By Budd Bailey, Buffalo Sports Page Columnist
No. 94: April 7, 1995 – The Sabres trade Petr Svoboda to Philadelphia for Garry Galley.
This was something of an odd trade at the time, and remains so in hindsight. Svoboda and Galley were both good defensemen who could produce some offense. What, then, was the point? These were two good veteran players, and that made the deal noteworthy, but it was something of an apple for an apple.
The Sabres hoped Svoboda would bring some speed to a team that was emphasizing that quality when he came to Buffalo in 1992. But times had changed in three years, so it was off to Philadelphia for the slightly older Galley.
The teams played each other in the 1995 playoffs, with Svoboda earning bragging rights in that round. Svoboda had the longer stay with his team, but Galley was part of the ’97 squad that won the division title for Buffalo. He then left as a free agent for Los Angeles. Galley played four more years after leaving the Sabres.
(Follow Budd on Twitter @WDX2BB)
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