Coffey joins Lemieux (1987) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins already had Mario Lemieux, but the big fella needed a little help and the Penguins acquired it in a big trade with the Edmonton Oilers that saw star defenseman Paul Coffey join a Penguins core that would produce back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams a couple years down the road.

This was an old-fashioned blockbuster that saw seven players change teams. Coffey was joined by forwards Dave Hunter and Wayne Van Dorp from Edmonton, while forwards Craig Simpson and Dave Hannan became Oilers along with defensemen Moe Mantha and Chris Joseph.

Coffey scored 15 goals and 52 assists in just 46 games that season and went on to be a member of both Pittsburgh Stanley Cup teams.

Hull moves into the spotlight (1988) -- Back in 1987-88, NHL observers were getting the inkling that Brett Hull was going to follow in his father's footsteps as he scored 26 goals and 24 assists in just 53 games for the Flames. Calgary, building toward a Stanley Cup, needed some veteran help on defense and in goal, so the Flames parted with Hull and forward Steve Bozek, sending them to the St. Louis Blues for defenseman Rob Ramage and goaltender Rick Wamsley on March 7, 1988.

Hull, of course, went on to become a superstar with the Blues and won Stanley Cups with the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings.

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 in the deal.

But there is no doubt this was a Hull of a deal for the Blues.

The trade of Gretzky from Edmonton to Los Angeles proved, once and for all, that no player was immune from being traded.

The Great One in the Big One (1988) -- As chronicled in this month's cover story of Impact!, Wayne Gretzky proved that anybody can be traded. Hockey's greatest star was on the move after helping the Oilers win the Stanley Cup in a mega-deal with the Los Angeles Kings that had a far-reaching impact on all of hockey.

Gretzky, center Mike Krushelnyski and defenseman Marty McSorley went to the Kings in exchange for center Jimmy Carson, left wing Martin Gelinas, three first-round draft picks and cash.

The Oilers rebounded without "The Great One" and won another Stanley Cup in 1989-90, but Gretzky's presence in Los Angeles re-energized the Kings and put the NHL on the map in the American Sun Belt. His presence paved the way for the League to move into markets like Dallas, Phoenix, Anaheim and San Jose.

Francis adds finishing touch (1991) -- GM Craig Patrick was a busy man in 1990-91, naming Bob Johnson as head coach and then supplementing Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey with Joe Mullen and Larry Murphy in earlier deals before pulling off the trade that put the Penguins over the top.

Patrick acquired center Ron Francis and defensemen Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings from the Hartford Whalers for forwards John Cullen and Jeff Parker and defenseman Zarley Zalapski.

The classy Francis was a huge success for the Pens, scoring 164 goals and 449 assists in 533 regular-season games, while adding 32 goals and 68 assists in 97 playoff games.