Lightning strikes

East Palestine’s Miller traded to Tampa Bay

Associated Press

The Tampa Bay Lightning strengthened their Eastern Conference-leading team by acquiring New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh.

The Rangers spurred their franchise overhaul by adding yet another first-round draft pick in consecutive days.

And Senators captain Erik Karlsson is staying in Ottawa for the remainder of the season after the league’s trading deadline passed on Monday afternoon.

The Lightning struck among the most significant deals by adding the 28-year-old McDonagh to a lineup already well-stocked with elite defensemen.

Tampa Bay also acquired left wing J.T. Miller, an East Palestine native who is a two-time 20-goal-scorer. The Rangers drafted Miller in the first round of the 2011 NHL Draft.

The Rangers acquired three players, including forward Vladislav Namestnikov, plus a first-round pick in this year’s draft and a conditional first-rounder in 2019.

The Senators were unable to move Karlsson, a two-time Norris Trophy-winner, who will be making $7.5 million in the final year of his contract.

General manager Pierre Dorion acknowledged he fielded offers on every player over the past few months. When it came to Karlsson, Dorion said there was no “franchise deal out there” for his franchise player.

The day was otherwise dominated by a series of moves involving four of seven Central Division rivals.

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward Josh Jooris from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for center Greg McKegg.

The Penguins sent Jooris to their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while the Hurricanes sent McKegg to their minor-league affiliate in Charlotte.

Jooris had three goals and three assists in 31 games for Carolina.

McKegg had two goals and two assists in 26 games with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins.

Veteran forward Thomas Vanek brings another consistent goal scorer to a Columbus Blue Jackets team that has struggled with production while staying in the playoff race.

The 34-year-old Vanek was traded to Columbus from the Vancouver Canucks for forwards Jussi Jokinen and Tyler Motte.

The Blue Jackets also picked up defenseman Ian Cole from Ottawa for center Nick Moutrey and a 2020 third-round draft pick. It’s the second time in three days that Cole has been moved after Ottawa acquired the 29-year-old on Friday from Pittsburgh for Derick Brassard.

“I’m very excited,” Cole said. “They have a great team here, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

He said his role will be to “play some solid defense, play hard and get pucks to these skilled forwards as quickly as we can.”

The Winnipeg Jets gave up a first-round draft pick as part of a trade to acquire six-time 20-goal-scoring forward Paul Stastny in a trade with St. Louis.

The Nashville Predators also gave up a first-round pick as part of a deal to land forward Ryan Hartman from the Chicago Blackhawks.

And the expansion Vegas Golden Knights added to their Western Conference-leading team by acquiring three-time 20-goal-scoring forward Tomas Tatar from Detroit. The Red Wings added three draft picks, including a first-round pick.

The San Jose Sharks added size and scoring by acquiring Evander Kane from Buffalo for two picks, including a conditional 2019 first-round selection, and a prospect.

The Philadelphia Flyers claimed Johnny Oduya after the two-time Stanley Cup-winning defenseman was waived by Ottawa. The Flyers, who have won five straight and are 9-0-2 in their past 11, lost defenseman Mark Alt, who was claimed on waivers by Colorado. And the Calgary Flames added forward depth by claiming Chris Stewart, who was waived by Minnesota.