| | PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins dramatically remade
their roster in an ambitious series of trading deadline deals
Tuesday capped off by goaltender Tom Barrasso's trade to Ottawa.
In less than 24 hours, the Penguins -- by far the busiest team at
the deadline -- changed one-quarter of their roster with five
trades. The biggest cost them Barrasso, a talented but
temperamental player and one of two remaining stars from their
Stanley Cup teams of 1991 and 1992.
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| Tugnutt |
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| Barrasso |
In exchange for Barrasso, a potential free agent they couldn't afford to
re-sign, the Penguins got veteran goalie Ron Tugnutt, who will
split time with Jean-Sebastien Aubin, and defenseman Janne
Laukkanen.
The trade is risky for both teams. The Penguins are 2-7-2
without injured star Jaromir Jagr, who probably won't play for at
least two more weeks as he rehabilitates his injured thigh.
Reshaping a slumping team so late in the season can be a gamble.
However, the Penguins' slide has left them in serious danger of
missing the playoffs for the first time in 10 years -- and missing
the postseason paydays new owner Mario Lemieux was counting on.
Earlier, coach Kevin Constantine was fired mostly because
general manager Craig Patrick was convinced the Penguins were
playing their way out of the playoffs.
"Yeah, we're serious, we made a coaching change because we're
serious," Patrick said. "We brought in a group of players we feel
could be key components not just to get us into the playoffs, but
for years to come."
The flurry of trades also saw the Penguins deal defenseman Brad
Werenka to Calgary for forward Rene Corbet and goalie prospect
Tyler Moss; forward German Titov to Edmonton to reacquire forward
Josef Beranek; and a fifth-round draft pick to Anaheim for
defenseman Dan Trebil. On Monday night, they acquired physical
defenseman Bob Boughner from Nashville.
Barrasso and Jagr were the only Penguins left from the
Stanley Cup years -- the star of that team now owns them -- and
Patrick acknowledged it was tough to deal a player so critical to
the best teams in franchise history.
"But business is business, and emotions don't count," Patrick said.
Barrasso, who will be 35 on March 31, had to waive a no-trade
clause to complete the deal, and Patrick was initially reluctant to
broach the subject with him. If he stayed, the Penguins risked
getting nothing in return if Barrasso signed with another team.
"Quite frankly, I was afraid to call him ... and maybe ruin him
for the rest of the year," Patrick said. "We told him we wanted
him to stay, but we wanted to let him know about this opportunity.
He was open to it, and it worked out well for both sides."
Barrasso has been spending time with his ailing father and has not played
since Feb. 11. But he is expected to join the Senators in time for the
opener of a three-game road trip on Wednesday in Calgary.
Barrasso is 5-7-2 with a 3.18 goals-against average, again missing time due to a variety of ailments. He leaves Pittsburgh as the Penguins' all-time leader in goalie games (456), wins (226) and shutouts (22), as well as playoff games (101), wins (56) and shutouts (six). Barrasso also
owns single-season team records with 43 wins (1992-93) and seven shutouts (1997-98). The 17-year veteran backstopped Pittsburgh to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992. The Buffalo Sabres made him the fifth overall pick in the 1983 draft, and he spent his first five seasons with the Sabres before he was traded to the Penguins.
The Senators are gambling Barrasso, who has been limited to 18
games this season and hasn't played in more than a month because of
the death of his father, can quickly get back into shape at the
most crucial point of their season.
Ottawa is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, one point
behind Florida.
Tugnutt seemed stunned to leave a team with a solid chance to
win the Stanley Cup to join a team that might sit out the playoffs.
"I didn't expect it," said Tugnutt, who is 18-12-8 while
sharing playing time with Patrick Lalime, Barrasso's former backup
in Pittsburgh. "I guess they feel they're doing the right thing
for them, but I'm not so sure."
In 44 games, Tugnutt was 18-12-8 with four shutouts and a 2.54 GAA. Last season, Tugnutt, 32, led the NHL with a 1.79 GAA while ranking third with a .925 save percentage.
He is the Senators' all-time leader with 72 wins and ranks second among goalies with 166 games.
Laukkanen also was shaken by the trade.
"I'm disappointed, because I wanted to be part of this team and see where we could go," Laukkanen said. "But I'll go to Pittsburgh and play the best I can play there, and we'll see what happens."
