Page 22 - atoday

A22

SPORTSTuesday 1 March 2016

Big names stay put as NHL trade deadline passes

JOHN WAWROW New York Ranger’s Eric Staal participates in a team practice at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. The
STEPHEN WHYNO Rangers acquired Staal from the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
AP Sports Writers
Loui Eriksson is still with Bos- Associated Press
ton. Dan Hamhuis is still a
Canuck. And Jonathan of Loui’s magnitude,” Bru- able to make an additional pect Aleksi Saarela and a team get better.”
Drouin is still on the roster ins general manager Don move. pair of second-round draft Avalanche captain Gabri-
of the Tampa Bay Light- Sweeney said. “I think “It seemed to be a little bit picks over the weekend. el Landeskog appreciated
ning after the NHL’s trade one first-rounder was ex- quieter today than I ex- In the West, Sakic complet- the support management
deadline came and went changed. The deal had to pected it to be, so there’s a ed three trades in which he provided.
Monday. be right.” little frustration,” MacLellan added a top-line forward “It sends a message to ev-
The league said there Pittsburgh general manag- said. “But still, I’m comfort- in Arizona’s Mikkel Boedker erybody in here that they’re
were 19 trades involving er Jim Rutherford said the able with where we’re at and filled out his defensive willing up top to give us the
37 players completed on asking prices were too high as a team.” depth in acquiring New best chance possible to go
Monday. That’s lower than for some players he had The league-leading Capi- Jersey’s Eric Gelinas. The deep in the playoffs,” Lan-
last year’s numbers of 24 identified, and Arizona GM tals had already addressed Avalanche have missed deskog said.
trades and 43 players, but Don Maloney said the un- their depth by acquiring the postseason four of the Boedker is an eight-year
it marked the 15th straight certainty over how much forward Daniel Winnik from past five seasons and cur- veteran who adds scor-
deadline day in which at the salary cap will grow Toronto on Sunday, and rently hold down the West’s ing punch. His 39 points (13
least 30 players were dealt. this summer was a factor adding defenseman Mike eighth and final playoff goals, 26 assists) ranked
There were a few splashes in preventing some teams Weber from Buffalo last spot. third on Arizona. Gelinas is
made, mostly in the West- from making trades. week. The East rival New “We expect to make a hard-shooting third-year
ern Conference by teams Washington Capitals GM York Rangers acquired Hur- the playoffs,” Sakic said. defenseman who provides
including Anaheim and Brian MacLellan expressed ricanes captain Eric Staal in “That’s what these moves Colorado depth on the
Colorado as the afternoon disappointment he was un- exchange for Finnish pros- are for, trying to help your blue line.q
deadline arrived.
Avalanche general man-
ager Joe Sakic delivered
on his intent to provide
Colorado’s playoff run
one more push. And Dallas
added defensive depth by
landing nine-year veteran
Kris Russell in a trade with
Calgary in exchange for
defensemen Jyrki Jokipak-
ka and Brett Pollock and a
conditional second-round
draft pick. Russell has 174
shot blocks in just 51 games
this season.
But the day was largely no-
table for the names who
didn’t move.
Selected third overall in the
2013 draft, Drouin’s future
with the Lightning remains
uncertain after his agent
went public with his client’s
trade demands in Decem-
ber. Drouin was unhappy
over being demoted to the
minors and has since left
the AHL Syracuse Crunch
to work out on his own in
Montreal.
Boston acquired play-mak-
ing forward Lee Stempniak
from New Jersey and vet-
eran defenseman John Mi-
chael Liles from Carolina.
But the Bruins stood pat on
Eriksson, who was a can-
didate to be traded be-
cause his contract expires
this offseason.
“If you look around the
league, I don’t think any
team current in a playoff
position traded a player