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Devils president/GM Lou Lamoriello has a long history of adding important pieces this time of the year.

(Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger)

NEWARK -- Anyone remember Steve Tsujiura?

He never played an NHL game, but he's an interesting footnote in Devils history.

When Devils president/GM Lou Lamoriello tackled his first NHL trade deadline in March 1988, his first late-season trade was a deadline-day deal that sent Tsujiura, a 5-foot-6 center for the Utica Devils, to the Boston Bruins for a 10th-round draft pick.



The trade worked out great for the Devils, who used the low-round pick on a 22-year-old Russian center. Four years later, Alexander Semak came to North America to play hockey, and in 1992-93 he had a career season, scoring 37 goals and 79 points for the Devils.

Lamoriello has until 3 p.m. Wednesday to make trades, and it sure will be a memorable deadline if goaltender Martin Brodeur is traded or if a big-name goal scorer such as Martin St. Louis is added.

Over the years, Lamoriello has brought in a lot of big names this time of the year.

Here are 10 of the best deals he made within five weeks of the trade deadline. We're allowing five weeks prior to deadline day so that we can include perhaps the most impactful late-season deal he's ever made, our No. 1.

Here’s our list. Feel free to share your top 10 in the comments section:

1. Feb. 27, 1995: C Neal Broten acquired from Dallas for C Corey Millen

The Devils wouldn't have won their first Cup in 1995 without Broten, who arrived five weeks before the April 7 trade deadline. A star on Team USA’s Miracle on Ice Olympic team in 1980, Broten had the greatest moment of his long NHL career as a Devil. In Game 4 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Final, Broten broke a 2-2 tie with a second-period goal, his second of the game, and the Devils held on for 5-2 win to sweep their way past the Detroit Red Wings and win their first Cup.

Devils center Neal Broten (9) is congratulated by Devils' John MacLean after scoring in the second period of Game 3 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals. (AP)

Broten was an instant success following the trade, with 28 points in 30 regular-season games and seven goals and 19 points in 20 playoff games. He scored three goals and six points in the Cup Final. Two seasons later, he was traded to Los Angeles.

2. March 6, 1990: C Peter Stastny acquired from Quebec for D Craig Wolanin and future considerations (Randy Velischek)

The Hall of Fame center was 33 and past his prime when traded to the Devils, but still was their first superstar. The Devils lost four times in the first round of the playoffs during Stastny’s time with the club, but before he arrived the franchise had one postseason appearance in seven seasons after moving from Denver to New Jersey.

Stastny was productive, with 64 goals and 173 points in 214 games, plus nine goals and 24 points in 25 playoff games. Wolanin was a decent defenseman, but he wasn’t a difference-maker like Stastny.

3. Feb. 4, 2010: LW Ilya Kovalchuk, D Anssi Salmela and 2010 2nd round pick (Jon Merrill) acquired from Atlanta for RW Niclas Bergfors, C Patrice Cormier, D Johnny Oduya, 2010 1st round pick (Kevin Hayes) and 2010 2nd round pick (Justin Holl)

Yes, Devils fans, we know you’re mad at Kovalchuk for walking out on his team this season to go home and play in Russia, but this still was one of the franchise’s best trades. Kovalchuk gave the Devils a great goal scorer during his time with the team, which included a Cup Final, and the draft pick coming in the deal was used on Merrill, a rookie defenseman who looks like he’s going to become a real good one.

4. March 22, 1999: C Sergei Nemchinov acquired from Islanders for 1999 4th round pick (Daniel Johansson)

This trade was a steal for the Devils. Nemchinov was a main cog on the Rangers’ only Stanley Cup team since 1940, but the Russian had a good run with the Devils as a checking-line center who won a lot of big faceoffs. He was key member of the Devils’ 2000 Cup team and the 2001 club that went to the Final and came within a Game 7 loss in Colorado of repeating.

Sergei Nemchinov scores against Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Curtis Joseph in Game 7 of the conference semifinals in 2001. (The Star-Ledger)

5. March 10, 2003: RW Grant Marshall acquired from Columbus for 2004 conditional pick (Kristopher Hogg)

A GM doesn't have to add a star player to make a good trade. Here's proof: Marshall was a forechecking forward who provided that and much more while playing a big role on the Devils’ third Stanley Cup team in 2003. During those playoffs, Marshall scored six goals in 24 games, one of them a game-winner. He also scored a third-period goal in Game 1 of the Final to put the Devils up two goals in a 3-0 win over Anaheim.

6. March 14, 1995: D Shawn Chambers and RW Danton Cole acquired from Tampa Bay for C Alexander Semak and RW Ben Hankinson

Chambers was the final piece of the Devils’ first Stanley Cup puzzle. Chambers was a solid defenseman, and in the 1995 playoffs, he contributed nine points in 20 games. In the meantime, the Devils got rid of Semak at the right time. He had 37 goals and 79 points in '92-93, but slipped to 12 goals and 59 points the next season and was struggling when dealt to Tampa Bay. He’d go on to have one more 20-goal season for the '95-96 Islanders, but scored just 27 goals in 109 NHL games after leaving the Devils.

7. March 14, 2000: RW Alexander Mogilny acquired from Vancouver for C Brendan Morrison and C Denis Pederson

Alexander the Great arrived with a lot of hype because it hadn't been too long since he’d scored 76 goals for the 1992-93 Buffalo Sabres and 55 for the 1995-96 Vancouver Canucks. Initially, the Russian was disappointing, but nobody cared that he scored just four goals in 23 playoffs games for the '99-00 Devils because they won their second Stanley Cup that season. The next year, Moligny had his last big season with 43 goals and 79 points in the regular season, then five goals and 16 points during a playoff run that ended one victory short of another Cup. The Devils gave up a good young player to get Moligny, who was gone after two seasons, but it's easier to live with because those two years were so successful.

8. Feb. 25, 1997: C Doug Gilmour, D Dave Ellett and 1999 3rd round pick (Andre Lakos) acquired from Toronto for D Jason Smith, RW Steve Sullivan and rights to C Alyn McCauley

Before the trade, the Devils were 10 points behind the Flyers in the Atlantic Division. After the trade, they went 16-5-2 to finish one point ahead of the Flyers. Gilmour brought a lot of initial excitement. He scored a goal and four points in his Devils debut and put up 22 points in 20 games after the trade. From there, because expectations were so high, Gilmour was a bit of a disappointment: He played just one more season, scoring 13 goals and 58 points, and his stay included just one winning playoff series.

9. Feb. 26, 2008: D Bryce Salvador acquired from St. Louis for RW Cam Janssen

For a fourth-line fighter, the Devils received a shutdown defenseman and a leader who currently is their captain. Who doesn't love Janssen's toughness, energy and outgoing personality? Those are reasons he's back in the organization now and playing in Albany after spending time with the Devils this season. But Salvador was and remains an important part of the Devils' blueline.

10. March 13, 1996: LW Dave Andreychuk acquired from Toronto for 1996 2nd round pick (Marek Posmyk) and 1998 4th round pick (Kristian Antila).

Andreychuk had a great career, scoring 640 goals, but was past his prime when he joined the Devils at age 32. Following the trade, Andreychuk finished the 1995-96 season by scoring eight goals and 13 points in 15 games, but the Devils slumped to a 4-8-1 finish and missed the playoffs by two points after winning the Cup the previous season. Andreychuk would play three more seasons for the Devils, scoring 27 goals in ‘96-97. The Devils won just one playoff series during his stay – one in which Andreychuk was injured – but he still was an impact player, and it’s not like they gave up much to get him.