Barry Pederson Barry Pederson ( born March 13 , 1961 , in Big River , Saskatchewan ) , is a retired professional centre who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1980 and 1992 . While he was for a time one of the top playmaking centers in NHL , he may be best remembered as the player traded by Boston for Cam Neely , in one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history . Playing career . Pederson was drafted 18th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft after a glittering junior career with the Victoria Cougars . He would return for one more season in Victoria after being drafted , putting up a dazzling 147 points in 55 games , and another 5 points in a 9 game stint in Boston . He would break into the NHL in exceptional style in the 1981 – 82 season , setting Bruin rookie records for goals ( 44 , which still stands ) and points ( 92 ) and finishing runner - up to Dale Hawerchuk for the Calder Trophy as the league ' s top rookie . Included in his 92 points was a 7 point effort against the Hartford Whalers which also remains a Bruin rookie record . Pederson and star winger Rick Middleton had instant chemistry , and would be one of the league ' s most dangerous duos for several seasons . In 1982 – 83 , he emerged as a full - fledged star , finishing with 46 goals and 107 points . He led the Bruins in assists and points , and finished 5th in league scoring ( the only player in the top 8 not to eventually make the Hockey Hall of Fame ) . In the playoffs , he would take his game to another level , as he and Middleton wreaked havoc combining for 65 points in just 17 games before losing out to New York Islanders in the conference finals . Pederson finished 3rd in playoff goals and points despite not reaching the finals . Pederson would continue his exploits in 1983 – 84 , posting 39 goals and 77 assists for 116 points . His assist and point totals again led the Bruins , and his point total placed him 6th in the NHL . His 77 assists were 3rd in the league behind only Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey . He would play in his second consecutive NHL All - Star Game , and was selected to represent Canada at the 1984 Canada Cup tournament that summer . At this point Pederson , despite being only 23 , was one of the brightest young players in the game , and his career was on par with players like Denis Savard , Michel Goulet , Ron Francis and Dale Hawerchuk , all of whom have gone on to the Hall of Fame . However , his career would take a turn in the summer of 1984 when he was diagnosed with a benign tumor in his shoulder . He would return for 22 games in the 1984 – 85 season , posting only 12 points , before a second more serious surgery had to be performed on his shoulder . This procedure required surgeons to remove part of his shoulder muscle , and forced him to miss the remainder of the season . Pederson returned to Boston ' s lineup for the 1985 – 86 season , but didn ' t perform at the level he had prior to his injury . He finished the season with respectable totals of 29 goals and 76 points , good for 4th on the team but a 40 - point drop from his last healthy year two seasons previous . At the conclusion of the season , Boston GM Harry Sinden , fearing that he wouldn ' t return to form , dealt him to the Vancouver Canucks for Cam Neely and a first - round draft pick . Sinden ' s hunch would prove correct , although Pederson was still a fine player in his first couple of seasons in Vancouver . In 1986 – 87 , he finished with 24 goals and team - leading 52 assists for 76 points , and was named Canuck MVP by both the team ' s media and fans . In 1987 – 88 , he would again lead the team in assists with 52 , and added 19 goals for 71 points . He remains one of only 4 player in Canuck history ( André Boudrias , Thomas Gradin and Henrik Sedin the others ) to record back - to - back 50 - assist seasons . In 1988 – 89 , Pederson would slump to just 16 goals and 41 points while missing almost 20 games due to injury . Dogged by comparisons to Neely , the Canucks would deal him to the Pittsburgh Penguins 16 games into the 1989 – 90 season . He would continue to struggle in Pittsburgh , finishing the season with just 6 goals and 31 points in 54 games between the Canucks and Penguins . Now primarily a utility player , he would appear in just 46 games in 1990 – 91 , but was a member of the Penguin team that won the Stanley Cup Championship that year . Released by the Penguins that summer , he signed with the Hartford Whalers but was released after only 5 games . He would sign with the Bruins and finish out his career where he started . At the end of the 1991 – 92 he retired at the age of only 31 . In recent years , Pederson has worked for NESN as a studio analyst during Bruins telecasts . Cam Neely trade . In the summer of 1986 , Barry Pederson was a valuable commodity . Still just 25 , he was considered one of the best young centers in the game . He had already posted two 100 - point seasons , and was only two years removed from finishing 3rd in the NHL in assists and 6th in points . To the offense - starved Vancouver Canucks , who were the 3rd - lowest scoring team in the league the previous year , he looked like a saviour and had the added attraction of being a ' local boy ' - while originally from Saskatchewan , he ' d played his junior hockey nearby in Nanaimo and Victoria from the age of 15 onward . However , Boston management were convinced that , despite his age , his best years were behind him as a result of two surgeries during the 1984 – 85 to remove a tumor from his shoulder . On June 6 , 1985 , the Canucks sent young winger Cam Neely to the Bruins along with a first - round draft pick in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft for Pederson . The 9th overall pick in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft , Neely ' s development had stagnated and he finished the 1985 – 86 season with just 14 goals . However , Boston coveted his size and toughness , and considered him a potential heir apparent to Bruin warriors of the past such as Terry O ' Reilly and Wayne Cashman . Neely ' s game would take off immediately , as he scored 36 goals in his first year in Boston . The next year he scored 42 and was named a 2nd team All - Star . By the 1989 – 90 season , he was the most feared power forward in the game , equally respected for his natural scoring touch as for his ferocious fighting ability . At the same time , Pederson ' s career would go into a spiral . After a solid start in Vancouver , by the time Vancouver dealt him away in 1989 he was a marginal NHL player . He would register less than 100 points past the age of 27 , and was out of the game by 1992 . While Neely ' s career was cut horribly short by injury , he still registered three 50 - goal seasons , is a legend in Boston , and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005 . To add insult to injury , Vancouver poor season following the deal turned the draft pick into the # 3 overall selection in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft , with which the Bruins selected Glen Wesley . Wesley would develop into an All - Star defender for the Bruins , and go on to a stellar 20 - year career . The Neely - Pederson trade is , as such , regarded as one of the most lopsided deals in the history of the NHL . Most Canuck fans also consider it to be the biggest blunder in the history of the franchise , and it remains a sore topic over 20 years later .