It took well into the middle of the first round before the wheeling and dealing started during Friday night’s first round of the NHL Entry Draft.
The first 14 picks went off without a deal before
Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi, who had his eyes on hulking defenseman
Derek Forbort, made a deal to move up and get him.
Moments after sending the 19th and 59th picks to the
Florida Panthers in exchange for the 15th selection, Lombardi and his staff plucked the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Forbort. A native of Duluth, Minn., Forbort had 4 goals, 10 assists and 26 penalty minutes in 26 games with the U.S. National Under-17 Team.
That was the first deal of the night -- and the second one came just a few minutes later when the
Ottawa Senators dealt the 16th pick to the
St. Louis Blues in exchange for Swedish defenseman
David Rundblad, who was taken No. 17 last year and is expected to spend another year in Sweden.
Montreaal and Phoenix made the third deal of the first round when the Coyotes send their first-round pick, No. 22, and a fourth-rounder to Montreal for the Canadiens' first- and second-round picks -- Nos. 27 and 57. The Canadiens used the pick to take
Jarred Tinordi, a defenseman with the United States Under-18 team and the son of former NHL defenseman
Mark Tinordi.
Florida and Vancouver pulled off the first deal involving a player when GM
Dale Tallon sent defenseman
Keith Ballard and forward
Victor Oreskovich to Vancouver for forwards
Michael Grabner and
Steve Bernier along with the Canucks' first-round pick, No. 25. The Panthers, picking for the third time in the opening round, picked center
Quinton Howden from Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League.
The last deal involved the final pick of the night, as the
New York Islanders dealt a pair of second-rounders (Nos. 35 and 58) to Chicago for the 30th pick, which they used to select Minnesota high school player
Brock Nelson.