Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings swap legends 65 years ago
Sixty-five years ago today, Johnny Bucyk was traded with cash by the Detroit Red Wings to the Boston Bruins for goaltender Terry Sawchuk.
This actually has to do with two terrible trades by the Red Wings, as they overthought things after winning four Stanley Cups in six seasons. The club wanted to get younger, so they traded the best goalie in the world, Terry Sawchuk, to the Boston Bruins for a massive package of players. When none of those players worked out, the Red Wings desperately wanted their goalie back.
This brings us to this trade that changed the Bruin franchise forever.
The Bruins got Bucyk in the trade, and he would go on to play 21 seasons in Boston. "The Chief" would play 1,436 games, collecting 545 goals and 794 assists with the Bs. He was a huge piece of the franchise's Stanley Cup championships in 1970 and 1972, and he would also capture the Lady Byng Trophy twice (1970 and 1974).
The Red Wings traded all that away when Bucyk was just 21 years old.
Detroit never won another Stanley Cup Championship with the Hall of Fame goaltender, either. The club eventually traded Sawchuk to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was able to win his fifth Championship, and the team took decades to recover from this.
