DETROIT -- The league-leading Detroit Red Wings acquired veteran defenseman Jiri Slegr from the Atlanta Thrashers at Tuesday's NHL trade deadline for center Yuri Butsayev and a 2002 third-round draft pick.

		Getting Jiri Slegr was a good deal for the Red Wings. With one injury, they didn't want to rely on Jesse Wallin, Maxim Kuznetsov or Jiri Fischer for more minutes than they could actually play. They gave up a third-round pick and Yuri Butsayev. But with Tomas Holmstrom in Detroit, there was no room for Butsayev up front. The move was necessary for the Red Wings to add depth and solidify their top five defensemen. Slegr has won a gold medal and had vast experience with Pittsburgh. Although he struggled through injuries in Atlanta, he kept himself in great shape and is a good worker. In Detroit, I think Slegr will be a better defenseman than he was for the Thrashers. There were rumors about Darius Kasparaitis going to Detroit. To get him, though, the Penguins were going to want Fischer. There is some consensus in Detroit that Fischer is going to be an impact player. Overall, the Kasparaitis deal didn't make sense for Detroit. The Red Wings only gave up a little for Slegr, who could surprise people.

Detroit reportedly had been pursuing Darius Kasparaitis but turned their attention to Slegr after Kasparaitis was traded to the archrival Colorado Avalanche.

Slegr, 30, has played just 38 games this season while battling hip, back and knee injuries. He has three goals and five assists with 51 penalty minutes and a minus-21 rating.

The son of former NHL defenseman Jiri Bubla, Slegr also has played for Vancouver, Edmonton and Pittsburgh and has 45 goals and 161 assists in 530 NHL games.

Butsayev, 23, spent all but three games this season with Cincinnati of the American Hockey League, collecting 21 goals and 23 assists. A 1997 second-round draft pick, Butsayev broke into the NHL with the Red Wings in 1999-2000 and had five goals and three assists in 57 games.

The Thrashers made two other trades before the deadline. They sent veteran center Bob Corkum to the Buffalo Sabres for a 2002 fifth-round pick and acquired defenseman Kirill Safronov and right wing Ruslan Zainullin from the Phoenix Coyotes for rugged left wing Darcy Hordichuk.

On Monday, Atlanta shipped captain Ray Ferraro to the St. Louis Blues for a 2002 fourth-round pick.

Montreal acquires goaltending help
MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens acquired goalie Stephane Fiset in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday and signed forward Bill Lindsay off waivers.

The Canadiens, in a fight for the playoffs, traded a conditional draft pick to get Fiset as an insurance goalie behind Jose Theodore. Fiset was playing for Manchester, N.H., in the AHL.

Fiset, 31, posted a 7-7-6 record with a 3.13 goals-against-average playing in 23 games for the Monarchs after being assigned to Manchester by the Kings on Oct. 2.

To make room for Fiset, Montreal sent Mathieu Garon to its Quebec team in the AHL. Lindsay recently was waived by the Florida Panthers.

The Kings made another move before Tuesday afternoon's NHL trading deadline, claiming forward Ted Donato off waivers from the St. Louis Blues.

Lindsay had four goals, seven assists and 117 penalty minutes in 63 games for the Panthers. Although he won't solve the team's scoring woes, his physical play could help.

	Richer

Richer back with Devils for draft pick
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Stephane Richer, a key member from New Jersey's first Stanley Cup championship team, was reacquired by the Devils on Tuesday from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Richer, obtained for a seventh-round draft choice in 2003, had 13 goals and 12 assists for the Penguins this season in 58 games.

The forward played in 51 postseason games during his first stint with the Devils, scoring 16 goals and setting up 24 others. Richer scored four game-winning playoff goals, two during the run to the 1995 Stanley Cup.

The Devils originally acquired Richer from Montreal in a 1991 trade. He was traded back to the Canadiens in 1996.

	Van Impe

Islanders swing two deals, acquiring Van Impe, Roche
The New York Islanders obtained defenseman Darren Van Impe from the Florida Panthers and re-acquiring left wing Dave Roche from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Van Impe came for a 2003 fifth-round draft pick and will be reunited with coach Peter Laviolette, who was an assistant with Boston when the 31-year-old played there last season.

The 6-1, 205-pound Van Impe started this season with the New York Rangers but was claimed off waivers by the Panthers in December. In 53 games, he has two goals, six assists and a plus-6 rating.

Roche, 26, started the season with the Islanders but was traded to Anaheim for enforcer Jim Cummins. The 6-4, 230-pound Roche has spent all but one game in the American Hockey League this season.

