Two-time Olympic champion right wing Jarome Iginla was sent to the Los Angeles Kings while defenseman Mark Streit was traded twice ahead of Wednesday’s National Hockey League transfer deadline.
A flurry of deals, 18 in all involving 33 players, helped contenders finalize their rosters for the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs in six weeks while outsiders hoped to make a move that might lift their team into the championship hunt in the final weeks of the regular season.
The Kings, one point behind St. Louis for the last Western Conference playoff spot, obtained Iginla from the league-worst Colorado Avalanche for a 2018 NHL draft selection.
“It has been a tough year for us in Colorado,” Iginla said. “I really appreciate the opportunity to get to have a chance to be in full competitive games and can’t wait to compete with the Kings.”
Iginla, a 39-year-old who helped Canada to 2002 and 2010 Olympic gold, has 619 career goals and could spark a moribund Kings’ attack ranked 25th in NHL scoring this season. Iginla ranks 16th on the NHL all-time goals list over 1,535 games with Calgary, Pittsburgh, Boston and Colorado and reached the 2004 finals with Calgary.
“I believe I can still produce,” Iginla said.
Streit, a 39-year-old Swiss in his 11th NHL season, moved between northern state rivals by way of sunny Florida, being sent by the Philadelphia Flyers to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Finnish center Valtteri Filppula and two draft picks, then going to the reigning NHL champion Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a 2018 draft pick.
The Flyers, four points behind Toronto for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot, had only 13 goals over nine games before ripping Colorado on Tuesday. They add in Filppula, 32, a veteran with 152 goals in 775 NHL games.
Streit will secure a Penguins backline that has suffered injuries to Kris Letang, Olli Maatta and Trevor Daley. Pittsburgh ranks third overall in the Eastern Conference.
The Atlantic Division-leading Montreal Canadiens acquired left wing Dwight King from the Los Angeles Kings for a 2018 draft pick and sent Swiss forward Sven Andrighetto to Colorado for Norwegian frontliner Andreas Martinsen.
The Florida Panthers, one point behind Toronto in the East, added Austrian left wing Thomas Vanek from the Detroit Red Wings for defenseman Dylan McIlrath and a 2017 draft pick.
“Thomas is a proven scorer in this league who will add some offensive savvy and experience to our young group of forwards,” said Panthers hockey operations president Dale Tallon. “We believe strongly in our group and we’re confident that he will help our power play and supplement our core effectively.”
Vanek led Detroit with 15 goals this season and has 331 goals over 865 games in 12 seasons with five clubs.
Toronto, trying to hold onto the last playoff spot in the East, obtained forward Eric Fehr and defenseman Steve Oleksy plus a draft pick for defenseman Frank Corrado.
The New York Rangers, securely in an East wild card playoff spot, obtained Taylor Beck from Edmonton for Justin Fontaine in a forward swap while Columbus, second overall in the East, added defenseman Kyle Quincey from New Jersey in exchange for defenseman Dalton Prout and added Finnish forward Lauri Korpikoski from Dallas for defenseman Dillon Heatherington.
Nashville acquired forward P. A. Parenteau from New Jersey for a 2017 draft pick while Calgary obtained forward Curtis Lazar from Ottawa for defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka and a draft pick.
The Las Vegas Golden Knights were officially added to the NHL lineup as the league’s 31st club on Wednesday as majority owner Bill Foley made the third and final payment on the team’s $500 million expansion fee to the league.
“Today we reached another significant milestone in our team’s history — the Vegas Golden Knights are officially an NHL franchise,” Foley said. “Now that we are official, we look forward to continuing this momentum and building a team that our fans and our community will be proud of.”
The payment allows the Golden Knights to make trades as well as sign undrafted college and European free agents.
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