NHL Trades Are Fast and Furious

As a kid in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, Ron Francis dreamed of playing for the Maple Leafs. Now 41 and near the end of a distinguished career, Francis got his wish Tuesday when the Carolina Hurricanes traded him to Toronto for a fourth-round draft pick in 2006.

Francis, who ranks second in career assists with 1,242 and fourth in points with 1,788, made the deal possible by waiving a no-trade clause in his contract.

“This is special,” he said. “Certainly they’ve got a good team, and hopefully I can find a little niche to sort of help them out.”

Francis had been relegated to fourth-line duty in Carolina. For the Maple Leafs, who last week acquired defenseman Brian Leetch from the New York Rangers and are poised for a run at the Stanley Cup, Francis will probably have a wider role.

“Here’s a guy that really couldn’t have fit better,” General Manager John Ferguson Jr. said. “He gives us up-front leadership [and will take] important faceoffs and get power-play time. He’s just a smart two-way player.”

Francis was the most prominent player moved before the trade deadline Tuesday, as teams shoring up for the playoffs -- or dumping salaries for a long off-season -- made 20 trades involving 32 players. Five waiver transactions also took place, but the only move by a playoff-bound team occurred when Toronto claimed left wing Chad Kilger from Montreal, the sixth team for the former can’t-miss prospect who was drafted fourth overall by the Mighty Ducks in 1995.

In addition, the Colorado Avalanche made two deals late Monday that were announced Tuesday. Unhappy with backup goaltender Philippe Sauve and unwilling to pay Olaf Kolzig $12.75 million, the Avalanche acquired goalie Tommy Salo and a sixth-round draft pick in 2005 from Edmonton for defenseman Tom Gilbert. General Manager Pierre Lacroix also acquired center Chris Gratton and defenseman Ossi Vaananen from Phoenix for defensemen Derek Morris and Keith Ballard.

The Rangers continued overhauling their overpaid and underachieving roster. They traded winger Martin Rucinsky to Vancouver for the rights to prospect R.J. Umberger and defenseman Martin Grenier, and sent defenseman Greg deVries to Ottawa for defenseman Karel Rachunek and forward Alexandre Giroux. The Rangers have gutted their team in recent weeks but have accumulated a deep pool of youngsters and draft picks they can use to rebuild.

The Canucks, perhaps fearing they’ll lose winger Todd Bertuzzi to a lengthy suspension for his punch to the head of Colorado’s Steve Moore on Monday, added depth up front with Rucinsky and left wing Geoff Sanderson. The price for Sanderson, who had 13 goals and 29 points for Columbus this season, was a third-round pick in the June draft. The Canucks also acquired defenseman Marc Bergevin from Pittsburgh for a seventh-round pick in the June draft.

As always, defensemen were in demand. Boston, San Jose and Buffalo made a three-way deal that sent Jeff Jillson from Boston to San Jose -- briefly -- and then to Buffalo, while Andy Delmore went from Buffalo to San Jose and then to Boston. The Buffalo Sabres, believing they can still make the playoffs, kept Miroslav Satan and acquired gritty forward Mike Grier from the Washington Capitals for center Jakub Klepis. The New York Islanders acquired defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev from Chicago for a fourth-round pick in 2005, and Nashville got defenseman Shane Hnidy from Ottawa for a third-round draft pick.