Flames and Panthers blockbuster trade made NHL history

However, before the trade went through, the Flames signed the RFA Tkachuk to an eight-year, $76 million contract with an AAV of $9.5 million, making the exchange the first ever "sign and trade" in NHL history.

Of course, similar situations have happened where players immediately sign with the team they're traded to, or RFAs have signed contracts to be traded.

However, this is the first actual "sign and trade" because the stipulations were officially written in the contract that Tkachuk had to be traded to the Panthers.