5 times a player had a monster year, then was traded during the following season

Nikita Kucherov’s stunning trade request got me thinking: Just how often has something like this happened in NHL history? After all, Kucherov won the MVP last season after racking up 130 points. Guys like that just don’t get dealt.

Or do they? A star player being traded, especially after a big season, is unusual in the NHL, certainly. But it’s not all that rare. No reigning MVP has ever been traded, but we saw a Vezina winner dealt just a few years ago. We came very close to seeing the Norris winner traded just this past summer. In fact, there are enough examples of star players being moved in the offseason that we were able to invent a fake award for just that situation.

So sure, maybe it’s not all that unheard of for a superstar to be dealt in the summer following a big season. But that’s not what’s happening here. Kucherov made it through the offseason without any hint of a move, only to drop his trade request bomb after a dozen games were in the books. That means that if he gets his wish, it will be by a midseason trade.

That’s far more rare. In fact, it’s almost unheard of. Almost.

So today, let’s look back at five time where a player had a monster year, only to be traded during the following season. These aren’t necessarily the five best players to meet those criteria, but hopefully they make for some interesting stories which may be new to some of you kids out there.

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NHL weekend rankings: Nikita Kucherov shocker, plus early stories I'm starting to buy

For the second week in a row, the NHL’s weekend was rocked by a Friday news bomb. Last week, it was one of the best players in the league getting traded. This time, it was an even better player saying he wants to be next. And unlike Connor Hellebuyck, the Nikita Kucherov story seemed to come out of nowhere.

We’ll get to that down below. Spoiler alert: It was big enough to significantly shift our Top Five.

But first, let’s clean up some loose ends. A few weeks ago, I gave you my five early-season stories I wasn’t buying quite yet. I think the list mostly holds up – Montreal and Buffalo are good again, Brady Tkachuk started scoring right away, and the bad teams aren’t quite as bad – although the Kraken are giving me some second thoughts.

But now that a little more time has passed, it’s only fair that we try the other angle. So this week, here are five somewhat surprising early storylines that I’m starting to think might be the real deal.

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NHL’s scariest starts: Players starting the 2026-27 season frighteningly slow

It’s going to be a scary weekend in the NHL.

You’ve got Halloween tomorrow night, obviously. The next day, it will be dark around the time you’re finishing lunch. And that darkness will extend to any team that’s outside the playoff bubble, because the dreaded Curse of November 1st will kick in too.

It’s a lot, and there’s no point running from it. So instead, let’s embrace the fear with our annual Scary Start team.

As always, this will be a roster of 18 skaters and three goalies, because there’s never enough room for bad goaltending on this squad. We’re basing our picks off of expectations, meaning a highly paid star putting up mediocre numbers will be a more likely pick than a fourth-liner doing fourth-linter things. In a new twist, we’ll mix in a coach and GM this year. And there’s a firm limit of one representative per team, because Canucks fans can’t have all the fun.

Embrace the darkness. Here we go…

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NHL weekend rankings: A blockbuster shakes the league, but how much does it change?

We like to say that our long-term approach means that things change quickly around here. But there are a few exceptions to that rule, including big trades.

We may have seen the biggest of the year this weekend. But is it enough to shake up the rankings? We’ll find out down below, but let’s kick things off with five observations from the weekend that aren’t about the Connor Hellebuyck trade.

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NHL weekend rankings: A record-setting week in Florida, and a look back one year

One of the most annoying things you can say to sportswriter is “it’s too early”.

You see it in every comment section, social media reply thread, and reader email. We hear it from friends, family, and random guys in sports bars. It’s the caveat that hangs over everything. “It’s too early,” everyone shrieks, “and you can’t draw any conclusions yet”.

It’s annoying. But not because it isn’t true.

No, it’s annoying because we know it’s true. Everyone does. But that doesn’t change the fact that it you want to talk about hockey in October, it’s going to be too early. Sure, maybe we’d all be smarter if we checked out and then circled back in February. But some of like hockey, and want to talk about it. Also, some of us need to eat.

But yes, it’s too early. And while we’d love to hand-wave that fact away, it’s actually important to remember. So today, let’s look back at what the standings were telling us at this time last season, and consider it a reminder of what “too early” can really look like.

As of last night, the NHL has played 136 games. Last season, Game number 136 was playing on October 25. Here’s what the standings looked like that day.

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