In the month of August, as the news in the hockey world slows to a crawl, we will be taking a look at the most consequential deals in Buffalo Sabres history (using the Hockey News Archives as source material) and ranking the 15 best and the 15 worst deals in the club’s 54-year history.
This required the input of a trio of veteran media members (Dave Reichert, Randy Schultz, and Pete Weber), as well as three lifetime Sabre fans (Chuck Bender, Todd Riniolo, and Joe Schwartz).
6. December 31, 1987 – Sabres acquire winger Mike Donnelly and a 1988 fifth-round pick (Alexander Mogilny) from the NY Rangers for winger Paul Cyr and a 1988 10th-round pick.
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READ ABOUT OTHER SABRES TRADES
Best Trades In Sabres History – #7
Worst Trades In Sabres History – #7
There are some instances where a fairly innocuous trade can result in a big win for a club, and the deal made between the Sabres and Rangers on New Year’s Eve 1987 is one such example. Buffalo was starting to rebuild after the disastrous tenure of GM Scotty Bowman (who resigned early in the 1986-87 season), finishing last overall and drafting Hall of Famer Pierre Turgeon with the first overall pick.
One of Bowman’s draft picks was Paul Cyr (selected 9th overall in 1982). A left-winger with a booming slap shot scored 20 or more goals twice in five seasons, but never really fulfilled his promise and started the 1987-88 season with one goal in 20 games. In late December, GM Gerry Meehan dealt the 24-year-old to New York along with a 10th-round pick for winger Mike Donnelly and a 1988 fifth-round pick.
The players in the trade did next to nothing for their new clubs. Cyr scored four goals in 41 games for the Rangers and later played two years with Hartford before retiring in 1993. Donnelly spent two years splitting time between the Sabres and AHL Rochester before moving on to Los Angeles (where he scored 20 or more goals three times), Dallas and the NY Islanders.
The fifth-round pick in the deal was used to select Russian winger Alexander Mogilny, who had starred for the Soviet Union at the 1988 World Juniors and won a gold medal at the Olympics in Calgary. After the 1989 World Championships in Sweden, Mogilny decided to defect and come to North America, and the Sabres helped facilitate his escape.
With Buffalo, Mogilny scored 211 goals in six seasons, including a franchise-record 76 goals in 1992-93. He went on to play 16 seasons in the NHL with Vancouver, New Jersey, and Toronto before retiring in 2006.
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