NHL Roundup: Flames and Rangers Big Winners at the Trade Deadline

The Stanley Cup won't be awarded until the late spring, but the Calgary Flames have already emerged as big winners in their own right after the NHL's trade deadline.

According to the official word from the NHL, there were 22 trades made involving 47 players and 21 draft picks. The last three seasons saw 25 deals done with (40, 44, 45 players changing teams respectively).

General Manager Darryl Sutter made the biggest splash of the day with two high-profile deals, acquiring centre Olli Jokinen from the Phoenix Coyotes and defenceman Jordan Leopold from the Colorado Avalanche.

The Flames picked up Jokinen, along with a third-round pick in 2009, from the Coyotes for centre Matthew Lombardi, forward Brandon Prust and a first-round pick in 2009 or 2010. Leopold - re-acquired after the Flames dealt him to Colorado three years ago in a package for Alex Tanguay - went back to Calgary for defenceman Lawrence Nycholat, defenceman Ryan Wilson and a second-round pick in 2009.

Not to be outdone by their provincial rivals down the road, the Edmonton Oilers were also big players - making a three-team deal with the Kings and Hurricanes. The trade saw Edmonton acquire centre Patrick O'Sullivan, Carolina re-acquire veteran winger Erik Cole and Los Angeles take in winger Justin Williams. The Oilers then added more firepower up front, picking up winger Ales Kotalik from the Buffalo Sabres for a second-round pick.

The New York Rangers - in a dogfight for a postseason berth in the Eastern Conference - also made a big wave picking up defenceman Derek Morris from the Coyotes for blueliners Dmitri Kalinin and forwards Nigel Dawes and Petr Prucha.

The sell-off in Phoenix finished off with a two more deals. The Coyotes sent winger Daniel Carcillo to Philadelphia for forward Scottie Upshall and a second-round pick and shipped goaltender Mikael Tellqvist to the Buffalo Sabres for a fourth-rounder.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, who were expected to jettison as many players as possible in an effort to acquire draft picks, made three moves. With just minutes remaining until the deadline, the club sent forward Dominic Moore to Buffalo for a second-round selection and Nik Antropov to the Rangers for a second-rounder and a conditional pick. The club then acquired injured goaltender Olaf Kolzig, defensemen Jamie Heward and Andy Rogers and a fourth-round draft pick from Tampa Bay for blueline prospect Richard Petiot.

In the nation's capital, the Ottawa Senators kicked off Deadline Day with a shakeup of their own, acquiring goaltender Pascal Leclaire and a second-round draft pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets for winger Antoine Vermette.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins could end up facing each other in the first round of the playoffs and will have plenty of extra firepower and experience going in.

For the second time in two years, general manager Ray Shero acquired another weapon for centre Sidney Crosby at the deadline, this time acquiring winger Bill Guerin from the New York Islanders for a conditional draft pick. The Bruins made upgrades of their own, getting winger Mark Recchi and a 2010 second-round pick from the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenceman Matt Lashoff and winger Martins Karsums and sending forward Petteri Nokelainen to the Anaheim Ducks for defenceman Steve Montador.

The San Jose Sharks, considered by the odds-on favourite to hoist the Cup, improved their lineup by adding forward Travis Moen and defenceman Kent Huskins from the Ducks.

The resurgent Chicago Blackhawks also went to Anaheim for help, acquiring former Selke Trophy winner Sami Pahlsson for defenceman James Wisniewski.

There was some thought the Panthers would try to move defenceman Jay Bouwmeester, who is set to become a free agent in the off-season. There were offers, but the team could not find a deal it liked.

In other moves:

- The Atlanta Thrashers traded forward Erik Christensen to Anaheim for prospect Eric O'Dell.

- The St. Louis Blues traded defenceman Andy Wozniewski to Pittsburgh for blueliner Danny Richmond.

Complete Trade Deadline Transactions

NHL clubs made 22 trades, involving 47 players. It marked the sixth consecutive season in which more than 20 trades were completed and a record number of players involved. Following is a list of the transactions:

Anaheim traded LW Travis Moen and D Kent Huskins to San Jose for G Timo Pielmeier, C Nick Bonino and conditional picks.

Anaheim traded C Samuel Pahlsson, D Logan Stephenson and a conditional pick in the 2009 Entry Draft to Chicago for D James Wisniewski and C Petri Kontiola.

Anaheim traded C Eric O'Dell to Atlanta for C Erik Christensen.

Boston traded C Petteri Nokelainen to Anaheim for D Steve Montador.

Boston traded D Matt Lashoff and RW Martins Karsums to Tampa Bay for RW Mark Recchi and Tampa Bay's 2nd-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.

Buffalo traded RW Ales Kotalik to Edmonton for Carolina's 2nd-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft (previously acquired).

Calgary traded C Matthew Lombardi, LW Brandon Prust and its 1st-round pick in the 2009 or 2010 Entry Draft to Phoenix for C Olli Jokinen and Phoenix's 3rd-round pick in 2009.

Calgary traded D Ryan Wilson, D Lawrence Nycholat and Montreal's 2nd-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft (previously acquired) to Colorado for D Jordan Leopold.

Calgary traded G Kevin Lalande to Columbus for Columbus' 4th-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft.

Carolina traded RW Justin Williams to Los Angeles for C Patrick O'Sullivan and Calgary's 2nd-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft (previously acquired).

Carolina traded C Patrick O'Sullivan and its 2nd-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft to Edmonton for LW Erik Cole and Edmonton's 5th-round pick in 2009.

Columbus traded G Pascal Leclaire and its 2nd-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft to Ottawa for LW Antoine Vermette.

Florida traded D Noah Welch and its 3rd-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft to Tampa Bay for D Steve Eminger.

NY Islanders traded RW Bill Guerin to Pittsburgh for a conditional pick in the 2009 Entry Draft.

NY Rangers traded D Dmitri Kalinin, LW Nigel Dawes and RW Petr Prucha to Phoenix for D Derek Morris.

Philadelphia traded LW Scottie Upshall and its 2nd-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft to Phoenix for LW Daniel Carcillo.

Phoenix traded G Mikael Tellqvist to Buffalo for Buffalo's 4th-round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.

Pittsburgh traded D Danny Richmond to St. Louis for D Andy Wozniewski.

San Jose traded D Kyle McLaren to Philadelphia for Philadelphia's 6th-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft.

Tampa Bay traded G Olaf Kolzig, D Jamie Heward, D Andy Rogers and Carolina's 4th-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft (previously acquired) to Toronto for D Richard Petiot.

Toronto traded C Nik Antropov to NY Rangers for the Rangers' 2nd-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft and a conditional pick in 2010.

Toronto traded C Dominic Moore to Buffalo for Carolina's 2nd-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft (previously acquired).


There also were four waiver claims:

Toronto claimed G Martin Gerber from Ottawa.

Dallas claimed C Brendan Morrison from Anaheim.

Toronto claimed D Erik Reitz from NY Rangers.

Pittsburgh claimed RW Craig Adams from Chicago.

Information provided in NHL Roundup has been gathered from A.P. reports, ESPN.com, Sportsline.com, NHL.com and numerous other e-sources. Opinions expressed in NHL Roundup are solely the opinions of the author.

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