Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes traded forward Jeff O'Neill to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday for a conditional
2006 draft pick.
O'Neill had 198 goals and 218 assists during his nine seasons with the franchise. He scored a career-high 41 goals in 2000-01.
"There's never a good time to say goodbye to somebody," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. "Jeff was the first transaction I made as a general manager, and as our first pick in Hartford. He's been a real good player for us."
The trade comes just over two weeks after a tragic loss for the O'Neill family. Donny O'Neill, Jeff's older brother, was killed in a car crash July 21 in Vaughan, Ont., just north of Toronto.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Left wing Ruslan Fedotenko, who scored both goals in the team's 2-1 victory over Calgary in the seventh game of the 2004 Stanley Cup finals, has re-signed.
Fedotenko played in 77 games during the 2003-04 season, recording 17 goals, 39 points and 14 penalty minutes. He signed a one-year contract Saturday.
Fedotenko was acquired in June 2002 from Philadelphia and has scored 69 goals and 133 points in 305 NHL games.
He played 2002 Winter Olympics for Ukraine.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Veterans Andrew Cassels and Scott Lachance
have been cut loose by the Blue Jackets.
Cassels, a 36-year-old center, was placed on waivers. The Blue Jackets will buy out the remainder of his contract for just over $1.5 million.b Lachance, 33, a defenseman, cleared waivers on Friday and will be paid $1 million to buy out his 2005-2006 contract.
NHL teams had until Friday night to buy out the contracts of players for 67 percent of their value. The buyout money does not count toward the league's new $39 million salary cap.
With Cassels out of the picture, a spot could be made available on the Blue Jackets roster for 18-year-old center Gilbert Brule, taken with the No. 6 pick in the NHL draft on Saturday afternoon.
Cassels had six goals and 20 assists in 58 games during the 2003-2004 season.
Lachance never scored a goal in 138 games for the Blue Jackets and had a minus-143 plus-minus rating.
The Blue Jackets now have about $15.5 million invested in 14 players under contract. One of the five restricted free agents they will try to sign is forward Rick Nash, who tied for the NHL lead in goals scored two years ago with 41.
Colorado Avalanche: The Avalanche selected University of Denver forward Paul Stastny in the second round of the NHL draft.
Stastny, 19, the son of NHL Hall of Famer Peter Stastny, helped lead the DU Pioneers to their seventh national title this year, finishing with 45 points, the second highest on the team.
"We felt he has some of the best hockey sense available in the draft," said Jim Hammett, the Avalanche's chief scout. "To do the things he did in a major university program speaks for itself. And the bloodlines don't hurt, either."
Stastny, a 6-foot, 200-pound native of Quebec City, was selected to the NCAA All-Tournament Team.
Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press
