In the 1998 NHL Draft, the Detroit Red Wings used the 171st overall pick on an undersized Russian forward named Pavel Datsyuk. After a legendary 14-year career in Detroit, Datsyuk and the Red Wings had a slightly messy breakup when the Magic Man announced he intended to return to play in Russia. To clear cap space, Detroit send Datsyuk's contract and the 16th overall pick in the 2016 draft to the Arizona Coyotes for the 20th pick, the 53rd pick, and forward Joe Vitale. Datsyuk never returned to the NHL and Vitale never played for the Red Wings, sitting out the 2016-'17 season and subsequently retiring due to repeated concussions.

With the 16th pick in 2016, the Coyotes selected defenseman Jakob Chychrun; after 7 seasons he was traded to the Ottawa Senators for a 2023 1st round pick, which they used to select 6'5" Russian LW Daniil But, and 2nd-round picks in the 2024 and 2026 drafts. The Red Wings used the 20th pick on defenseman Dennis Cholowski and the 53rd pick on defenseman Filip Hronek. Cholowski never met his potential with Detroit and would be selected by Seattle in the 2021 expansion draft. Hronek developed into the better player of the two, and in 2023 was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for the 17th and 43rd picks in the 2023 draft. Detroit used the 17th pick to select Swedish defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka, and traded the 43rd pick to the Nashville Predators for the 47th and 147th picks. Nashville selected center Felix Nilsson 43rd, while Detroit used the 47th pick on American defenseman Brady Cleveland and the 147th pick on German left wing Kevin Bicker.

Neither Joe Vitale nor Datsyuk himself recorded any statistics in the NHL after the trade. The three active players, Chychrun, Cholowski, and Hronek, have together combined for 811 NHL games played, 102 goals, and 260 assists, compared to Datsyuk's career of 953 NHL games, 314 goals, and 604 assists. Granted, Datsyuk was a center being compared to 3 defensemen, so it isn't the fairest comparison to make. The more interesting number to compare might be the +/- ratings -- Datsyuk finished a +246 for his career, compared to a combined -178 for the three active players!