> Trade deadline a snoozer,
You know it’s a slow trade deadline day in the NHL when the biggest name dealt is a 39-yearold with eight goals this season.
Headed for the Los Angeles Kings, Jarome Iginla was the highest-profile name to move in one of the slowest (and least interesting) deadline days in recent memory. Most of the transactions involved depth players on expiring contracts, including Thomas Vanek to Florida, P.A. Parenteau to Nashville and Mark Streit to Pittsburgh.
There were 18 trades in all — only 16 involving players to play in the NHL this season.
“It’s probably less, I guess, than past years, which doesn’t surprise me,” Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving said.
He had predicted that the expansion draft would “make it a little bit stickier” on deadline day, with clubs having to consider players to both protect and expose to the newly minted Las Vegas Golden Knights in June.
Many of the picks moved Wednesday were either conditional or late-round selections.
Iginla fetched a conditional fourth-round pick in 2018 for Colorado; Vanek netted Detroit a third in 2017; Parenteau got the Devils a sixth, also this summer. Not one first-round pick moved hands on deadline day itself (and only one second rounder), though some moved in the more intriguing lead-up to the deadline — including Washington’s acquisition of Kevin Shattenkirk and Minnesota’s landing of Martin Hanzal.
Streit, a 39-year-old defenceman, joined the defending Stanley Cup champions, Kyle Quincey and Lauri Korpikoski came aboard the surprising Columbus Blue Jackets, and Jannik Hansen injected some depth on the wing for the San Jose Sharks.
The Montreal Canadiens went for size up front in scooping up Dwight King (six-foot-four, 229 pounds), Andreas Martinsen (six-foot-three, 220 pounds) and the always feisty Steve Ott. The club also traded for six-foot-two, 210-pound defenceman Brandon Davidson and six-foot-two, 200-pound defender Jordie Benn of North Saanich.
Already busy with the recent additions of Alex Burrows, Tommy Wingels and Viktor Stalberg, the Ottawa Senators opted to deal 22-year-old former first round pick Curtis Lazar of Salmon Arm to Calgary on deadline day for a second rounder in 2017 as well as defensive depth in Jyrki Jokipakka.
Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion and head coach Guy Boucher both took Mark Borowiecki’s brief injury scare at practice Wednesday as a sign that a move was necessary on the back end.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made only a minor move on Wednesday, dealing Frankie Corrado to Pittsburgh for Eric Fehr, minor-league defenceman Steven Oleksy and a fourth-round pick.
The two biggest names reportedly in play at the deadline, Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog, both stayed put in Colorado, as did Radim Vrbata with Arizona.