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Originally Posted by Sakari
It's definitely debatable.. He went on to be one of the most prolific scorers the NHL has ever known though, would have been a great piece for the Flames. The return definitely wasn't that of what you'd want to get for an NHL legend in his prime. Although we did win the cup the year after, it was a one-sided deal for sure. How many of Hull's goals would have helped the Flames win a cup?
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It's an interesting discussion. In the years subsequent to 89, goal scoring was not a problem for the Flames and despite all the goals that Hull scored, his Blues teams were never really close to a Stanley Cup. He didn't actually win one till he joined a stacked and defensively oriented Stars team in which he played a secondary role (coincidentally to Nieuwendyk amongst others), although he did score the cup clinching goal.
I just think, when you are that close, you have to take that chance and sacrifice a future star if it increases your chance to win a cup. More to the point for the Flames in 89, they still had young studs in Nieuwendyk, Roberts, and Fleury up front and I think Ranheim had scored like 60 plus goals in their minor league team as well so they were well stocked.
When I compare it to the Gilmour trade, and the Phanuef trade, it just pales in the fail.