The days before the NHL trading deadline can be like the last few shopping days before Christmas: Lots of teams looking for just the right last-minute deal -- either to make them a Stanley Cup challenger, a playoff contender, or to speed the rebuilding process. A team that makes the right deal can win a Cup, or even start a dynasty; one that makes the wrong deal can set itself back indefinitely -- sometimes for years.

Here's a sampling of some of most (and least) productive deals made at or near the trading deadline.

Five That Sizzled

1980: New York Islanders acquire C Butch Goring from Los Angeles for D Dave Lewis and RW Billy Harris -- Nearly a quarter of a century later, this is still the gold standard for deadline dealing, because not only did it fill in a Cup contender's last hole, it triggered the start of a dynasty.

The Islanders, the 1978-79 regular-season champs, spent most of the next season trying to regroup after an upset loss to the Rangers in the semifinals. They had become a one-line team, and General Manager Bill Torrey knew he had to change that. The arrival of defenseman Ken Morrow from the U.S. Olympic team freed him to trade Lewis, a dependable defensive defenseman, along with Harris, a productive right wing, for Goring, who gave the Isles an infusion of speed and skill that gave coach Al Arbour a second offensive unit.

The Islanders went 8-0-4 in their last 12 regular-season games and went on to win the next four Stanley Cups, with Goring capturing the 1981 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Harris and Lewis were useful players, though neither came close to winning a championship. Lewis now coaches the Detroit Red Wings, where he earned Stanley Cup rings as an assistant coach under Scotty Bowman.

1991: Pittsburgh Penguins acquire C Ron Francis, D Ulf Samuelsson, and D Grant Jennings from Hartford for C John Cullen, D Zarley Zalapski, and LW Jeff Parker -- The Penguins, led by Mario Lemieux, had no trouble scoring; it was keeping the other team off the scoreboard that was holding them back.

Craig MacTavish arrived in New York from Edmonton in exchange for a much younger Todd Marchant. Three months later he won the final faceoff of the Rangers' Stanley Cup championship campaign, ending a 54-year drought for the franchise.

Cullen and Zalapski were offensive contributors, which intrigued Hartford, but were seen as one-way players by Pittsburgh GM Craig Patrick. He filled two needs -- a top-flight two-way center and a physical defenseman -- in the same deal by landing Francis and Samuelsson from the Whalers. Francis, like Goring a decade before him, was solid in his own end and more than enough of an offensive threat to keep opponents from ganging up on Lemieux, while Samuelsson provided muscle on the blue line that the offensive-minded Pens had never had.

The trade keyed the Penguins' back-to-back championships in 1991 and 1992. Without Lemieux, Cullen and Zalapski were never the same.

1994: New York Rangers acquire RW Glenn Anderson from Toronto for RW Mike Gartner; RW Stephane Matteau and RW Brian Noonan from Chicago for LW Tony Amonte; and C Craig MacTavish from Edmonton for C Todd Marchant -- When you haven't won a Stanley Cup in more than 50 years, being in first place late in the season isn't enough. For Rangers GM Neil Smith, whose team hit March leading the overall standings while chasing its first Cup since 1940, the future was now, so he went for it all.

Smith dealt away two players (Amonte and Marchant) who are still productive a decade later, plus a Hall of Fame sharpshooter (Gartner) for three role players and a former star on his last legs.

But it worked: Matteau scored two goals in double overtime in the semifinals, including the series-winner; Anderson, a former 50-goal scorer in Edmonton, got two game-winners in the Finals. Noonan was a useful checker, and MacTavish forever endeared himself to Rangers fans by winning the last faceoff in Game 7, setting off a celebration the likes of which Madison Square Garden had never seen.

1997: Detroit Red Wings acquire D Larry Murphy from Toronto for future considerations -- The Leafs thought Murphy, who played on two Cup-winners in Pittsburgh, was finished -- he was being booed lustily at Maple Leaf Gardens -- and were more than happy to give him away to the Red Wings. Murphy turned out to be far from done; he was a perfect fit for a team that was in the market for a skilled puck-handler and passer on the blue line. Murphy helped the Wings to their first Stanley Cup since 1954 and was back the next year when they repeated. He retired with four rings and the NHL record (since broken) for most games played by a defenseman.

Murphy proved his Toronto critics, elated by his trade to Detroit in March of 1997, dead wrong by playing a huge role in the Red Wings' back-to-back titles .

2001: Colorado Avalanche acquire D Rob Blake and C Steven Reinprecht from Los Angeles for D Aaron Miller, C Adam Deadmarsh, two first-round picks, and a player to be named later -- The Avalanche didn't win in 2000, when they landed Ray Bourque from Boston at the deadline, so they went shopping again a year later and came up with Blake, one of the NHL's premier defensemen, along with Reinprecht, a useful forward. The deal helped the Avalanche send Bourque into retirement with the championship he had chased since entering the NHL in 1979.

The Kings' end of the deal would look better if Miller and Deadmarsh had been healthier -- both have missed significant time with injuries, especially Deadmarsh, who has yet to play this season due to problems stemming from concussions.

Five deadline deals that fizzled