After two weeks of speculation originally dismissed by the new owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning the club has traded defenseman Dan Boyle.

Only four days after his new contract with a no-trade clause came into effect, Boyle agreed to waive the clause to be dealt to the San Jose Sharks.

Going to the Sharks with Boyle is veteran defenseman Brad Lukowich in exchange for defenseman Matt Carle, blueline prospect Ty Wishart, a first round pick in 2009 and a fourth round pick in 2010.

After signing an aging Rob Blake from the LA Kings the Sharks have now given themselves what they hope to be the final missing piece of the puzzle in Boyle to put them over the top as a Stanley Cup contender.

Boyle turns 32 in July and despite missing considerable playing time last season to a freak dressing room injury (a skate blade severed tendons in his wrist) he’s still in his prime and was capable of posting up 25 points in 37 games last season.

His -29 plus/minus rating ranked among the worst in the NHL but that is partially due to a Lightning team that was in disarray late in the season and in freefall in the standings.

On a better team like the Sharks Boyle should be a strong factor in their offensive game, particularly on the power-play, and with his experience as part of the Lightning’s 2004 Stanley Cup playoff run makes an upgrade over the departed Brian Campbell.

It’s difficult to understand the mindset of the Lightning’s new ownership. They were considered the driving force in the Bolts re-signing Boyle last season to a five-year, $6.67 million per season contract before they’d officially taken over ownership of the team.

Then came the Lightning’s recent acquisitions of forwards, such as Ryan Malone ($4.5 million per season), Vaclav Prospal ($3.5 million per season), Radim Vrbata ($3 million per season) and Gary Roberts ($1.25 million), and suddenly the Lighting were pushing perilously close to the salary cap, and that meant something had to give.

Moving Boyle frees up considerable cap space and the additions of Carle and Wishart will replace the gaps on the blueline left by the departures of Boyle and Lukowich, although they won’t replace the experience of the two and Carle will face the pressure of being one of the Lightning’s top two defensemen.

Freeing up cap space and getting younger is one thing, but then why did they even both re-signing Boyle in the first place if the plan was to load on offense?

Carle and Wishart also won’t address the fact that the Lighting blueline was thin before they dealt away Boyle and Lukowich.

Carle and Ranger will probably be the top two pairing, leaving Filip Kuba, Shane O’Brien, Alexandre Picard, Doug Janik and Wishart as the remainder of the defense corps.

The Lightning now look like a team with strong forward depth, decent goaltending in promising Mike Smith and recent acquisition Olaf Kolzig, and a defense corps that could be the club’s Achilles heel.

It’s been an exciting off-season thus far for the Lightning with all their recent moves, as well as the re-signing of franchise player Vincent Lecavalier and the selection of future star Steve Stamkos in the entry draft.

It’ll be interesting to see how well this team, with a suspect defense and a new head coach who hasn’t been behind an NHL bench in 13 years, looks on the ice next season.  

A rare occurrence took place on Thursday as the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, hockey’s long time arch-rivals, swung a trade.

The Canadiens shipped young center Mikhail Grabovski to the Leafs in exchange for prospect defenseman Greg Pateryn and a second round pick in 2010.

Grabovski showed promise In his limited time with the Canadiens but was unable to crack the roster full time last season, and at one point left the team in the midst of a US west coast road trip to fly to Los Angeles and confer with his agent, who advised him to return to the Habs.

The Canadiens have $10 million in available cap space but have several young free agents to re-sign and are expected to land a veteran forward from the UFA market, making Grabovski expendable.

For a rebuilding Maple Leafs team thin at center Grabovski could be a good fit and should get much more playing time in Toronto than he got in Montreal.

Columbus Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson continues to overhaul his roster, today swapping two forwards for two defensemen.

Howson dealt Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche to the NY Rangers for blueliners Christian Backman and Fedor Tyutin.

The deal ends the Blue Jackets long saga with the enigmatic Zherdev, the fourth overall pick in the 2003 entry draft, as he was as maddening with his inconsistency as he was dazzling with his skills.

This move certainly bolsters the depth of the Jackets defense corps but still doesn’t address their need for a top-two blueliner.

Backman, whom the Rangers acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline, was disappointing in his short tenure in New York and the Blueshirts signing of Wade Redden meant his days were numbered there. Tyutin had been re-signed to a four-year contract extension by the Rangers last season and was thought to have a career in New York.

The Rangers had been linked to Zherdev and Fritsche in trade speculation mid-way through last season and at one point it was thought a deal between the two sides was imminent before it apparently fell through.

Zherdev is a good offensive winger when he’s motivated to play and Fritsche will provide depth to the Rangers checking lines.

