Sports fans are a masochistic bunch, and there’s nothing we love more than to torture ourselves with hypotheticals from the past. What if Player X was on my team? What if they scored that goal in the dying seconds? What if my GM made this move 13 years ago? This is a series that will indulge that painful fantasy, by taking the best What If scenarios from hockey and going as deep down the rabbit hole as possible. Some of these will be funny. Some will be painful. Others will be enlightening. Hopefully some will be all three. You can find the first instalment in this series here, and follow me on Twitter for more updates.

Today's What If Scenario: What if Gilbert Brule was traded for Cory Schneider in 2006?

Back in the halcyon days of summer 2006, when the hockey world was debating Sid vs Ovi, getting used to the new rules, and we were all still processing the fact that the Carolina Hurricanes had won the Stanley Cup, the Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres, and Ottawa Senators looked like dynasties in the making. During this tumultuous period, a young GM by the name of Dave Nonis was trying to take his Vancouver Canucks to the next level. He had already pulled off one coup, acquiring Roberto Luongo from the Florida Panthers just before the NHL draft, and was looking for a young superstar to go along with the move, as former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Doug Maclean recounted a few years ago.

(Note: Full credit to DownGoesBrown, whose article was the first time I heard about this trade.)

With the goaltender position locked up, Nonis was looking to deal from a position of strength, and proposed a trade that would send their top goaltending prospect, Cory Schneider, a first round pick in 2004, to Columbus in exchange for Gilbert Brule. Brule was Columbus’ top prospect, having been selected sixth overall in 2005, and even before that draft drew some (now hilarious) comparisons to Sidney Crosby.

Given this, Maclean declined the trade, and the rest is bumpy history. Schneider would emerge in Vancouver to create a messy goaltending controversy, resulting in a surprising draft day trade in 2013 that sent him to New Jersey, where he’s kept afloat a team that might otherwise have serious problems (spoiler alert!). Brule, on the other hand, never developed into the scoring threat he projected to be, and was retired from the NHL by 2014.

How different might the entire league have been in Maclean had thought that Brule might be a worthy price to pay for a top goaltending prospect?

July 1, 2006

The Columbus Blue Jackets shocked the hockey world today, sending top forward prospect Gilbert Brule to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for goaltending prospect Cory Schneider. Brule, the sixth overall selection in the 2005 NHL draft, was sent back to the Vancouver Giants of the WHL this past season after recovering from a broken leg. The 19-year old scored 38 points in 27 games, earning him Second Team All-Star honours, and was named the WHL playoff MVP on route to a President’s Cup win with the Giants.

"It’s not easy to part with a skilled player like Brule," said Blue Jackets GM Doug Maclean. "But we feel like we’re getting a great goalie of the future in Cory. We hope that he’ll be ready in the next season or two to challenge for a starting job."

"We’re happy with the team we’re putting together to win soon," Maclean added. "We felt that with [Sergei] Fedorov and [Adam] Foote leading the way, and with one of the best prospect pools in the league in Rick Nash, Dan Fritsche, and Nikolai Zherdev, we wanted to shore up our quality goaltending depth."

Most analysts saw the trade as a big win for Vancouver, who acquired All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo at the draft in June, and were able to deal from a position of strength to get Brule. Schneider was drafted 26th overall in 2004, and played last season at Boston College, posting a .929 save percentage in 39 games.

"This is a pretty big coup for Nonis and Co, getting the guy many called ‘the Sidney Crosby of the West’ going into their draft year," said Nick Kypreos on Hockey Central. "Plus you’ve got a guy in net who’s going to be there for a long time. It’s not like this kid Schneider is going to be challenging Luongo for the crease, so you might as well move him for a guy who could play with the Sedins. Or you use him as your second line center, and see what you can get for a guy like Kesler, because I don’t think his playing style is going to adapt well to the NHL."

July 1, 2008

Mike Gillis, the newly minted GM of the Vancouver Canucks, wasted little time in clearing up the mistakes of his predecessor Dave Nonis, sending the underperforming Gilbert Brule to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Raffi Torres. Despite many trades in his four-year tenure, Brule is arguably Nonis most infamous miss. The Edmonton native, who was brought in with much fanfare in the summer of 2006, was never able to find the scoring touch he enjoyed in with the Vancouver Giants, scoring only 14 goals and 20 assists in 138 games with the Canucks. With the emergence of Ryan Kesler as the team’s second-line center, and Brule unable to find success playing with the Sedins, the 21-year old often found himself relegated to the third line. The Canucks saw Torres as a better fit for that position.

"We think Torres is the right player for our team," Gillis said. "He plays a gritty game and keeps the opposing players on their toes without crossing the line."

Meanwhile, even Nonis’ toughest critics acknowledge that Cory Schneider, the goaltender he gave up to acquire Brule, hasn’t exactly made the trade a rousing success for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 22-year old has struggled with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL, losing rank on the depth chart to fellow 2004 pick Steve Mason, and has yet to show the promise that made him a former first round selection.

