Until the Kings made the biggest move of NHL trade deadline day by prying forward Dustin Penner away from the Oilers, the further dismantling of the Panthers dominated an otherwise dull day of dealing.
Penner was the main marquee player to change teams Monday in what was an out-of-character slow deadline day. The Oilers, who own the NHL’s worst record, unloaded their star forward for an impressive bundle — receiving prospect defenseman Colten Teubert, a first-round pick this year and another draft selection next year.
There were 16 deals involving 35 players and 12 draft picks, nowhere near the record level of last year when 31 trades with 55 players included were completed.
“There’s only a few teams, really, that are out of the playoff races in the East and West. That means most teams were looking to add as opposed to looking to sell players,” Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman said. “When that happens, there’s just not a lot of players in play.”
The Kings also signed right wing Justin Williams to a four-year contract extension worth $14.6 million.
In addition to Penner, other familiar players on the move included center Jason Arnott, who waived his no-trade clause to go from New Jersey to Washington in a deal that sent Dave Steckel to the Devils; Fred-rik Modin was dealt to Calgary by Atlanta for a seventh-round pick; and the Hurricanes sent forward Sergei Samsonov to Florida for Bryan Allen in one of four deals made by the Panthers.
Florida, which sent veteran defenseman Bryan McCabe to the Rangers on Saturday, also dealt veteran forward Radek Dvorak to Atlanta for forwards Niclas Bergfors and Patrick Rissmiller. The Thrashers made three deals on deadline day and claimed center Rob Schremp off waivers from the Islanders. The Panthers also dealt Cory Stillman and Michael Frolik in February.
The Blue Jackets traded the last remaining player from their original team in the 2000-01 season, sending Rostislav Klesla to the Coyotes for left wing Scottie Upshall and defenseman Sami Lepisto.
Footnotes.
The Red Wings signed goaltender Jimmy Howard to a two-year, $4.5 million deal.
• The Senators signed defenseman Chris Phillips to a three-year, $9.25 million extension and claimed former Colorado College goalie Curtis McElhinney off waivers from the Lightning.
