Brind'Amour

	Primeau

Primeau, who had 30 goals last season, said he signed a five-year, $22.75 million contract with the Flyers and should be in uniform Thursday night.

Carolina's first contract offer to Primeau in July was five years for $20 million. He turned down various other offers for fewer years and less money over the past few months.

Brind'Amour, an 11-year NHL veteran, had played in 484 straight games before missing the first 34 games this season with a broken left foot. Since returning to the lineup, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound center has eight points in 12 games.

		Sun, January 23 This was the best possible deal for the Hurricanes. People have to understand that Carolina didn't have Primeau all year, so they're getting Brind'Amour, which makes them a better team. With Ron Francis and Jeff O'Neill at center, the Hurricanes now have three solid centermen. Brind'Amour is a strong two-way center and a good team guy. I'm sure he's a little unhappy about the trade. Here's a guy who probably took less than market value to stay in Philly to win. But now in Philly, you trot out two 6-foot-5 centers; no other team in the league can do that. Primeau can score for you, but he's also scary strong and a great hitter. Carolina won't be a Cup favorite like Philly, but with this trade, they should compete for the playoffs.

Carolina coach Paul Maurice said Brind'Amour would center a line with wings Gary Roberts and Jeff O'Neill against Montreal on Monday night.

"I think he knew the call was coming," Maurice said. "While there may have been a shock to it when he finally heard it, he is still that great pro and he snapped right into the arrangements of when he was coming.

"He got very focused at the job at hand. There wasn't any, 'I'll have to call you back or I have to talk to my agent.' It was hockey."

Rutherford said Brind'Amour has two years remaining on his contract, which will play him $3.5 million next season and then $4.2 million.

Carolina also gets 21-year-old goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier and a second-round pick at the NHL entry draft in June. The deal follows a flurry of rumors the last few days.

There were reports that Primeau, 28, was part of a three-way deal among Carolina, the New York Rangers and the Phoenix Coyotes, which would have landed him in Phoenix and sent Keith Tkachuk to New York. Petr Nedved was also said to be part of the three-way trade.

The New York Post reported Saturday that Carolina owner Peter Karmanos nixed that deal. Then attention focused on the Flyers, although late Saturday night there were reports the deal had fallen through.

Primeau, Carolina's leading scorer last season with 30 goals and 32 assists in 78 games, had been seeking about $4.5 million per season from the Hurricanes. He made $2 million last year.

The Toronto native is an excellent two-way player and was part of the Canadian Olympic team in 1998. He has 179 goals, 227 assists and 1,127 penalty minutes in 597 games in an 11-year career with Detroit, Hartford and Carolina.

Primeau turned down various contract offers from Carolina since becoming a restricted free agent July 1, and declared he would never play for Carolina again as his relationship with Karmanos appeared to deteriorate.

"It's best left unsaid," Primeau said when asked if he had anything to say to Karmanos, who at one point in the negotiations called Primeau a prima donna.

Brind'Amour, 29, who played with Primeau on the Canadian Olympic squad, has spent his last eight seasons with Philadelphia.

He was the NHL's ironman going into the 1999-2000 season, but his streak of consecutive games played ended at 484 when he sustained a hairline fracture of his left foot during a preseason game. Brind'Amour had two pins inserted in his foot and was unable to start this season. He returned to the lineup Dec. 22.

He has 273 goals and 430 assists in 778 games with Philadelphia and St. Louis. He was third in Flyers scoring last season with 74 points. His salary last season was $3.5 million.

"I don't think anybody wins when you get in these situations," Carolina captain Ron Francis said of Primeau. "Unfortunately, this happens in sports. But from an organization standpoint you want to have everybody on the ice that you can to help you win and be successful. Now, we can all move forward."

Carolina came into Sunday's game four points out of a playoff spot in the tight Eastern Conference.