"You know all year long you're going to get traded, but you don't know when, you don't know where. So you prepare yourself as much as you can," he said. "Still, there's a little bit of a shock when it happens."

So, when he saw what Kovalev was going through at the 2003 All-Star media gathering, it not only brought back memories of his past trade experience, it also made him feel for his NHL colleague.

"You see him walking around and cameras are following him everywhere," Blake said. "It's difficult, but I think he understands his situation."

While Kovalev may have understood that trades are very much a part of the business, he still took the news hard even when he found out he was going back to his old team in New York when the deal was consummated less than a month after the All-Star Game.

"It's definitely hard. It's not easy to be traded," Kovalev said after being dealt back to the Rangers. "Pittsburgh is a great organization and gave me a great opportunity.

"Playing with Mario (Lemieux) and Jags (Jaromir Jagr) helped me a lot. I learned a lot from those guys."

Craig Patrick, who had to trade the lethal forward because he couldn't afford to keep the potential free agent, also found it hard to part ways with Kovalev.

"He's a tremendous guy," the Penguins' GM said. "These days aren't fun, but it was something we had to do."

What made Patrick's decision even tougher is that the Pens were still battling for a playoff spot with the Rangers and several other Eastern Conference clubs and losing Kovalev made his team's job that much harder.

"It was a tough decision, it (the playoffs) weighed into the decision, but it was the best deal we could make," Patrick explained. "That said, if that's the best deal you can make, you've got to go with that way."

The Rangers, who gave up Rico Fata, Mikael Samuelsson, Joel Bouchard and Richard Lintner to get Kovalev, Dan LaCouture, Janne Laukkanen and Mike Wilson, were delighted to re-acquire the high-scoring forward.

"When you have a chance to get a player like Alexei Kovalev, you can't really pass that opportunity up," New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather said. "He's an elite player with tremendous skill. He competes and we need someone to put the puck in the net."

The Avalanche, like the Rangers, felt they couldn't pass on the opportunity to get a player like Blake when they dealt for the defender three years ago.

"Rob Blake is an elite and one-of-a kind defenseman who is in his prime right now," Colorado GM Pierre Lacroix said at the time. "Blake is recognized as a major force in this League and an all-around great defenseman that combines size, skill, toughness and agility."

Despite leading Pittsburgh in scoring in 2002-03, Kovalev was not overly surprised when he was informed that he had been shipped to the Big Apple.

Los Angeles, who ironically met and lost to the Avalanche in the 2001 Western Conference Semifinals, also felt they made out on the blockbuster deal.

"We were able to obtain two players who can step into our lineup now and have a definite impact," Taylor said after the '01 trade. "Aaron Miller is a strong, gritty defenseman who will help provide us with the defensive stability we need, and Deadmarsh provides us with a unique combination of toughness, grit and offensive ability that our club has been seeking."

But Blake and the Avs wound up getting the better of the deal when all was said and done. Colorado went on to knock off the Kings in seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals en route to their second Stanley Cup championship, which just so happened to be Blake's first.

"I never expected to be traded. I never expected to meet L.A. in the playoffs. I never expected to go to a Game 7 and win a Cup. During the time it was difficult, but when you look back it's the best way it could happen," Blake said.

While the Penguins didn't like losing their former gunner because of financial reasons, they were happy to add some more young talent to their lineup, who they believe will develop into solid NHLers in the near future.

"It's always disappointing when you lose somebody for those reasons," Patrick said. "But the thing you've got to remember is we've been going through this since the mid '90s. And we've been able to find Marty Strakas and Robert Langs and others that come here and contribute a lot more than they have anywhere else. I'm confident that will be the case in this situation as well."

Even though his team made out on the Blake deal, Lacroix knows that sending players packing is never easy -- even if they know they're going to be dealt.

"There is never a good time for a trade. None. It doesn't exist."