One of the biggest trades in the history of the NHL almost happened in 2019

That would have been one of the biggest trade of the history. Not because of the number of assets involved in the deal, but because of the players included in it. According to Jeff Marek from Sportsnet, the Tampa Bay Lightning were looking at trading Nikita Kucherov during the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

And the rumored return would have been Leon Draisaitl, from the Edmonton Oilers. It could have been one of the fairest one-for-one trade.

As a reminder, the Lightning were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs that year, after finishing first in the league with 128 points.