July 1, 2011

Among the frenzy of free agency, the goaltending duel in Columbus came to a swift and decisive end as the Blue Jackets dealt goaltender Steve Mason to the Phoneix Coyotes in exchange for a goaltender Jason LaBarbera and a third round pick. The 2009 Calder Trophy winner has struggled in the last two seasons, posting a save percentage of .901 and a GAA of 3.04. Mason’s loss has been Cory Schneider’s gain, as the rookie took over for the starting job in late February, going 8-4-7 with a .924 save percentage to end the season. While not enough to achieve a playoff berth, Schneider’s performance has put renewed hope in the Blue Jacket’s organization, who’s well-documented struggles had given rise to rumours that franchise player Rick Nash had requested a trade. Sources close to the Blue Jackets organization said that there were informal discussions of a trade, but that Schneider’s stabilizing influence has put them on deep freeze.

Mason, who had himself requested a trade at the end of the season, will hopefully help Phoenix take some of the sting out of losing Ilya Bryzgalov to the Philadelphia Flyers (the 31-year old signed a 9-year, $51 million contract with the Flyers, who acquired his rights in early June). Mason will get a fresh start in Phoenix, and will not have to worry about challenges to his crease, as it is expected that Mike Smith will back him up after signing a two-year, $2 million contract earlier today.

The Coyotes also signed forward Raffi Torres to a two-year, $3.5 million contract. Torres, who scored 25 points last season, was traded from Vancouver to Carolina following a lengthy suspension in November for a hit to the head on Atlanta Thrashers forward Ben Eager. It was Torre’s second suspension since April 2010, when he was suspended four games for a hit to the head of Edmonton Oilers forward Jordan Eberle.

Meanwhile, the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins resigned forward Michael Ryder to a four-year, $14 million contract following a successful playoff run that saw him score 18 points in 24 games, including an overtime winner in Game 1 of the Cup Final against the Vancouver Canucks.

After losing out on the Vezina award to Tim Thomas, Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo opened up about the six game Cup Final against the Bruins, which saw a fantastic goaltending duel that resulted in Luongo winning the Conn Smythe despite losing the series. Luongo’s win was controversial at the time, not only due to Thomas’ own dominant play, but because of the former’s struggles against the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round, in which he was pulled twice in Games 4 and 5. However, with backup goaltender Matheiu Garon unable to solidify the crease, head coach Alain Vigneault turned to his starter for Game 6, who registered a 33-save shutout to secure the series. Luongo never looked back, turning in a dominant run that included three shutouts. Luongo’s best moment came in Game 5 of the Cup Final. After losing two close games in Boston and facing a 3-1 deficit, Luongo made 31 saves for a shutout performance in front of the Vancouver crowd. It would not be enough, as Boston took Game 6 by a score of 3-1 to win their first Cup in 39 years.

July 1, 2014

NHL free agency wrapped up Day 1, with big money going to players such as Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen, and Paul Stastny, all three of whom were among the biggest names to find new teams today. However, it was the two largest contract extensions that saw some of the most money thrown around. The first was Brandon Dubinsky of the Stanley Cup-winning New York Rangers, who signed a 6-year, $38.4 million extension to begin in 2015. The 28-year old is coming off his best career year, scoring 60 points in the regular season before adding in 19 points in 27 playoff games, earning him the second-most Conn Smythe votes behind goaltender Hendrik Lundqvist. Dubinsky said he was glad to be staying in New York for the foreseeable future, particularly given that his name had come up as a trade option as recently as 2012.

The other big extension was goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who re-signed with the Philadelphia Flyers for five years and $37.5 million. The goaltender, who broke out for an unexpected Vezina-winning season this past year, has been a blessing for the Flyers organization that has previously thrown good money after bad on poor goaltending, including a 9-year deal for Ilya Bryzgalov that was bought out last year. Like Dubinsky, Bobrovsky is pleased to find himself staying with the Flyers, who were reported to actively being shopping him around at the 2013 trade deadline, reportedly to Montreal for defenseman and 2012 second overall pick Ryan Murray.

Bobrovsky wasn’t the only goalie to re-up, as the Columbus Blue Jackets announced a 7-year, $42 million extension for Cory Schneider, who came second in Vezina voting while posting a career high save percentage and leading the Blue Jackets to the playoffs for the first time since 2009, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, despite a 5-goal, 9-point performance from captain Rick Nash.

In more goalie news, the New Jersey Devils announced that Martin Brodeur would be staying with the team for at least another year. Despite going 24-21-6 in 51 starts this past season with a .901 save percentage, the 42-year old will remain with the Devils until they can find a suitable replacement to take over the legend’s mantle.

Finally, Ryan Miller signed a three-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks to replace Roberto Luongo, who was traded to the Florida Panthers at the deadline. Miller will split the crease with Eddie Lack, who’s own emergence as a challenger for the starting position in the 2011-12 season created a constant source of tension for the Canucks organization.

July 1, 2016

Some news out of Russia today, as it appears that Gilbert Brule is making a comeback to the NHL on a one-year deal worth $1 million. Brule hasn’t played in the NHL since 2013, after which he retired following a three game stint with the Arizona Coyotes.

Brule will return to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team that drafted him 6th overall in 2005 before trading him the following year to Vancouver for Cory Schneider. Head coach Todd Richards hopes that Brule can add some depth to the Blue Jackets forward corps, which has struggled to produce at even strength and lead to stagnation for the team that looked poised for a breakout just two years ago.

Look for more updates on free agency as the day goes on, as well as our exclusive interview with John Tortorella of ESPN on his one-minded effort to prepare Team USA for the World Cup of Hockey.