The NHL : Trading Deadline Has No Meaning for Kings

The National Hockey League’s trading deadline was Tuesday and there were lots of clubs scrambling to beat the clock, but the Kings were not among them.

“We’ve made so many deals prior to the deadline, we just have to give our new guys a chance to prove themselves,” said General Manager Rogie Vachon.

“We feel that we are certainly good enough to make the playoffs and who knows after that? I’ve listened to a lot of GMs in the last two days.

“We were not looking for anything in particular. But we could have used an experienced defenseman because Larry Playfair is out and we only have six defensemen. But we couldn’t find any at the right price so we had to pass.”

Vachon said he didn’t have one serious offer for center Marcel Dionne, who was benched in the last half of the Kings’ 7-3 loss to Edmonton last Sunday.

The New York Islanders, who have a history of making big deals just before the trading deadline, sent left wing John Tonelli to the Calgary Flames for left wing Rich Kromm and defenseman Steve Konroyd.

Tonelli played on four consecutive Stanley Cup championship teams with the Islanders.

Tonelli, 28, was coming off the best season of his career, scoring 100 points last season. But he was struggling this season and had been benched in recent weeks. He was the Islanders’ third-leading scorer this season behind Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier.

According to a news service report, Tonelli stormed out of the office of Islander General Manager Bill Torrey after learning of the trade.

Tonelli was involved in a contract dispute earlier this season, refusing to report to training camp last September unless his contract was renegotiated.

The Islanders gave him a new three-year contract worth a reported $350,000 a season. His new contract will not take effect until next season, however.

Kromm, 21, had 12 goals and 17 assists in 63 games with Calgary this season.

Konroyd, 25, had 20 goals and 27 assists this season.

The Islanders also sent defenseman Stefan Persson to the Winnipeg Jets for future considerations.

The Flames made another deal, too, acquiring left wing Nick Fotiu from the New York Rangers for future considerations, then the Rangers traded defenseman Mike McEwen to Hartford for right wing Bob Crawford.

The Rangers’ deal with the Flames is contingent on Fotiu passing the Flames’ physical examination. He suffered a knee injury last November after being sent down to the minors.

The Detroit Red Wings, who had been active in the marketplace Monday, were back Tuesday.

They traded veteran right wing Ron Duguay to Pittsburgh for right wing Doug Shedden. Shedden is expected to play his first game for Detroit tonight against the Kings at the Forum.

Shedden played on the Penguins’ top line with center Mario Lemieux and left wing Terry Ruskowski.

Duguay, 29, played for the New York Rangers from 1977-83, when he was traded to Detroit. He had 80 points during his first season with the Red Wings and 89 last season.

On Monday, the Red Wings sent defenseman Reed Larson to Boston for defenseman Mike O’Connell, and Detroit also traded defensemen John Barrett and Greg Smith to Washington for defensemen Darren Veitch.

Washington traded defenseman Peter Andersson to Quebec for a third-round draft pick, and the New Jersey Devils traded goalie Glenn (Chico) Resch to the Philadelphia Flyers for a third-round draft pick in the June draft.

Resch will back up Bob Froese, who became the Flyers’ No. 1 goalie after Pelle Lindbergh was killed in an auto accident last November.

The Devils also traded veteran defenseman Phil Russell to the Buffalo Sabres for a 12th-round draft pick in 1986.