MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens took another step in
their rebuilding process Tuesday when they sent Trevor Linden,
Dainius Zubrus and a second-round draft pick to the Washington
Capitals.
In exchange, Montreal received young forwards Jan Bulis and Richard Zednik and a first-round draft pick.
Montreal will miss the playoffs for the third straight season,
the first time that's happened since the 1920s.
Linden, an assistant captain with the Habs, had 12 goals, 21
assists and 52 penalty minutes in 57 games this season. The
30-year-old had garnered interest from Dallas as well.
In Linden, the Stanley Cup-contending Capitals acquire a
playoff-savvy center with plenty of leadership.
Zubrus, who showed promise early on when acquired from
Philadelphia for Mark Recchi in March 1999, has been a
disappointment this season. The 22-year-old winger has 12 goals and
12 assists in 49 games.
Zednik, 25, and Bulis, 22, are both blessed with blinding speed
and soft hands. Zednik had 16 goals and 19 assists in 62 games this
season while Bulis was limited to five goals and 13 assists in only
39 games.
The Canadiens sent veteran defenceman Eric Weinrich to Boston
last month for defenseman Patrick Traverse.
Goaltender Jeff Hackett was also expected to be traded by
Tuesday's deadline but a hand injury removed any interest from
other NHL clubs.
Audette shuffled back to Buffalo
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo Sabres made two deadline deals,
neither of which involved holdout center Michael Peca.
The Sabres acquired veteran goal scorers Donald Audette and
Steve Heinze, in separate deals shortly before Tuesday afternoon's
NHL trade deadline.
Peca's season is now all but over after sitting out the year in
a contract dispute with the Sabres. He is a restricted free agent,
meaning the Sabres can match any offer made by another team or
receive compensation.
"We're very disappointed," Peca's agent Don Meehan said.
Last October, Peca asked for a trade when he became frustrated
by stalled contract talks. He sought a four-year deal worth about
$14 million, while the Sabres last offer was a four-year contract
worth around $11.5 million.
In January, Peca resigned his captaincy and announced that he
would never play for the team again.
He turns 27 later this month and – barring a trade or offer from
another team – would remain Sabres property until he reaches
unrestricted free agency when he is 31 years old.
"We're going to sit down and reflect on our course of action
from here on in," Meehan said, "and we'll do that within the next
week or so."
Audette, who broke into the league with the Sabres in the 1990
playoffs and spent nine years with the team, was acquired from
Atlanta for prospect center Kamil Piros and a fourth-round pick in
this year's draft.
Heinze, a 10-year NHL veteran, was acquired from the expansion
Columbus Blue Jackets for a third-round pick in this year's draft.
"We got some offense. I think it's a great deal," coach Lindy
Ruff said.
The moves bolster the Sabres' offensive needs, something Ruff
said needed to be addressed heading into the postseason.
Audette, 31, led the Thrashers with 32 goals and 71 points, tied
for 15th in the NHL, this season. He will miss Buffalo's next two
games, serving out a suspension for hitting Calgary's Ronald
Petrovicky in the head during a game Sunday.
Heinze, 31, was second in scoring with Columbus with 22 goals
and 42 points.
Heinze and Audette are both in the final year of their
contracts, and can become unrestricted free agents this summer.
Pens Czech off another need, trade for Kucera
PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins followed a pair
of trends before Tuesday's trade deadline, acquiring defenseman
Frantisek Kucera from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Pittsburgh sent a 2001 sixth-round draft pick to the Blue
Jackets for Kucera, one of four defensemen to either be acquired
or traded by the Penguins in the past two days.
Kucera also becomes the Penguins' sixth Czech native, joining
captain Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka, Robert Lang, Jan Hrdina and
Josef Beranek. Pittsburgh coach Ivan Hlinka also is Czech.
The 33-year-old Kucera was a member of the Czech Republic's 1998
gold medal-winning team that included Jagr, Straka and Beranek.
In the past two days, the Penguins have acquired Bobby Dollas
and traded Jeff Norton and Sven Butenschon. They obtained
rookie left wing Dan LaCouture from Edmonton for Butenschon
earlier Tuesday.
Kucera had two goals and five assists in 48 games for Columbus
after signing as a free agent in July. In 402 NHL games with
Chicago, Hartford, Vancouver, Philadelphia and Columbus, he has
23 goals and 80 assists.
With 13 games left in the regular season, the Penguins are fifth
in the Eastern Conference, just four points behind Philadelphia
but only two ahead of Buffalo and Toronto, who are tied for
sixth.
The Penguins are looking to shore up a defense that has allowed
at least three goals in each of the last seven games (3-3-1-0).
Jackets busy on trade-deadline day
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Besides sending second-leading scorer Steve Heinze to Buffalo and defenseman Frantisek Kucera to Pittsburgh, the Blue Jackets dealt center Kevyn Adams to
Florida for forward Ray Whitney.
