A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens: Five Trades That Ruined Habs Latest Dynasty Before It Started

By Ken MacMillan

MONTREAL - NOVEMBER 5: A general view of the rafters that show the Stanley Cup Champion banners along with the retired jerseys of the Montreal Canadiens at the Molson Centre on November 5, 2002 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
MONTREAL - NOVEMBER 5: A general view of the rafters that show the Stanley Cup Champion banners along with the retired jerseys of the Montreal Canadiens at the Molson Centre on November 5, 2002 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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16 Feb 1998: John LeClair of the USA and Eric Desjardins of Canada (Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /Allsport)
16 Feb 1998: John LeClair of the USA and Eric Desjardins of Canada (Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /Allsport) /

3. John LeClair and Eric Desjardins traded to Philadelphia Flyers for Mark Recchi

Serge Savard was mercifully let go at the end of the 1994-95 season but not before he pulled off another one-sided deal in the wrong direction. John LeClair, a budding star power forward, and Eric Desjardins, an elite right-shot defender were shipped to Philadelphia for high scoring winger Mark Recchi.

In all fairness to Recchi, he was great during his time in Montreal. He arrived in February 1995, which was early in the lockout shortened year and he scored 43 points in 39 games. The Habs made the playoffs the next three years and Recchi was a key reason why. He had 78, 80 and then 74 point seasons and added 24 points in 21 total playoff games during that span.

So, Recchi was good, he just didn’t make up for the loss of LeClair and Desjardins. LeClair scored 19 goals in each of last two seasons with the Canadiens and put up 44 and 43 points. Upon arriving in Philadelphia, he immediately exploded offensively and exceeded what Recchi was doing in Montreal.

Joined on a line with Eric Lindros, LeClair became a fierce power forward for the Flyers and was a key member of the Legion of Doom line with Lindros and Mikael Renberg. LeClair had 49 points in 37 games during his first year in Philly. He followed that up with seasons of 97, 97, 87, 90 and 77 points while putting up five straight 40 goal seasons and three times notching 50 snipes. He was one of the best goal scorers in the league in the late 1990’s.

The Flyers were one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference at that time and Desjardins was leaned on heavily as the team’s best defenseman. Immediately after leaving Montreal, Desjardins was in the top ten for Norris Trophy voting in five of the next six seasons. He never won, but it shows that he was consistently one of the best defensemen in the game from 1995 to 2001.

Now, imagine him on the second pairing in Montreal all those years because Chris Chelios was on the top pair. Not a bad one-two punch on the right side and they would have had a pretty solid goaltender in behind them.

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