With Zherdev now on the Rangers roster one wonders how long winger Petr Prucha will remain a Blueshirt, as he was unable to land a permanent spot on the Blueshirts top two lines this past season and was once named as a potential return to the Jackets in those trade rumors last season.

The Philadelphia Flyers continue to pare down salaries from their payroll, shipping veteran defenseman Denis Gauthier to the Los Angeles Kings along with a second round pick in 2009 for prospect defenseman Patrik Hersley and left wing Ned Lukacevic.

Due to cap constraints last season the Flyers were forced to demote Gauthier to the minors where he spent the entire 2007-08 season. They had placed him on waivers at the end of June but couldn’t find any takers.

Gauthier had a reputation as a physical defenseman occasionally know for questionable hits. His rugged style has also resulted in a lengthy injury history.

Given the Kings need for defensive depth Gauthier will have plenty of opportunities to earn himself a regular roster spot.

Minnesota Wild general manager Doug Risebrough wasted little time in finding a potential replacement for departed veteran forward Brian Rolston, bringing back a blast from the Wild’s past by signing UFA forward Andrew Brunette to a multi-year contract (terms not yet disclosed) three year, $7 million contract.

Risebrough also brought in some offensive depth to his blueline by acquiring defenseman Marek Zidlicky from the Nashville Predators in exchange for prospect Ryan Jones and a second round pick in the 2009 entry draft.

Brunette, who played three seasons with the Wild from 2001 to 2004, expressed his interest in returning to the Wild late last week when questioned by a reporter. The 34-year-old winger spent the last three seasons with the Colorado Avalanche posting up 63,83 and 59 point performances, and had 8 pints  points in 10 playoff games for the Avs this spring.

The Predators were expected to shop Zidlicky, who’d fallen down their depth chart with the rise of young d-men like Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, for a scoring forward so it’s surprising they dealt him for only a prospect and a draft pick.

Zidlicky has two more years at $3.5 million per season left on his contract so perhaps Predators GM David Poile made this move in anticipation of signing or acquiring a scoring forward.

One of the NHL’s long-rumored deals finally took place today, as the Edmonton Oilers traded defenseman Joni Pitkanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for forward Erik Cole.

The Hurricanes apparently tried to acquired Pitkanen last summer from the Philadelphia Flyers before he was dealt to the Oilers, and while Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe had hoped to re-sign Pitkanen, a restricted free agent, his acquisition of Lubomir Visnovsky signaled the Finnish blueliner wouldn’t be an Oiler much longer.

It’s a trade that on paper should address the needs of both clubs. The Hurricanes were seeking a top-two puckmoving defenseman and the Oilers were in the market for a top six forward.

The Hurricanes have to re-sign Pitkanen and he’s reportedly seeking nearly $5 million per season, while Cole has another season remaining on his current contract at $4 million.

The Edmonton Oilers have made their second trade this week.

Barely two days after trading Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene to the LA Kings for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky the Oilers today dealt forward Raffi Torres to the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Gilbert Brule.

It’s a move that’ll free up considerable cap space for the Oilers. TSN reports Torres had two years and $5.15 million left on his current contract while Brule has only one season at $765K left on his.

Oilers GM Kevin Lowe could be planning a major acquisition either today or later in the week , as he’s hoping to land a top line forward, leading to speculation Joni Pitkanen could be used as trade bait if Lowe fails to land what he’s seeking in the UFA market.

This move could also benefit the Oilers down the road if Brule should finally achieve the breakthrough season expected of him when the Jackets selected him 6th overall in the 2005 entry draft.

Torres seemed poised for a breakthrough in 2005-06, scoring 27 goals and 46 points  and 11 points in 22 playoff games for the Oilers during their magical run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, but his production declined the following season and last year injury limited him to only 11 points in 32 games.

Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson was assistant GM with the Oilers in 2006 and knows what potential the 26-year-old Torres could still have. The Jackets desperately need experienced depth at forward and Torres could be a strong addition to their third line.

Torres will be expected by demanding Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock to bring a more consistently serious effort to his game so it'll be interesting to see how he responds.

Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren is looking to improve his blueline corps this season and at the draft made a small but perhaps significant step in that direction by obtaining Steve Eminger and the 84th overall pick from the Washington Capitals for the 29th overall pick.

The 24-year-old Eminger was until this past season considered a key part of the promising young Capitals team but saw little action this season (only 20 regular season games) and was often a healthy scratch but when pressed into service in the Flyers-Capitals first round playoff series played well, obviously well enough for Holmgren to add him to his roster.

This move should give Eminger a chance for a fresh start and could work out to both his and the Flyers benefit.

The Columbus Blue Jackets made no secret heading into the 2008 NHL Entry Draft they were in the market for depth at center and were willing to peddle one of their two first round picks to land a scoring center.

During the first round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft they managed to land one, shipping the 19th overall pick and the 67th overall pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for center R.J. Umberger and the 119th pick overall.

