Trade Winds Are at Gale Force

If Monday’s action is an indication, the deals will be fast, furious and significant today as NHL teams work up to the noon trading deadline.

Monday’s headline-grabber was the Philadelphia Flyers’ acquisition of free-agent bust Tony Amonte from the Phoenix Coyotes for a minor leaguer and two draft picks. Desperate for offense, the Flyers hope Amonte -- who had 13 goals to show for the four-year, $24-million deal he signed last summer -- will be reborn alongside former Chicago teammate Jeremy Roenick.

The trade also says volumes about NHL economics. Amonte’s contract wasn’t terribly burdensome, as free-agent spending goes, but the Coyotes apparently don’t think they’ll come close enough to contending in the next three years to need the firepower he has left.

The Dallas Stars were the most active team, acquiring rugged defenseman Lyle Odelein from Chicago for Sami Helenius and a draft pick, and scrappy center Stu Barnes from Buffalo for a prospect and a draft pick, while nearing a deal for Montreal veteran Doug Gilmour. It was delayed by contractual complications, but Gilmour told reporters he expected to be traded today.

“It’s all about giving the Stars the best chance at a Stanley Cup,” General Manager Doug Armstrong said. “I think by adding veteran players, you’re sending a message that you believe in them and you believe they can play in the playoffs.”

New Jersey got tougher by acquiring right wing Grant Marshall from Columbus and defenseman Richard Smelik from Atlanta for draft picks, and Ottawa did the same by grabbing Rob Ray from Buffalo for future considerations. Sabre General Manager Darcy Regier said he anticipated making more deals today to slash the payroll of a team operating under bankruptcy protection.

“It’s a cold, harsh, stark reality of where we are as a franchise,” said Regier, whose top remaining assets are defenseman Alex Zhitnik and winger Miroslav Satan.

Other questions to be answered today:

* Will the New York Rangers further inflate their already bloated payroll by snaring Jarome Iginla from the cash-poor Calgary Flames?

* Will the Pittsburgh Penguins trade their last tradable resource, Martin Straka? They can’t trade owner-player Mario Lemieux because an owner can’t play for another team.

* Can Colorado’s Pierre Lacroix top his previous deadline-beating trades for Rob Blake and Ray Bourque? Lacroix got Bryan Marchment from San Jose last Saturday and is pursuing San Jose’s Vincent Damphousse, who was in the Flyers’ sights until they stole Amonte. Either way, the payroll-slashing Sharks -- who will also move Teemu Selanne if he waives a no-trade clause -- are in position to get some good prospects or draft picks.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, going all-out to win with an aging team, have acquired veterans Owen Nolan and Glen Wesley for draft picks and young players within the last few days and are still looking for a defenseman.

The Detroit Red Wings also want help on defense, but their hopes were dashed when Phoenix’s Teppo Numminen refused to waive his no-trade clause. Their second choice, Aaron Miller, re-signed with the Kings. Plan C is said to be King defenseman Mathieu Schneider.

The St. Louis Blues are looking for a goaltender and have looked at Phoenix’s Sean Burke. But the Islanders recently called up a third goalie, Rick DiPietro, and St. Louis might make a play for DiPietro or Chris Osgood.

Watching the one-upmanship among the East and West leaders should be intriguing. The Cup might not be won today, but the path toward it could be cleared.

Same Old Same Old for the Kings

It’s too easy to blame injuries suffered by Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh for the Kings’ imminent failure to make the playoffs when the cause is the same as always: no depth.

The Kings were fooling themselves if they thought they could contend without making any major additions last summer. Tim “Loose Cannon” Leiweke can talk all he wants about his responsibility to the other passengers in the NHL’s fiscally leaky boat, but his primary responsibility is to win the Stanley Cup for fans who have supported the Kings through 36 futile seasons. Or does he know that no matter what he does, enough fans will return for more punishment year after year to make Philip Anschutz’s ownership worthwhile as a real estate-public relations play?