Adams, 26, had eight goals and 12 assists in 66 games for the
Blue Jackets.
Whitney, 28, has played in the NHL since 1992 with San Jose,
Edmonton and Florida. He scored 97 goals and 127 points – including 10
goals and 21 assists this year – in his career with Florida. He has topped 60 points in each of the past three full seasons.
Undersized at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, Whitney has developed
into a solid goal scorer. He had 33 goals and 65 points three
seasons ago.
Blackhawks send McAmmond to Flyers
CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks traded forward Dean
McAmmond to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday for a third-round
pick in this year's draft.
The Blackhawks, who will miss the playoffs for the fourth
consecutive season, own seven selections in the first four rounds
of the draft – two in the first round, one in the second, two in
the third, and two in the fourth.
"We feel this is an exceptional draft year," Chicago general
manager Mike Smith said. "There is a lot of depth in this year's
draft. This will definitely help us in our rebuilding process."
McAmmond, 27, had 10 goals and 16 assists with 43 penalty
minutes in 61 games for Chicago this season.
Kings deal Berg to Leafs for prospect
TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs added another former
first-round draft pick to their defense on Tuesday, obtaining
Aki Berg from the Los Angeles Kings at the trade deadline for
center Adam Mair and a 2001 second-round pick.
Berg, 23, was the third overall pick in the 1995 draft but never
lived up to his potential with the Kings. He has four assists
in 47 games this season, his fifth in the NHL.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Berg posted career highs in 1999-00 with
three goals and 13 assists in 70 games. He joins former
first-round picks Dave Manson and Wade Belak on the Maple Leafs'
defense.
Mair, 22, has spent the entire season in the AHL with St. John's, where he collected 18 goals and 27
assists in 47 games. A 1997 fourth-round pick, he made his NHL
debut last season with the Leafs and had one goal in eight
games.
"He is a young, aggressive forward who will bring grit and
physical play to our organization," Kings general manager Dave
Taylor said of Mair. "Also, in acquiring the second-round draft choice, we
now have five selections in the first three rounds of the 2001
NHL draft."
Stars boost defense, pick up Ledyard
DALLAS – The Dallas Stars acquired defenseman Grant Ledyard for a seventh-round selection in this year's draft.
The Stars, in third place in the Western Conference, made the
deal on the day of the NHL trade deadline.
Ledyard, 39, had two goals, two assists and 12 penalty minutes
in 14 games for Tampa Bay this season.
This is Ledyard's second stint with Dallas. The 17-year NHL
veteran played with the Stars from 1993-97.
He's also played for the New York Rangers, Los Angeles,
Washington, Buffalo, Vancouver, Boston and Ottawa.
The Stars waived right wing Blake Sloan to make room on the
roster for Ledyard. The Columbus Blue Jackets claimed the
25-year-old Sloan off waivers.
Sloan had two goals, two assists and 29 penalty minutes in 33
games for Dallas this season.
Senators pick up Millar from Lightning
OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators, looking to bolster their
defense, acquired defenseman Craig Millar from the Tampa Bay
Lightning on Tuesday for forward John Emmons.
The Senators, with the best record in the Eastern Conference,
made the deal on the day of the NHL trade deadline.
Millar had one goal, one assist and 16 penalty minutes in 21
games with the Lightning.
Emmons, playing on Ottawa's fourth line this season, had one
goal, one assist and 20 penalty minutes in 41 games.
He became expendable after the Senators obtained forward Eric
Lacroix from the New York Rangers last week.
Oilers pick up Butenschon
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Oilers acquired defenseman Sven
Butenschon from the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Dan LaCouture in a deal that beat the NHL trading deadline.
Butenschon, a 6-foot-4 German, has bounced between the Penguins
and their farm clubs for four years. He has one assist and two
penalty minutes in five NHL games this season.
LaCouture, a left-wing from Hyannis, Mass., has spent most of
his pro career with Edmonton's AHL farm club in Hamilton, Ontario.
He has two goals, four assists and 29 penalty minutes in 37
games with the Oilers this season.
Senators' decision: Trade for Leschyshyn
ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Wild traded defenseman Curtis
Leschyshyn to the Ottawa Senators for a third-round pick in
the 2001 draft and future considerations.
The trade completes the Wild's housecleaning of veterans
eligible to become unrestricted free agents this summer. Besides
Leschyshyn, 31, the Wild recently traded defenseman Sean O'Donnell,
29, to New Jersey and left wing Scott Pellerin, 31, to Carolina.
Leschyshyn, one of the team's permanent alternate captains, had
two goals and three assists.
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ALSO SEE
ESPN.com's NHL Trade Tracker
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AUDIO VIDEO
 GM George McPhee felt the Capitals needed another center and got one in Trevor Linden.
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