#2 – Nino Niederreiter is stolen from New York
In June 2013, the Minnesota Wild pulled off one of his most lucrative trades to date by scoring a former first round, 3rd overall, draft pick. After one failed NHL season, the Islanders were already willing to ship off a top draft pick, and GM Chuck Fletcher jumped all over it.
In exchange for Nino Niederreiter, the Wild were forced to part with a fan favorite gritty energy player in forward Cal Clutterbuck and also included a 2013 3rd round draft pick to fulfill New York’s asking price.
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In the years since, this trade has been nearly as lopsided as it can get. Nino has provided 205 points through 5 seasons (so far), along with 637 hits and has developed into a true top line winger and a star for the Wild for years to come.
Clutterbuck has been a steady piece of the Islanders roster for the same 5 years but not nearly in the same role or capacity. Clutterbuck has recorded 96 points and over 1300 hits for the New York Islanders, filling the same energy line role he had in Minnesota.
The kicker here is that in the same amount of time spent with Minnesota, Clutterbuck had both more goals and more hits than he has had in Long Island. Nino clearly has more long term upside and potential to go with the top-line star scoring ability.
The 3rd Round draft pick New York acquired works as a negative on them in this case. It was used on goaltending prospect Eamon McAdam, who spent 3 years in the NCAA before reporting to the AHL. Eamon was recently traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, though, so he will not be suiting up for the Islanders anytime soon.