Drafting and developing talent is the way to build, and the Kings are producing some decent talent. But they were unrealistic to think rookies Alexander Frolov and Michael Cammalleri would be impact players this season. Few rookies step in to play major roles, and Russian-born Frolov faced a cultural adjustment while the smallish Cammalleri adjusted to nightly poundings. Both might become top-six forwards, but that was beyond their reach this season.

Their core is good, assuming Deadmarsh recovers from his concussion to play with the fearlessness that makes him effective -- but also makes him prone to injuries. Ziggy Palffy is a keeper, as is Miller. But Miller’s agreement on a new deal means Schneider is expendable and he will probably be traded.

Bryan Smolinski’s offensive inconsistency outweighs his defensive strengths, and it’s time for the Kings to get what they can for him and look for a top-notch second-line center. Goaltending is a thornier problem. Jamie Storr is a good backup but isn’t a starter. Felix Potvin can’t handle the load, either. The answer might be trading some prospects to get a young, reliable starter like Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

With an injury-free cast, the Kings probably would have made the playoffs. They might even have won a round. But they’re not deep enough to compete with the elite teams, and to pretend otherwise will only delay their progress.

Keenan’s at It Again

With 15 games left in the season, Florida Panther General Manager Rick Dudley fired assistant coaches Paul Baxter and George Kingston and hired onetime Panther coach Duane Sutter and minor league coach John Torchetti to work with Coach Mike Keenan. Except during practice, which Dudley ordered Keenan not to run because he thinks Keenan has been too tough on the team’s young players.

All of which sets Keenan up to wiggle out of the three years on his contract and leave to coach the Rangers, as has been rumored. The Panthers say Keenan isn’t going anywhere, but the truth is, they’d love to be rid of his big salary and the friction between him and Dudley. Torchetti, a favorite of Dudley’s, would be ready to step up next season, with Sutter beside him.

It all fits together too neatly to be anything else. Besides, Keenan’s ego is big enough for him to think he can clear up the mess Glen Sather has made with the Rangers.

Slap Shots

Sergei Fedorov, eligible for unrestricted free agency July 1, continues to discuss a new deal with the Red Wings.

“We want to sign him and he’s said he wants to stay,” General Manager Ken Holland said. “But it becomes a matter of making everything fit. We have a lot of guys we have to take care of.”

Fedorov has previously said he liked Los Angeles but Leiweke said the Kings wouldn’t pursue him if he became a free agent because his reported price tag of $10 million a year for five years would be too steep.

Goaltender Marty Turco’s sprained ankle is healing more slowly than the Stars expected. He’s not likely to play for another two weeks and will need a week or so after that to regain his timing, putting them dangerously close to the playoffs. But they like backup Ron Tugnutt and probably won’t trade for a goalie today.

If they do anything else, it will be for a forward because Bill Guerin won’t return before May, if at all. He was released from a Dallas hospital last week after undergoing surgery to restore circulation to muscles in his leg.

The return of injured forward Ryan Smyth and goalie Tommy Salo was just in time to keep the Oilers among the top eight teams in the West. They still miss forward Mike York and defenseman Jason Smith, but they could be dangerous in the playoffs if Salo is hot and their opponent can’t handle their speed. “We’re starting to get healthy,” Coach Craig MacTavish said. “This is a tough league to play in when you’re not healthy.... It’s really nice to have Ryan back.”

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The Big Deals

Monday’s trades in the NHL:

PHILADELPHIA: Acquired forward Tony Amonte from Phoenix for forward Guillaume Lefebvre, third-round pick (2003), second-round pick (2004).

NEW JERSEY: Acquired forward Grant Marshall from Columbus for a conditional draft pick (2004). Acquired defenseman Richard Smehlik from Atlanta for a fourth-round pick (2003).

OTTAWA: Acquired forward Rob Ray from Buffalo and center Bob Wren from Nashville for future considerations.

DALLAS: Acquired center Stu Barnes from Buffalo for center Mike Ryan and a second-round pick. Acquired defenseman Lyle Odelein from Chicago for defenseman Sami Helenius.

PHOENIX: Acquired forward Chris Gratton from Buffalo and fourth-round pick (2004) for forward Daniel Briere and a third-round pick (2004).