A completed trade between the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings: A big loss that haunts fans till this day
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Trades often ruin franchises, and for one fateful trade between the Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars for Erik Cole in 2015, the Wings missed out on superstar Roope Hintz, who is a legitimate 1C and 30+ goal scorer.
The Detroit Red Wings made the error of trading Mattias Janmark, Mattias Backman, and a 2nd-round pick in return for the Stars' Erik Cole and a third-round pick.
The deal happened in 2015, which led to an immediate loss of the trade for Ken Holland and the Wings.
Erik Cole would only play 11 games for the Detroit Red Wings that season, scoring 6 points (3-3), and the third-round pick would become Vili Saarijarvi, who wouldn't develop into an NHLer by any means.
One of Ken Holland's Worst Trades In 2015
Cole was 36, and by the time the Red Wings acquired him, he was past his prime despite Ken Holland hoping he'd return to the kind of production seen in Montreal in 2011-12, where he'd score 35 goals and 61 points.
The 2nd-round pick that Dallas would receive would become the Dallas Stars' newest 1C and 30+ goal scorer, Roope Hintz.
Hintz has been instrumental in keeping the Stars competitive and in the playoff race yearly.
The Red Wings would collapse in the first round of the 2015 playoffs to the Tampa Bay Lightning ( the team that'd lose the Cup to the Blackhawks).
If anything, Ken Holland's foolish decision cost them their future (Roope Hintz), in addition to a solid bottom-six winger in Mattias Janmark.
Holland loves to collect veterans like infinity stones, and this was another instance of him overpaying for Cole, who was nothing more than a third-liner at this point in his career.
Instead of turning the dynasty around with this trade for "grit," Ken Holland took it out to the back and put it down like Old Yeller.
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