Throwback Thursday: This week in 1999, Detroit Red Wings acquire Chris Chelios, Wendel Clark, Ulf Samuelsson and Bill Ranford

This week in 1999, the Detroit Red Wings made three big trades that included the acquisition of defenceman Chris Chelios from the Chicago Blackhawks.

In exchange for Chelios in the deal that went down on March 23, the Wings gave up Anders Eriksson, a 1999 1st round pick (Steve McCarthy) and a 2001 1st round pick (Adam Munro).

It was a huge acquisition for the Red Wings, as Chelios would immediately put up 34 points in 81 games going on to play 10 years with Detroit.

Detroit also made two other big moves that day acquiring goalie Bill Ranford from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a conditional pick in 1999, as well as Wendel Clark from the Lightning for Kevin Hodson and a 1999 2nd round pick (Sheldon Keefe).

You think the Red Wings were done? WRONG.

Detroit made one final move, their fourth of the day, acquiring Ulf Samuelsson from the New York Rangers for a 1999 2nd round pick (David Inman) and a 2000 3rd round pick (Igor Radulov),

The moves were big for a Red Wings club looking to three-peat as Stanley Cup Champions, but the club ultimately fell short losing in the Western Conference semi-finals to Colorado in six games.

Clark left the club after that 1999 season splitting the next season, his final in the NHL, with Chicago and Toronto. Clark scored six points in 12 regular-season games and two points in six playoff games.

Much like Clark, Ranford left after the season’s end to rejoin the Edmonton Oilers, with whom he’d retire. The goalie played in four regular-season games clocking three wins. In the playoffs, Ranford went 2-2 in four games.

And Samuelsson was no different than the other two. Between the regular season and playoffs, Samuelsson played in 13 games scoring three points.

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