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Caps Make 2 Trades to Draft Center, Defenseman
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The top-ranked European player, skilled Russian winger Nikita Filatov was selected by Columbus with the sixth overall pick.
But last night was as much about new names entering the league as it was about familiar names changing teams.
Several significant trades were completed before the first pick was even made. Among them: In a three-way deal, Calgary acquired center Mike Cammalleri from Los Angeles for the Flames' No. 17 pick. In turn, the Kings sent that choice, and No. 28, to Anaheim for the Ducks' No. 12 overall selection.
Calgary General Manager Darryl Sutter, though, was just getting warmed up. He also dealt veteran winger Alex Tanguay and the Flames' fifth-round pick to Montreal for the No. 25 overall choice and the Canadiens' second round choice next season. Tanguay is coming off a disappointing 18-goal season and is due to make $5.25 million in the final year of his contract.
Florida also made a major move, dealing captain Olli Jokinen, a player who has been mentioned in trade rumors for more than a year, to Phoenix in exchange for defensemen Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton, and the Coyotes' second-round pick. Jokinen has scored 173 goals in the past five seasons but his leadership came into question after the Panthers failed to reach the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.
The Blue Jackets acquired center R.J. Umberger, a former Ohio State Buckeye, and a fourth-round pick from Philadelphia in exchange for the 19th overall and a third-round selection. Umberger is coming off his best season, but the Flyers were going to have trouble squeezing him under the salary cap ceiling.
As for Eminger, he probably helped his trade value by playing well during the playoff series against the Flyers. Eminger, a former first round pick, played in only 20 regular season games.
"It didn't hurt that the Flyers were the last team I played against," he said. "If there was one team I wanted to go to, that's it. It's hard to leave the friends that I've made in Washington. But hockey-wise, I needed a new start. And Philadelphia is the perfect place for it."
First-round selections, E4