The Flyers would’ve preferred to re-sign Umberger, who in his third NHL season had a breakout performance with 50 points in the regular season and 10 goals in 17 playoff games, but with the club either re-signing, or on the verge of re-signing, center Jeff Carter to a multi-year deal and needing to bolster their blueline they had no choice but to cut him loose.

Umberger should be a strong acquisition for the Blue Jackets, who desperately needed a scoring center for Rick Nash’s line. It's possible the Jackets could try to bring in a better center than the 26-year-old Umberger but if so he could at the very least provide depth to their second line scoring.

He’s also a restricted free agent but given the Blue Jackets $20 million in cap space it shouldn’t take too long to get him under contract.

With the Jackets also selecting Russian winger Nikita Filatov sixth overall in the draft the Blue Jackets have made significant strides in bolstering their scoring depth both now and in the future.

The Calgary Flames added a winger and subtracted one during the first round of the NHL 2008 Entry Draft, acquiring winger Mike Cammalleri from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 17th overall pick, and dealing veteran left winger Alex Tanguay to the Montreal Canadiens for the 25th overall pick.

Cammelleri was rumored as a trade candidate during the past week and for good reason given his contentious contract talks last summer with Kings GM Dean Lombardi resulting in a two-year contract through arbitration for less than he sought.

His current contract worth $3.35 million has one year left,  giving the Flames time to determine if they want to re-sign him this summer for more, or see how well he plays for demanding head coach Mike Keenan and make a pitch during next season.

Cammalleri has 80 point potential, having achieved that total in 2006-07 but fell off to only 47 points last season. With the Kings have plenty of depth in young scoring forwards he became expendable, in this case for a 17th overall pick which was then flipped to the Anaheim Ducks along with the 28th overall pick for the 12th overall pick.

The Flames however had to make salary room for Cammalleri and that meant moving out Alex Tanguay, who surprisingly agreed to waive his “no-trade” to facilitate a trade to the Montreal Canadiens for the 25th overall pick in this year’s draft.

Surprisingly, because Tanguay last season repeatedly stated he wouldn’t waive his clause to go to Montreal , citing the intense pressure French-Canadien  players feel playing for the Canadiens.

Evidently the pressure of playing for Mike Keenan another season in Calgary was enough to change his mind. By dumping Tanguay to Montreal and taking on Cammalleri’s salary Flames GM Darryl Sutter saves himself nearly $2 million in cap space which could be used to re-sign a key player or perhaps pursue some depth via the UFA market.

Canadiens GM Bob Gainey has repeatedly stated he wants to acquire an impact player and hinted of dealing his first round pick (25th) in this year’s draft to do so.

Tanguay is a skilled offensive winger whose offensive stats have fluctuated throughout his career. He should post up strong offensive numbers with the speedy young talented Canadiens, but he’s not considered an impact player.

It’s a bit of a puzzling move for Gainey, adding another finesse player into a roster already loaded with those kind of forwards, not to mention the huge cap bite his $5.25 million salary for next season will take out of the Habs’ salary cap.

Either Gainey is still shopping for that elusive impact forward (he’s been granted permission by the Toronto Maple Leafs to speak with Mats Sundin’s agent) or Tanguay is the best he could get.

After two years of baseless speculation, the Florida Panthers finally traded away team captain Olli Jokinen, but not to the teams he was often linked to in trade rumors.

Instead of landing in Calgary, Minnesota or Vancouver Jokinen was shipped to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for defensemen Nick Boynton and Keith Ballard and the second round pick (49th overall).

Panthers GM Jacques Martin wanted to bolster his defense corps and Boynton and Ballard should help in that regard, but this move also significantly depletes the Panthers offensive production. Panthers fans probably won’t be happy about this return.

Boynton was once a highly touted blueliner with the Boston Bruins but injury and contract squabble diminished his status, so much so that it was rumored throughout last season the Coyotes tried unsuccessfully to move him.

Ballard however has far more potential, a 25-year-old blueliner who can play a physical style but also contribute offensively. His offensive production has steadily dropped in his first three seasons but his defensive game has improved.  

If that 49th overall pick should blossom into a star player down the road this deal could work more in the Panthers favor. Having bolstered his defense (possibly in hopes of enticing RFA Jay Bouwmeester into re-signing a long-term deal), Martin will be hard pressed to replace the gaping hole at center.

Coyotes fans have to be thrilled about this move, as they’d now got a bona fide first line center for winger Shane Doan’s line, giving the Coyotes considerably more offensive punch than they’ve had in recent years.

Losing Ballard and Boynton bites into their defensive depth, but with Ed Jovanovski, Derek Morris and Zbynek Michalek  already on their blueline and young Keith Yandle making the team at mid-season it might not hurt them too badly.

The chance to increase the offensive firepower was obviously too good to pass up, and they’ll have Jokinen on the payroll for the next seasons, which could give him the opportunity on a more promising team to finally play on a post-season team.

In the short term, rank this deal a winner for the Coyotes.

The Carolina Hurricanes made the only moves during an unusually quiet Thursday prior to the opening day of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

The club re-signed defenseman Tim Gleason to a four-year contract worth $2.75 million per season, and acquired forward Darcy Hordichuk from the Nashville Predators for a fifth round draft pick in 2009 and a conditional pick in 2010.

Gleason, 25, joined the Hurricanes prior to the 2006-07 season from the LA Kings in the Jack Johnson swap, and showed significant signs of improvement this past season, and barring the addition of other, more talented blueliners he’s currently their second-best defenseman after Joe Corvo.

He could move down the depth chart next season depending on who the Hurricanes can bring in to bolster their blueline corps but he won’t fall beyond the second defense pairing.

Hordichuk meanwhile is a well-travelled fourth liner who can contribute in a checking capacity and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves. His style of play however had led to injuries which the past two seasons has limited him to 98 games.

The Predators get the fifth round pick in 2010 from the Hurricanes if they’re unable to re-sign him. It was believed the Preds wanted to re-sign him but they either could meet his salary demands or he was intent on testing the market.

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford must feel he can get a deal done to trade for his rights.

Most of forward Vaclav Prospal’s best seasons came in a Tampa Bay Lightning uniform and now it appears he’ll be joining the club for the third time in his career.

Nearly five months after the Philadelphia Flyers acquired Prospal from the Lightning, they’ve dealt his rights back to the Bolts for a seventh round pick in 2008 and a conditional pick in 2009.

Something about Tampa Bay agrees with Prospal, where’s spent roughly half of his 11-year NHL career. In each of those 5 seasons with the Bolts he’s consistently scored over 55 points per season, including a 79-point performance in 2002-03, an 80-point season in 2005-06 and a career-high 29 goals in 62 games this past season.

The Flyers acquired him just prior to the trade deadline in February to bolster their offensive depth. His availability at that time was likely tied to his UFA status this summer, his clashes with then-Lightning coach John Tortorella and the uncertainty over the sale of the club to OK Hockey, headed by Hollywood producer Oren Koules.

Prospal played well for the Flyers down the stretch and in the first round of the playoffs but faded in the next two rounds. GM Paul Holmgren claimed Prospal wasn’t that keen to return to the Flyers.

The situation in Tampa Bay has changed since Prospal was dealt;  Tortorella has been fired, the sale of the Lightning to Koules was approved, and apparently the team will be aggressively pursuing UFA talent this summer to bolster their roster.

Acquiring Prospal would be a step in the right direction, reuniting the “MVP” line of he, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.

This move might also be interpreted as additional enticement for Lecavalier to re-sign a long-term contract with the team before next summer.

Prospal will be re-signed, as this move wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t keen to return to Tampa Bay and the Lightning front office weren’t interested in bringing him back.

Prospal’s trade to Philadelphia essentially kicked off the February 2008 trade deadline, and it’ll be interesting to see if his deal back to Tampa Bay is the starting gun for another bout of entry draft weekend dealings.

The Minnesota Wild took steps to add more depth to their defense corps by acquiring veteran blueliner Marc-Andre Bergeron from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a third round pick in the 2008 entry draft.

Bergeron has terrific offensive skills, a smooth skater with a tremendous slapshot that ranks amongst the hardest in the league. However, his defensive skills are average at best and tend to leave something to be desired.

The Wild are Bergeron’s fourth team in two seasons. He was dealt to the New York Islanders mid-way through the 2006-07 season. After clashing at times with the Isles coaching staff Bergeron was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks at the 2008 trade deadline but saw limited regular season action with the Ducks and no playoff time.

Bergeron’s offensive skills will make him a welcome addition to the Wild’s powerplay but it’ll be interesting to see how he responds to the demands of head coach Jacques Lemaire, who preaches a defense-first style.

He’ll either blossom with the Wild or wilt.

The Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers made the first significant trade of the off-season on June 6, as the Flyers shipped forward Ryan Potulny to the Oilers in exchange for defenseman Danny Syvret.

The 23-year-old Potulny, who was drafted by the Flyers in the third round of the 2003 entry draft, has spent the past three season split between the Flyers and their AHL farm team the Phantoms. During that time he’s played 44 NHL games, notching 7 goal and 14 points.

Syvret, 22, was the Oilers third round pick in the 2005 entry draft, and has spent the last three seasons split between the Oilers and their farm system. He has 26 NHL games under his belt over two seasons but spent all last season split between Springfield and Hershey in the AHL.