Let's make a deal: A look back at this season's biggest trades

After sending the overpaid underacheiver
to Ottawa, the Coyotes understood what
it felt like to be a Canadian voter

The Phoenix Coyotes finally made the long-awaited Kyle Turris trade over the weekend, dealing the disgruntled center to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for young defenceman David Rundblad and a draft pick.

The trade was a rare early-season blockbuster in a league where most trades seem to happen at the trade deadline or in the offseason. It will also be the last NHL deal for a while, since the league-wide holiday trade freeze went into effect on Monday.

So while NHL general managers step away from the negotiating table for a well-deserved break, let's take a look back at some of the significant trades the league has seen since the end of training camp.

The trade: The Devils send David Steckel to the Leafs for a fourth-round draft pick.
The view from Toronto: Steckel gives the team a faceoff specialist who can take the first draw after a Maple Leaf penalty, which is always in the defensive zone, as well as the second draw after a Maple Leaf penalty, which is always at center ice.
The view from New Jersey: Steckel's main role last year with the Capitals was being the guy who'd go up to Alexander Ovechkin before every game and remind him to occasionally score a goal or two, although I'm sure someone else will remember to do that.
Final verdict: The deal saw the Leafs acquire an above-average fourth line center, which I think we all agree was their only major weakness heading into the season.

The trade: The Blues trade Nikita Nikitin to the Blue Jackets for Kris Russell.
The view from St. Louis: Like that old hockey cliché says, any time you can get a decent defenseman in return for an obviously fictional player with a ridiculous made up name, you need to make the deal.
The view from Blue Jackets: While it's not uncommon for departing employees to steal a few office supplies on the way out, it still wasn't cool for Russell to try to leave the arena dragging Rick Nash behind him in his hockey bag.
Final verdict: This was a major deal that will have a significant impact, according to the immediate families of whoever these two guys are.

The trade: The Senators send David Rundblad and a second round pick to the Coyotes for Kyle Turris.
The view from Ottawa: Rundblad had developed a reputation for committing lazy turnovers that led directly to easy goals for the other team, and the Senators already have a ton of guys who are good at that.
The view from Phoenix: Turris described his time in Phoenix by saying "it's something that was a frustrating situation and I'm just glad it's in the past", with the "it" presumably referring to "sunlight".
Final verdict: In hindsight, Turris probably regrets not being more specific with that "no trades to teams with scoreboards from the 1950s" contract clause.

The trade: The Canucks acquire David Booth, Steven Reinprecht and a draft pick from the Panthers for Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm.
The view from Vancouver: When it comes to the playoffs, ex-Panther Booth doesn't know the meaning of the word "lose", although the same could technically be said for the words "win" and "playoffs".
The view from Florida: Both of the players they acquired are old and overpaid and will be unrestricted free agents next year, so they can pretty much buy houses in Florida any time now.
Final verdict: As per tradition, this blockbuster trade between the Canucks and Panthers did not involve any clutch goaltenders.

The trade: The Canadiens trade Jaroslav Spacek to the Hurricanes for Tomas Kaberle.
The view from Carolina: Spacek fills a critical need for the Hurricanes blueline, in the sense that he is a hockey player who is not Tomas Kaberle.
The view from Montreal: You have to give the Canadiens credit for being much more responsive than the Maple Leafs when you complain about the head coach, according to Kaberle's dad.
Final verdict: When it was pointed out that Kaberle has an additional two years left on his high-priced contract, Pierre Gauthier told reporters "Yes, I'll definitely have to deal with that when I'm general manager here during the 2013-14 season" before laughing sarcastically and then going back to updating his resume.