For his play on the ice and leadership, Mark Messier, the Blueshirts' franchise player and team captain, was likely the most valuable player in the league. Yet the Rangers were a lot more than Messier. They were a veteran club with a load of talent and great chemistry. Sometimes a general manager's toughest bit of work is not pulling the trigger on a trade, but standing pat with a struggling team. When the Rangers staggered in late winter, GM Neil Smith looked for a quick fix and remix.
Some trades make Cup winners out of contenders.
This trade, in the short term, turned a top dog into a dog's breakfast. In the summer of 1995, Ferraro moved to Broadway from the Islanders as a free agent. Before the trade, he had 25 goals and 29 assists in 65 games for the Rangers. Moreover, he is a useful guy to have around for faceoffs and killing penalties, stuff that does not impress people much but wins a lot of games. Smith didn't get any short-term bang for his outlay.