3. Isles cement a dynasty (1980) -- Denis Potvin. Bryan Trottier. Mike Bossy. Billy Smith. Clark Gillies. Al Arbour. The New York Islanders appeared to have it all. But despite the wealth of talent, the Islanders finished the 1970s with disappointing losses in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Something was needed to get the Isles over the hump and GM Bill Torrey surveyed the scene and cast his eye toward Los Angeles, deciding Butch Goring was the answer to what ailed his team.

In 69 games with the Kings, Goring had 20 goals and 48 assists. Goring was well know around NHL circles at the time thanks to his jitterbug style of play and ancient helmet that he had worn seemingly forever. He was a pretty fair scorer to boot, having notched at least 30 goals per season in the four seasons prior to 1979-80.

So the Islanders sent two regulars, winger Billy Harris and defenseman Dave Lewis, to the Kings to bring back Goring.

Goring proved to be the perfect fit. He scored six goals and five assists in 12 regular-season games and then added seven goals and 12 assists in 21 playoff games as the Islanders won their first of four-straight Stanley Cups. In his second playoff run with the club, Goring won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason's MVP.

The expansion Capitals dealt for Rod Langway, who became the Secretary of Defense the team desperately needed.

4. Langway becomes Secretary of Defense (1982) -- The Washington Capitals were close to becoming laughingstocks. The Caps had rarely ventured beyond expansion-team status in the standing during their first eight seasons in the NHL.

The first big move the team made was to hire David Poile as the general manager and Poile, on the job for less than a couple weeks, made a huge deal with the Montreal Canadiens that immediately turned the team's fortunes around.

In the trade, the Capitals acquired defensemen Rod Langway and Brian Engblom and forwards Doug Jarvis and Craig Laughlin in exchange for forward Ryan Walter and defenseman Rick Green.

Langway became the Secretary of Defense the Caps desperately needed and Jarvis was an NHL ironman, excellent penalty killer and defensive center. Laughlin was a dependable forward and Engblom was swapped to Los Angeles for veteran Larry Murphy, who added an offensive element to the Caps' backline.

Now, add in a young Scott Stevens and all the pieces were in place to turn the Capitals into a team with which to be reckoned.

5. Penguins grab the final piece (1987) –- Mario Lemieux had all the talent in the world, but he couldn't make the Pittsburgh Penguins into a championship team by himself.

So, the Pens made a good, old-fashioned blockbuster with the Edmonton Oilers to come away with Paul Coffey, one of the most dynamic offensive backliners in NHL history.

Coming to Pittsburgh with Coffey were forwards Dave Hunter and Wayne Van Dorp and the Oilers picked up forwards Craig Simpson and Dave Hannan, plus defensemen Moe Mantha and Chris Joseph.

But Coffey was the vital cog for Pittsburgh. He scored 15 goals and 52 assists in just 46 games that season and went on to be a member of Pittsburgh's 1990-91 championship team.

Brett Hull and the Blues were a perfect fit as he had seasons of 86, 72 and 70 goals during 10 full seasons in St. Louis.

6. Hull steps into the spotlight (1988) -- After being selected 116th overall in the 1984 Entry Draft, there weren't a lot of people banking on Brett Hull following in the footsteps of his Hall of Fame father, "The Golden Jet", Bobby Hull. The younger Hull hadn't been deemed serious enough about making pro hockey a career. But by the 1987-88 season, the pieces were falling into place. Brett had scored 26 goals and 24 assists in 53 games for the Calgary Flames.

But the Flames were building for a Stanley Cup and needed defense, so Hull was sent to the St. Louis Blues, along with forward Steve Bozek, for defenseman Rob Ramage and goalie Rick Wamsley on March 7, 1988.

Bingo! A legend is born. Hull and the Blues were a perfect fit and he had seasons of 86, 72 and 70 goals during 10 full seasons in St. Louis.

Hull signed as a free agent in Dallas and won a Cup there and then signed in Detroit and won another Cup there.

The deal may look terribly lopsided for the Blues, but keep in mind both Ramage and Wamsley went on to play with the Flames' lone Stanley Cup championship team the following season, providing the veteran know-how the club sought.