, Eric, in Carolina, even if it meant signing there when he became an unrestricted free agent in 2013. Despite his complete lack of leverage, Shero was able to get a capable No. 3 center (Sutter), a promising defensive prospect (Dumoulin) and the No. 8 choice in Round 1 from Rutherford, then GM of the Hurricanes.
Grade the trade: A+. Under the circumstances, Shero got a remarkable return. And if Pouliot had come anywhere near living up to the potential most scouts believed he had, the deal would have merited an A+++.
2014
Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling from the Predators for James Neal.
The scene: Rutherford set the tone for his tenure as GM here during his first draft, orchestrating a stunning, roster-altering move just weeks after accepting the job. And while Hornqvist was the centerpiece, Spaling proved to be a useful bottom-six guy during his time with the Penguins.
Grade the trade: A. Rutherford sensed that the Penguins needed someone with Hornqvist's fiery makeup and feisty style, and was willing to give up a proven big-time goal-scorer to get him. It was a high-risk, high-reward move that paid off better for the Penguins than almost anyone expected.
2017
Ryan Reaves and a No. 2 (Zachary Lauzon) from the Blues for Sundqvist and a No. 1 (Klim Kostin).
The scene: Rutherford, having watched his skilled players routinely suffer physical abuse by opponents, decided to add one of hockey's premier heavyweights to his roster.
Grading the trade: F. Only because the scale doesn't go to H. Mike Sullivan never seemed comfortable with having Reaves fill a meaningful role, and he was traded to Vegas before completing a season with the Penguins.
2020
No. 2 (Joel Blomqvist) and Jonathan Gruden from the Senators for Matt Murray.
The scene: Tristan Jarry had supplanted Murray, who was poised to become a restricted free agent, as the Penguins' go-to goalie, and the only questions about Murray were when he would be traded, where he would go and what the return would be.
Grading the trade: Incomplete. That's for both parties. Blomqvist and Gruden, while showing promise, are still just prospects, and Murray had an inconsistent first season in Ottawa.
