New York Rangers acquire future considerations for the rights to Mark Messier.
This move is often forgotten by many fans, but it helped the Blueshirts more than anyone could have predicted.
Messier was 42 and was expected to retire at the time. He was coming off a year that saw him score 18 goals to go along with 22 assists as the Blueshirts captain.
The Messiah had his rights obtained by the San Jose Sharks in exchange for future considerations. Messier turned down playing in California and opted to play his final season of hockey with the Rangers.
That isn’t why Sather won this trade however.
In return for the Messiah’s rights, the Rangers received San Jose’s 2004 fourth round pick. They went on to take Ryan Callahan whose career in New York was spectacular. Callahan did it all for the Rangers and eventually became the Blueshirt’s captain before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
