It was big enough to legitimately warrant the "blockbuster" tag. And it had all the necessary name power to rattle windows across the NHL, even if the news came from two of the loop’s smallest outposts.
A eight-player deal that involved four NHLers, former and future first-round picks and juicy prospects, after all, tends to make everyone in the hockey world snap their spines to attention.
But it’s also safe to say that when Kevin Cheveldayoff signed off on that mammoth trade with the Buffalo Sabres a year ago Thursday, the Winnipeg Jets GM likely had no idea — nor would he give a rat’s patooie — about one other particularly compelling byproduct of the transaction.