May 15, 1967 is a day that lives in infamy for both Blackhawks and Bruins fans alike, for very different reasons. On this day 55 years ago the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins would make a trade that shaped one franchise involved, and become a completed disaster for the other.
The Chicago Blachawks traded a disgruntled Phil Esposito to the Boston Bruins, along with Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield. In exchange, the Blackhawks would receive Jack Norris, Pit Martin, and Giles Marotte. The Bruins thought of Esposito as the perfect compliment to Bobby Orr, and that he was. Esposito and Orr would go on to be one of the best, if not the best, duo in the NHL. And while Esposito certainly performed in his three seasons as a Blackhawk, he was just on another level as a Bruin.
As for Hodge and Stanfield, those two would turn out to be better in black and yellow as well. Hodge more than doubled his career high in goals his first season as a Bruin and only continued to improve as his career went on. He even hit the 50 goal mark with the Bruins in the 1973-74 season. Fred Stanfield? Very similar story. Just to put into perspective how much better he was, listen to this stat. His career high in total points for a season with Chicago was 17. He didn't have a single season in Boston below 50 points. Safe to say Stanfield was probably very thankful that this trade happened.
When it comes to the players that the Blackhawks got in return, only one of them spent a lengthened amount of time in Chicago. That man was Pit Martin. In his 10 seasons as a Blackhawk, he only had one season less than 40 points. And while that is nothing to scoff at, it certainly didn't compare to his trade counterparts. As for the other two players, Giles Marotte played a season and a half before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings. And Jack Norris played two full seasons, only playing 10 total games for Chicago during that time. He too would end up on the Los Angeles Kings prior to the 1970-1971 season.
For Blackhawks fans that were around during this time, this is a trade that just makes them shake their head. But although this trade clearly didn't work out in the Blackhawks favor, it is definitely one the more historic and important trades in NHL history.
