[Cali Panthers Fan]

I think the obvious answers have already been made, but if I may allow recency bias to cloud my judgement, there are three trades in recent years where the return still stuns me as much as it did at the time the trade was made.

Reto Berra for a 2nd round pick. Pretty great return for a guy that was barely an NHL backup.

Curtis Glencross for a 2nd and 3rd round pick. Not one but TWO decently high picks for a guy that was out of the league a couple of months later. THAT is a fleecing.

Kris Russell for a conditional 2nd (made a 1st round pick if the Stars made the conference finals...which they almost did if not for a game 7 loss to St. Louis), Jyrki Jokipakka, and Brett Pollock. I still can't figure out how Treliving got this much back for a mediocre #4 defenseman. The fact that this nearly turned into a 1st round pick still astonishes me. Jokipakka didn't work out, but at the time he was considered an NHLer with potential. Pollock is a throw in B prospect, and even if that 1st round pick was in the late 20's, it's still an impressive return for a guy that barely got a 1 year deal the next year.

I think I've seen some of the most impressive fleecing in the past few years.