Carter a Quality Find for Kings

As today’s noon PST trade deadline approaches, the market looks to be the bargain bin of a department store the night before Christmas: The merchandise has been thoroughly picked over, but a few items remain that aren’t too damaged, fit well enough, and can be had at a decent price.

Every NHL team has made a trade since Feb. 4, resulting in 40 deals that involved 78 players, plus draft picks. Nine of those deals were made Monday. The Kings, trying to hold off the Blues and fortify an offense that most nights is fueled by 20 Ian Laperrieres and Eric Belangers, made the biggest deal Monday when they acquired winger Anson Carter from Washington. The price was moderate -- Jared Aulin, a once-prized prospect whose stock fell when he injured his shoulder and the organization developed some depth.

Sources said the Kings were interested in the New York Rangers’ Martin Rucinsky, but General Manager Glen Sather wanted too much in return. And King General Manager Dave Taylor was smart enough not to sit idle and hope that Martin Straka, who has recently recovered from knee surgery, hits stride soon.

“When it came down to it, for the price and players available, Anson made a lot of sense,” Taylor said. “He has good size, he can kill penalties, he can play the power play. He’s a big body to handle around the net, and he has had success in the Western Conference before.”

Thanks to salary-dumping sprees by the Rangers and Capitals, most of the usual deadline-day intrigue is gone. However, the NHL’s uncertain labor situation will lead to some moves today, as teams divest big contracts before the collective bargaining agreement ends Sept. 15 and a new system is adopted.

There’s precedent for active pre-Doomsday dealing. With a lockout on the horizon in 1994, teams made 18 trades that involved 35 players, both records at the time. The deadline-day numbers the year before were nine trades involving 14 players. The 1994 totals weren’t surpassed until deadline day of 1998, when 19 trades were made involving 38 players. The record for deadline-day deals was set last year, when 24 trades were made involving 46 players.

Who’s Going Where?

The Mighty Ducks figure to be active. But unlike a year ago, when they acquired Rob Niedermayer and Steve Thomas for their run to the Stanley Cup finals, they’ll be sellers.

Toronto has inquired about goalie Martin Gerber, projecting him as insurance against Ed Belfour’s chronic back woes, and might make a pitch for rugged defenseman Ruslan Salei. Dallas has limited interested in winger Petr Sykora, with prospects or picks the likely return. That would allow the Ducks, who have a pile of money committed to Sergei Fedorov and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, to gain financial flexibility under a new labor deal.

Washington scratched goalie Olaf Kolzig and winger Mike Grier from its lineup Monday supposedly because of illness but probably more to spare them injury before trading them today. Colorado liked Kolzig but not the $12.75 million he’s due the next two years. Defenseman Brendan Witt probably will follow them out the Capitals’ revolving door. After trading Matthew Barnaby to Colorado on Monday, the Rangers’ last moves will be trading Ruchinsky and defenseman Boris Mironov.

The phone call that Buffalo’s Miroslav Satan mimicked receiving after he scored a goal on Saturday should come today. Rumors say he’ll go to the Islanders or -- pundits get ready -- the Devils. Carolina’s Sean Hill said he’d waive his no-trade clause to go to a contender, and he’d be a passable sixth defenseman. Teammate Jeff O’Neill would have been dealt but suffered a recent shoulder injury.

Some last-minute deals pay off big. A day before the 1980 deadline the Islanders made a trade with the Kings for Butch Goring, who led them to the first of four straight championships. A day before the deadline in 1991 the Penguins plundered Hartford for Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson, who became leaders on their consecutive Cup winners. The Rangers acquired Stephane Matteau, Glenn Anderson and Craig MacTavish in 1994, and all contributed to their Cup triumph. The Red Wings’ acquisition of Larry Murphy in 1997 stabilized their defense and helped them win for the first time since 1955.

“You don’t win the trade deadline unless you win the Cup,” Maple Leaf General Manager John Ferguson Jr. said. And he’s right.

Costs of Labor Pains

Economic and labor issues have dominated every club’s planning and will influence most trades today. That preoccupation costs the NHL in ways that aren’t obvious, according to Canadien President Pierre Boivin.

“When an organization spends most of its waking time minimizing losses and finding ways to survive, you’re not creating enterprise value. You’re not investing in the sport,” he said during last week’s Octagon World Congress of Sports in Newport Beach.

“And God knows that any professional sport needs to have positive thinking, needs to have people outreaching, needs to have teams and leagues that are in an investment mode and not the mode hockey has been in the last probably 10 years, but dramatically in the last four or five.... Because we’ve got so much of our energy focused on right-sizing our organization to pick up every nickel we can so we can survive, we got out of that mode. It’s as scary as 75% of revenues [going to player costs]. One will kill you short-term and the other will kill you long-term, eventually.”

Boivin and fellow panelist Greg Jamison, president of the Sharks, said their clubs had tapped every in-house revenue source and went outside to bring such sports as tennis and arena football to their arenas. The Sharks cut their payroll by $12 million this season; Boivin said the Canadiens will try variable ticket pricing for the first time next season and charge premium prices by dates or opponents.

“One thing we have left is naming rights on the club,” Jamison said, joking. “That’s about all we have left in the building.... [A new labor deal] needs to fix what is wrong, and I think it will and I believe it should. In our case, in our market and our team, we already put ourselves on a disciplined plan because we had to. We had no other choice but to begin to do our own fix.”

Said Boivin: “If we don’t succeed [in negotiating a deal] and have a lockout, we all must be prepared to see it through. We’re fortunate in Canada because the fans will forgive and come back. The sport is that relevant, particularly if it’s their belief -- and it will be -- that there’s a better economic model and that Canadian teams will have a better chance to be competitive year in and year out. In new markets, where the sport has not yet got deep roots, we need to be cognizant of the effects and those organizations must be very present in the community to minimize the damage.”

Slap Shots

What’s with the Blackhawks and extracurricular escapades? Last season, they imploded after Theo Fleury and some teammates got into a brawl in a strip club in Columbus. Last week, Coach Brian Sutter allegedly roughed up forward Tyler Arnason in a bar in Nashville, yet another embarrassment for this once-great franchise.

The Arlington Heights Daily Herald said Sutter was in Tootsies Orchid Lounge when he saw several players outside and invited them in. He began talking to Arnason, who he has said has potential. At one point Sutter reportedly grabbed Arnason, backed him up against the wall and appeared ready to punch him before instead striking the wall. Both downplayed the incident in statements released by the club -- Arnason said it was “an exchange of views between Brian and I that got a little heated” -- but it’s appalling. Sutter should be fired. But knowing the Blackhawks, he’ll probably get a bonus.

How long will Colorado’s Pierre Lacroix stick with Tony Granato as his coach? Lacroix denied reports he would replace Granato with Joel Quenneville, a former Colorado assistant who was recently fired by the Blues, but the Avalanche’s 7-1 home loss to Calgary on Sunday could change that. The Avalanche is 1-5-3-1 at home in the last month and overall has one win in its last seven games and two in its last 12.

Blues General Manager Larry Pleau insisted he won’t trade franchise defenseman Chris Pronger, who’s eligible for restricted free agency July 1. The Blues will have to make a qualifying offer of $9.5 million to retain his rights. “We want Pronger to be in St. Louis for a long time,” Pleau said.... Jarri Kurri, a member of Finland’s staff for the World Cup of Hockey, is scouting NHL teams and was in Los Angeles last week to watch King forward Esa Pirnes. “I like him,” Kurri said. “The Kings are high on him, and so are we.”