"If Peter was 26, we wouldn't have done it," McPhee said. "He's sort of on the back nine at 36."
Bondra is in the third year of a four-year US$18 million contract, and the final year is an option year. He will become a free agent this summer and could be re-signed by the Capitals if the Senators decide not to keep him, but Ottawa general manager John Muckler said he intends to exercise the option.
"He is not a rental," Muckler said.
Islanders 4, Penguins 3
Mariusz Czerkawski scored a pair of power-play goals, and Garth Snow stopped 18 shots as the New York Islanders held on for a 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday night that sent the Penguins to their 16th straight loss.
"I just try to concentrate and stay positive," Czerkawski said. "Every shift is challenging."
Roman Hamrlik and Kenny Jonsson also scored for the Islanders, 20-8-2 at home.
Tomas Surovy, Ric Jackman and Milan Kraft scored for the Penguins, who haven't won since Jan. 12. Since then, Pittsburgh is 0-15-0-1. Andy Chiodo made 30 saves in his first NHL start.
"I was so entrenched in the moment, I didn't have time to be that nervous," Chiodo said. "It was pretty exciting the first time I was standing on that ice. I'll never forget that moment."
Panthers 1, Sabres 1
In Buffalo, New York, Roberto Luongo stopped 41 shots, allowing Florida to rally for a tie with Buffalo.
Tough guy Eric Boulton snapped a 54-game scoring slump, scoring for Buffalo, which had a four-game winning streak end. The Sabres, however, are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, and are within three points of Montreal in the race for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Luongo, fourth in the NHL with a 93.1 save percentage, was particularly sharp in the second period when he stopped all 22 shots.
Red Wings 5, Coyotes 2
In Detroit, Brett Hull tied Dave Andreychuk's NHL record with his 263rd career power-play goal and Kris Draper scored twice to lead Detroit over Phoenix.
Phoenix's Chris Gratton had a goal, then Detroit's Mathieu Schneider scored before Fredrik Sjostrom got the Coyotes within 3-2.
Draper gave Detroit another two-goal cushion with 1:50 left. Draper added an empty-netter a minute later for his 23rd goal of the season.
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