To win the Stanley Cup, the NHL trade deadline is a necessary evil.
The cost of doing business is high, the market is volatile and it's a leap of faith that players teams acquire will pass the chemistry test. But the numbers don't lie: The last 10 teams to win the Stanley Cup have made a trade around the deadline.
Some of those moves appeared immediately impactful, like the Los Angeles Kings adding Jeff Carter and Marian Gaborik. Others would end up becoming part of championship lore, like the Tampa Bay Lightning trading for Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow.