Feb. 27: Gretzky traded to Blues by Kings

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Feb. 27
1996:
Wayne Gretzky
is traded to the St. Louis Blues by the Los Angeles Kings for forwards
Craig Johnson
,
Patrice Tardif
,
Roman Vopat
, the Blues' first-round pick in the 1997 NHL Draft (
Matt Zultek
) and a fifth-round pick in the 1996 NHL Draft (
Peter Hogan
).

Unlike the Aug. 9, 1988, trade that sends Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Kings, this one works out for neither team. The Blues go 6-10 with five ties after acquiring Gretzky, are eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and see him sign with the New York Rangers during the summer.
None of the players acquired by the Kings makes an impact in the NHL.
MORE MOMENTS
1918:The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens play the first neutral-site game in NHL history.
Frank Nighbor
scores twice
in the first period to help the Senators to a 3-1 win against the Canadiens in Quebec City.
1977:
Stan Mikita
becomes the eighth player in NHL history to score 500 goals. Mikita
joins the 500-goal club
when he lifts a backhand shot over
Cesare Maniago
with 6:04 remaining in the third period of the Chicago Blackhawks' 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Stadium.

1980:
Bobby Hull
is traded to the Hartford Whalers by the Winnipeg Jets for future considerations. Hull has seven points (two goals, five assists) in nine games for the Whalers. He retires at the end of the 1979-80 season with 1,170 points (610 goals, 560 assists) in 1,063 NHL games.
1982:
Denis Savard
joins Hull as the only players in Blackhawks history to get 100 points in a season. Savard earns
point No. 100
with an assist in a 5-3 win at Los Angeles. He finishes the season with 119 points, surpassing Hull's Blackhawks record of 107 set in 1968-69.
1989:
Guy Lafleur
, already a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame before returning to the NHL with the New York Rangers,
scores three goals
in a 6-4 victory against the Kings at Madison Square Garden. It's the 17th and final NHL hat trick for Lafleur, his only one with the Rangers, and comes 10 years to the day that he reaches 100 points for the fifth consecutive season with two assists in Montreal's 7-3 road loss to the New York Islanders.

2000:
Martin Brodeur
becomes the first NHL goalie to win at least 35 games in four consecutive seasons. He also gets his 40th NHL shutout in a 3-0 win against the Canadiens in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
On the same night, forward
Pat Verbeek
gets two assists in a 3-1 victory for the Detroit Red Wings against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Joe Louis Arena to reach 1,000 points. He joins
Dale Hunter
as the only players with 1,000 points and 2,000 penalty minutes. It's also a milestone night for Scotty Bowman, who becomes the first coach in NHL history to win at least 300 games with two different teams (Montreal and Detroit).
2002:
Mario Lemieux
gets two assists in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-4 home loss to the Kings to become the seventh player in NHL history to score
1,600 points
. Lemieux assists on goals by
Janne Laukkanen
in the first and third periods.
2003:
Brett Hull
scores twice and has an assist to surpass
1,300 NHL points
in the Red Wings' 7-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Joe Louis Arena. Hull reaches the 25-goal mark for the 15th time in his NHL career exactly one year after becoming the third player in NHL history to score 100 game-winning goals when he gets the overtime winner in a 3-2 victory against the Florida Panthers.
2012:
Henrik Lundqvist
of the Rangers becomes the first goalie in NHL history with at least 30 wins in each of his first seven seasons. Lundqvist gets his 30th win of 2011-12 by
making 13 saves
in a 2-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden.
2019:Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks scores his 40th goal of the season, giving the NHL two 40-goal scorers before the end of February for the first time since 2009-10, when Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins accomplish the feat. Kane scores with 17 seconds remaining in the third period to give the Blackhawks a
4-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks
at Honda Center. Kane joins Ovechkin (44) in the 40-goal club and becomes the seventh player in Blackhawks history to have multiple 40-goal seasons.
On the same night, the Tampa Bay Lightning set a team record with their 10th consecutive victory by
defeating the Rangers 4-3 in overtime
at Madison Square Garden. Victor Hedman scores in OT for the Lightning, who also extend their point streak to 14 games (12-0-2).
2020: David Pastrnak's game-winner, his League-leading 46th goal of the season, gives the Boston Bruins a
4-3 victory against the Dallas Stars
at TD Garden. The goal gives Pastrnak 90 points, an NHL career high. It also keeps him two in front of Auston Matthews, who scores for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their
5-3 win against the Florida Panthers
at BB&T Center.