Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov both broke into the National Hockey League in 1997 after being drafted by the Boston Bruins. They once made up a very formidable duo with the Bruins, before Boston traded Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for a package that included Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau back in 2005.
Shortly after that, Samsonov was also sent packing, only he was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers for Marty Reasoner, Yan Stastny and a draft pick that did lead to the Bruins selecting one of their current best players in Milan Lucic.
Aside from the draft pick that netted them Lucic, neither deal will go down as one of Boston’s best. So while the Bruins had drafted two great players in a stellar draft class that also produced Olli Jokinen, Patrick Marleau and Roberto Luongo, they did not hold onto either as long as people felt they would, dealing them both away and breaking up solid chemistry between two players who entered the league together.
Now, 15 years after b...
Original Story:
