RALEIGH, N.C. — Trades were a rarity during this weekend's NHL draft, with labor uncertainty making teams reluctant to take on large contracts.
"Our decisions are a little bit tougher when you're trying to make them with the unknown," said Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford, whose team hosted the event at the RBC Center. "We saw some trades here in the last two days that were probably a little bit different than we've seen in the past, some very good players going for a midround draft pick."
This year only six moves were made, with the two biggest involving the rebuilding Ottawa Senators. The team unloaded soon-to-be restricted free agent Radek Bonk in a three-team deal on Saturday, then sent top goaltender Patrick Lalime to St. Louis on Sunday for a conditional fourth-round pick.
The Los Angeles Kings initially took Bonk for a third-round pick, then immediately shipped him and backup goalie Cristobal Huet to the Canadiens for goaltender Mathieu Garon and Montreal's third-round pick.
The trade of Lalime opens up the Senators' roster for Detroit goalie Dominick Hasek, who can be courted when he becomes a free agent next week.
Ottawa general manager John Muckler said the deals were good, considering the circumstances.
"If we waited until July 1 and didn't qualify them, we would have got nothing," he said. "I think we did the smart thing this weekend and cleared some money off our payroll that can be used for other things."
Senators coach Bryan Murray noted, however, that what Ottawa got in return showed the tenor of the times.
"Ordinarily, with a player like (Bonk), you'd like to get something in the first round," he said. "But at the end of the day, you take what you can get."
The draft, which ended Sunday, made history, with Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin becoming the first Russian players to go with the top two picks.
Canada had 125 players chosen, the most of any country.
Sixty-four American players were taken, the most since 68 were selected in 1991. Blake Wheeler — projected to go no higher than late in the first round — was the first, going to Phoenix with the fifth pick. The right wing became the highest-drafted high school player since Brian Lawton was chosen first overall by the Minnesota North Stars in 1983.
Another U.S. player, Al Montoya of the University of Michigan, was the highest goaltender chosen, going at No. 6 to the New York Rangers.
It's not clear when any of the players may step onto NHL ice. The league's collective bargaining agreement with its players expires Sept. 15 and, with no agreement near, a lockout is a distinct possibility.
The impending stoppage left most teams reluctant to make trades that would saddle them with big contracts, which would strangle their payroll if the league wins its fight to include salary restrictions in the new collective bargaining agreement.
Most have tried over the past season or two to position themselves financially so that they could handle any roster needs even without a labor deal in place.
On Sunday, the Kings acquired defenseman Stephane Quintal — who is an unrestricted free agent on July 1 — from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for future considerations.
With injuries to key forwards this year and a longtime interest in acquiring Garon to back up starter Roman Cechmanek, the team needed to move ahead despite the labor uncertainty.
"We'll go forward with business as usual," Los Angeles general manager Dave Taylor said. "We still have some holes in our lineup so we hope to fill them after July 1 with the free agent market."
In other trades Saturday, Atlanta acquired defenseman Niclas Havelid from Anaheim for defenseman Kurtis Foster, and Edmonton traded forward Jason Chimera and the 80th pick to the Rangers for the 57th and 112th picks. On Sunday, Atlanta traded a conditional seventh round pick in the 2005 draft to Chicago for goaltender Adam Berkhoel.