An excerpt from the Hockey News (T.C. Denault):

The San Jose Sharks have been one of the top contenders to the Stanley Cup for the past few seasons. Over the past two years they have been active at the deadline. This past spring they acquired Bryan Campbell from the Buffalo Sabres after adding Craig Rivet from the Montreal Canadiens the year before. In each case, they surrendered both picks and prospects.

Today, neither Campbell nor Rivet are still with the Sharks, and more importantly, the Stanley Cup has remained beyond San Jose’s grasp.

I couldn’t help but think of San Jose today, when I heard the surprising news that the Canadiens had signed Max Pacioretty to a three-year professional contract. After all when the Habs traded Rivet for Josh Gorges and a first-round pick that became Pacioretty, there were few people who viewed it beyond the prism of being a mere salary dump by the Canadiens