Laukkanen, who turns 30 on Sunday, has a goal and 11 assists in 60 games and his plus-14 ranked second among Ottawa defensemen. The 6-foot, 180-pound Finn, who broke into the NHL with Quebec in 1994, was traded to the Senators in January 1996. He has 10 goals and 62 assists in 280 NHL games.
The other deals allowed the Penguins to deal off two players,
Titov and Werenka, who were clearly unhappy playing under interim
coach Herb Brooks. Titov was quoted by a Russian newspaper as being
very critical of Brooks, although he later denied some of the
statements.
The Penguins also toughened up their defense -- Boughner should
add a long-missing physical force along the blue line -- and
upgraded their front-line depth and grit.
The wheeling and dealing was reminiscent of the early 1990s,
when Patrick dealt for players such as Ron Francis, Rick Tocchet,
Kjell Samuelsson and Ulf Samuelsson just before the trading
deadline.
"We can put four good lines out there now, and that's important
in the playoffs," Patrick said. "You don't make trades without
risks, but we think we've made good trades."
To make room on the roster, the Penguins assigned Moss, forwards
Dennis Bonvie, Robert Dome and Martin Sonnenberg, defenseman John
Slaney and Moss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey
League.
In other deals Tuesday
The New Jersey Devils traded centers Denis Pederson and Brendan Morrison to the Vancouver Canucks for right wing Alexander Mogilny.
The Calgary Flames obtained
right wing Sergei Krivokrasov from the Nashville Predators for
defenseman Cale Hulse and a 2001 third-round draft pick.
Krivokrasov provides even more scoring punch from the right side
for Calgary, which already has All-Star Valeri Bure and red-hot
Jarome Iginla. The Flames are trying to make the playoffs for the first time
since the 1995-96 season. They have not won a postseason series
since capturing the Stanley Cup in 1989.
Krivokrasov, 25, flourished last season with expansion
Nashville, establishing career highs with 25 goals and 23
assists in 70 games and making his first All-Star Game
appearance. But he has only nine goals and 17 assists in 63
contests this season.
Hulse, 26, has a goal and six assists in 47 games. The 6-3,
215-pounder was in his fourth full season with Calgary, which
acquired him from the New Jersey Devils in February 1996.
The Philadelphia Flyers acquired checking center Kent Manderville from the Carolina
Hurricanes for rugged right wing Sandy McCarthy.
Manderville, 28, had just one goal and four assists and was a
minus-8 in 56 games for the Hurricanes this season. He played
81 games in 1998-99, collecting five goals and 11 assists and
leading all Carolina forwards at plus-9.
With the Flyers, the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder could step in for Marc
Bureau, who was traded to Calgary last week. Manderville has 27
goals and 44 assists in 431 games with Toronto, Edmonton and
Hartford-Carolina.
McCarthy, 27, was on the block after Philadelphia obtained
enforcer Gino Odjick from the New York Islanders last month. The
6-3, 225-pound McCarthy has six goals and five assists with 111
penalty minutes in 58 games.
"Sandy plays a physical game and will add a new element to our
lineup as we make our stretch drive for the playoffs,"
Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said.
The Florida Panthers acquired center Mike Sillinger from the Tampa Bay Lightning for center Ryan Johnson and left wing Dwayne Hay.
Sillinger, 28, is enjoying the finest season of his eight-year
career with 19 goals and 25 assists in 67 games. He has six
power-play tallies and three short-handed goals but owned a
minus-29 rating on the lowly Lightning.
"We gave up a fine two-way hockey player who will help the
Florida Panthers in Mike Sillinger," Tampa Bay general manager
Rick Dudley said. "But in return, we received a gritty
speedster with offensive upside in Ryan Johnson and a banging
winger who is strong in the corners in Dwayne Hay. Both players
fit our criteria of being high character and low maintenance
with very good speed."
Johnson is a 23-year-old center who missed only three games in
his rookie season. The 6-1, 200-pounder has four goals and 12
assists with a plus-1 rating. He had a pair of two-point games
at the end of January but has not recorded a point since
Feb. 24. Hay, 23, had 11 goals and 20 assists in 41 games this season
with Louisville of the American Hockey League. He has yet to
record a point in 11 NHL games with Washington and Florida.
The Nashville Predators sent minor-league goalie Corey Hirsch to Anaheim for future considerations.
The Atlanta Thrashers dealt winger Ed Ward to Anaheim for future considerations. Ward, 30, had five goals and one assist in 44 games.
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