The Random 4th Round Pick
It was the winter of 2006 and as we all know, the Hurricanes were contending for the Stanley Cup, Looking to add some defensive depth, the Hurricanes sent Danny Richmond and a fourth round pick in the upcoming draft to Chicago for Anton Babchuk and a 4th round pick in the next years’ draft.
Danny Richmond never played more than 22 games in an NHL season, but has had a pretty decent career. He is still playing professionally, currently in his 15th pro year and now in the Dutch pro league.
At first glance, Carolina wins this trade by a mile. Babchuk wasn’t a piece in the 2006 championship team, but a few years later, Babchuk made his way onto an NHL roster. He is probably best known for his overtime goal in 2009 that clinched a playoff berth.
However, Chicago would not be done with this pick that they received from Carolina. They would package their own 4th round pick to move up into the third round of the 06 draft. They sent this pick to Toronto where The Leafs drafted future starting goaltender James Reimer.
Chicago didn’t benefit directly from this trade and Carolina got a cool memory off the stick of Babchuk. But when you see an NHL name pop up in something like this, it’s hard not to think what could have been for Carolina.