Monday's NHL trade deadline is the last day for teams to load up on players before the playoffs, but only one team will make the right moves to become Stanley Cup champions in June.
As contending teams gear up for the playoffs and non-playoff teams strip down their rosters, here's a look back at what the last five Stanley Cup champions did on NHL trade deadline day.
2014 – Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings made a big splash on trade deadline day last year by picking up Marian Gaborik from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
L.A. paid a small price for the talented winger, sending minor-leaguer Matt Frattin to Columbus along with a second-round pick and a conditional third-round pick.
Gaborik was exactly what the Kings needed. He scored five goals and 16 points for L.A. in 19 regular season games, then stepped up to score another 14 goals and 22 points in 26 playoff games.
Gaborik re-signed with the Kings in the summer and picked up right where he left off this season, scoring 17 goals and 33 points in his first 49 games.
2013 – Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks didn't acquire any big-name players at the 2013 NHL trade deadline, but they did make a small move that helped them win a Stanley Cup.
The Blackhawks acted two days before the Apr. 3 deadline by trading a fourth-round pick to San Jose for centre Michal Handzus.
Handzus had just one goal and two points in 28 games for San Jose, but he became much more effective as a Blackhawk. The veteran forward chipped in one goal and six points through 11 regular season games, then scored three goals and 11 points in 23 playoff games as the Hawks went on to the Stanley Cup.
He played one more season with Chicago before leaving North America to play in Europe.
The Blackhawks also made a small deal ahead of the Apr. 3 deadline, swapping minor-leaguers with Boston.
2012 – Los Angeles Kings
Kings GM Dean Lombardi seems to like adding scorers to his lineup near the trade deadline.
Judging from the results, it's worked out pretty well for him.
Before he acquired Gaborik in 2014, Lombardi picked up scorer Jeff Carter from Columbus just days before the Feb. 27 trade deadline in 2012.
Carter wanted out of Columbus and the Kings needed goals. It was a match made in Stanley Cup heaven, as Carter put up eight goals and 13 points in the Kings' championship run in the playoffs.
The Kings paid a hefty price for Carter in the form of sturdy defenceman Jack Johnson and a first-round pick.
2011 – Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins picked up several useful NHL pieces before the 2011 trade deadline, but those pieces were acquired almost two weeks before the Feb. 28 cut-off.
Boston's busiest trading day that year was Feb. 18, when the team acquired veteran defenceman Tomas Kaberle from Toronto in exchange for prospect Joe Colborne and first- and second-round picks. The Bruins also picked up Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik that day from Atlanta (now Winnipeg), in exchange for Mark Stuart and Blake Wheeler.
Kaberle scored one goal and eight assists in 24 regular season games for the Bruins. He added another 11 assists in the playoffs en route to the Stanley Cup.
Peverley played all 25 Bruins playoff games and put up four goals and 12 points as a checking centre.
The Bruins kept Peverley after their Cup win, but let Kaberle leave via free agency.
Valabik never played for the Bruins.
Boston's only deal on deadline day came in a trade with Minnesota. Boston acquired young goalie Anton Khudobin from the Wild for prospects Jeff Penner and Mikko Lehtonen.
Khudobin played one regular season game for the Bruins that year and 14 more the following season, but did not help in the 2011 playoffs.
2010 – Chicago Blackhawks
The championship-calibre Kings may like to make big moves ahead of the deadline, but the equally successful Blackhawks seem to play it more conservatively.
The Hawks made a few minor moves before the Mar. 3, 2010 trade deadline, though few of them made an impact on the team. They acquired Nick Boynton from Anaheim for future considerations (read: free), but he only appeared in seven regular season games and three playoff games for the Blackhawks that year.
Other than that, they stood pat at the trade deadline and won a championship with what they already had.