Going to Anaheim are right wing Ben Guite and 20-year-old Swedish prospect Bjorn Melin.

Guite, 23, is in his second professional season after playing collegiately at Maine. He is second among AHL rookies with a plus-15 rating and has 12 goals and 18 assists in 68 games with Bridgeport.

Melin is a 1999 sixth-round draft pick who has spent his entire career in Sweden.

	Brown

Bruins bolster defense with Brown, Norton
BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins, fighting for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, acquired defensemen Sean Brown and Jeff Norton and center Darryl Laplante in a pair of minor deals at Tuesday's trade deadline.

Brown came over from the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Bobby Allen, Norton was obtained from the Florida Panthers for a 2002 sixth-round pick and Laplante was picked up from the Minnesota Wild for left wing Greg Crozier.

The 25-year-old Brown returns to the Bruins, who selected him in the first round of the 1995 draft. He never played a game for Boston and was dealt to the Oilers in January 1996 with right wing Mariusz Czerkawski and a first-round pick for goaltender Bill Ranford.

"We know Sean well as we were the team that drafted him," Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell said. "He's big and tough, he's a good skater and he gives us a little more bite in front of the net."

Brown had six goals, four assists and 127 penalty minutes in 61 games for Edmonton with a plus-8 rating.

A 1998 second-round pick, Allen is in his first professional season and has five goals and 10 assists in 49 games with Providence of the American Hockey League. He won an NCAA championship last season with Boston College.

Norton, 36, is a 15-year veteran who has been limited to 29 games this season by back and knee injuries. He had four assists and eight penalty minutes with the Panthers, his seventh NHL team.

"We feel that Jeff is a player that will help our team," O'Connell said. "He's a good skater, has played on the power play an gives us added experience on defense."

Laplante, who turns 25 on March 28, has spent the entire season with Houston of the AHL and has 11 goals and six assists in 31 games.

"Laplante will be a free agent in July, and this will give us 15-20 games to further look at him in Providence," O'Connell said. "And we also feel that he will help out that team in their push for an AHL playoff berth."

Crozier, 25, had five goals and six assists in 54 games with Providence. He played one game with Pittsburgh last season and signed with Boston as a free agent in August.

	Corkum

Sabres pick up Corkum from Thrashers
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres acquired center Bob Corkum from Atlanta on Tuesday for a fifth-round pick in this year's draft.

Corkum, a dependable checking forward, bolsters the Sabres lineup after the team lost captain Stu Barnes, who will miss up to two weeks after sustaining a concussion on Sunday.

The deal was made prior to Tuesday's NHL trade deadline. The Sabres began the day in 10th place, four points behind Montreal, which holds down the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth.

A 12-year NHL veteran, Corkum spent parts of his first three seasons with the Sabres before being claimed by Anaheim in the 1993 expansion draft.

Signed as a free agent by Atlanta last summer, Corkum had three goals and seven points in 65 games, while averaging almost 16 minutes of ice time.

Corkum, who split last season between Los Angeles and New Jersey last season, has also played for Philadelphia and Phoenix.

Columbus deals Odelein, Sloan for two players and a pick
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets traded defenseman Lyle Odelein and forward Blake Sloan for two players and a draft pick in separate deals Tuesday.

Odelein, the only captain the second-year franchise has ever had, was dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Jaroslav Spacek and a second-round pick in the 2003 draft.

Sloan was sent to the Calgary Flames for defenseman Jamie Allison before Tuesday's NHL trade deadline.

Odelein, 33, is almost six years older than Spacek, who is in the first year of a three-year contract.

Spacek, 28, has scored 23 goals and has 90 points in his five full seasons in the NHL.

Odelein has two goals and 14 assists this season -- his 12th in the NHL -- and has been an anchor of a young defense that features rookie Rostislav Klesla.

The Blue Jackets are last in the Western Conference, and the Blackhawks are getting their lineup in order for the playoffs.

"Chicago obviously feels that their time is now and the near future," Columbus assistant general manager Jim Clark said. "It doesn't take a genius to look at where we are in the standings and understand that it's still going to be a few years before we're a competitive playoff team."

Sloan, 26, has two goals and seven assists this season, his first full campaign in Columbus after spending most of the last two with Dallas.

Allison, also 26, was a teammate of Spacek's with the Blackhawks for two seasons before being claimed on waivers by the Flames after last season.

"In Jamie Allison, we know we've got a kid who's going to go out and battle and make guys pay a price in front of the net and make it difficult for the other team's forwards to play in our end," Clark said.