A majority of NHL trades have an immediate effect on clubs. But there are some deals that have a trickle-down effect that can last years and impact a bunch of teams league-wide.

Sportsnet’s Steve Dangle recently recorded a new Trade Tree video that involves a forgettable Washington Capitals goaltender. It kinda sorta helped Washington win the Stanley Cup years later.

It all starts with the Buffalo Sabres acquiring Jaroslav Halak shudders from the St. Louis Blues and then trading him and a 2015 third-round draft pick to Washington only six days later. The Capitals sent Buffalo Michal Neuvirth and the corpse of Rostislav Klesla.

From there we get all of this nonsense.

In typical lovely Steve fashion, he ended his video with a shoutout to both Ian and RMNB because he’s just the best.

“Before we wrap up this trade tree video, I want to give a huge shoutout to Ian Oland of Russian Machine Never Breaks,” he said. “Sometimes I need a little help in researching these trade trees and he was a huge help. One of the biggest Washington Capitals fans out there. RMNB is the best fan blog I can think of.”

Finally, here’s what Ian had to say about his contributions to the insanity that is this tree.

“One random day a few weeks ago, Steve texted me out of the blue asking me about Michal Neuvirth. Immediately I had flashbacks and thought he stumbled upon #TranslationGate, but it was actually because he created another one of his amazing Trade Trees,” he said. “I could not believe what this completely forgetable trade turned into. Steve was ecstatic when I told him Nathan Walker, one of the picks the Capitals ended up getting, had a role in them winning the Stanley Cup in 2018. It was such an honor to participate in this with him. Thanks, Steve. We all love you.”

Anyways, thank you, Completely Forgettable 2014 Trade Deadline Day Deal, for helping my favorite team win a championship.

Russian Machine Never Breaks is not associated with the Washington Capitals; Monumental Sports, the NHL, or its properties. Not even a little bit.

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