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NHL trade roundup

Staying true to form, the final dealing day of the season was super busy. Coming on the heels of the most active deadline day last year, when 25 trades were completed, at least 20 went down in the final hours on Tuesday.

The New York Islanders' general manager Garth Snow pulled off a trade that could propel New York into the playoffs. He mulled offers for Jason Blake, an impending unrestricted free agent this summer, and then pounced for Edmonton's Ryan Smyth became available when contract talks with the Oilers broke down.

New York sent first-round picks Robert Nilsson (2003) and Ryan O'Marra (2005), along with the Islanders' first-round choice in this year's draft to Edmonton for Smyth, who has 31 goals and 53 points in 53 games this season.

While that one came as a surprise, Bill Guerin's departure from St. Louis didn't. The rugged forward's days were clearly short because of his upcoming unrestricted free agent status, and it became more clear that he wouldn't be staying once the Blues dealt Keith Tkachuk to Atlanta a few days before the deadline.

Two days earlier, the Sharks acquired veteran defenseman Craig Rivet from the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Josh Gorges and their own first-round pick.

The Sharks sent Finnish left wing Ville Nieminen to the rebuilding Blues.

Bertuzzi, best known for his blindside hit to the head of former Colorado player Steve Moore that drew the rugged forward a 17-month suspension, was traded by the Florida Panthers after playing only seven games with them in an injury-plagued season.

The Panthers acquired forward Shawn Matthias and up to two conditional draft picks in the deal.

Bertuzzi, acquired by Florida from Vancouver for top goalie Roberto Luongo on draft day last year, hasn't played since he had lower back surgery in November.

The Buffalo Sabres took a big step toward replenishing their injury-ravaged lineup by making four deadline-day deals. The biggest brought Lithuanian forward Dainius Zubrus to town from Washington.

The Sabres also dealt backup goalie Martin Biron to the Philadelphia Flyers for a second-round pick and then acquired Columbus Blue Jackets' backup goalie Ty Conklin for a fifth-round pick in this year's draft.

Along with Zubrus, a consistent offensive forward, Buffalo also landed prospect and Swiss defenseman Timo Helbling. The Sabres dealt rookie Czech forward Jiri Novotny, who's ready to return from a high ankle sprain, and a first-round pick to the Capitals.

The Sabres then traded a fourth-round draft pick to Nashville for minor league Finnish defenseman Mikko Lehtonen.

Sweden's Norstrom, the Kings captain since 2002, was sent with Kazakh right wing Konstantin Pushkarev and two draft picks to the Dallas Stars for Czech star Jaroslav Modry and three draft choices.

Norstrom is the team's career leader in games played among defensemen with 780. He has two goals, seven assists and 40 penalty minutes in 62 games this season.

The New York Rangers sent Aaron Ward to the Boston Bruins for fellow defenseman Paul Mara, and traded newly acquired forward Pascal Dupuis to the Atlanta Thrashers for a third-round draft pick and prospect Alex Bourret.

Ward, a member of the Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes last season, was in the first year of a two-year deal with New York that pays him US$2.75 million each season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins took steps to win now, adding veteran leadership and muscle to their young forward lineup.

Joining blossoming stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, are 40-year-old Gary Roberts and noted fighter Georges Laraque.

To land Roberts, who waived a no-trade clause, Pittsburgh sent defenseman Noah Welch to Florida. Forward prospect Daniel Carcillo and a 2008 third-round pick were shipped to Phoenix for Laraque. The Penguins then dealt Dominic Moore to Minnesota for a third-round pick and acquired defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski from Florida for a fourth-round choice.

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