Schenn-JVR deal spices up quiet trading day

PITTSBURGH -- The biggest deal on the second day of the NHL Draft came a few hours after the last name was called on the floor.

The Philadelphia Flyers became the second team in as many days to reunite brothers when they acquired defenseman Luke Schenn from Toronto for forward James van Riemsdyk. Luke will join younger brother Brayden Schenn, who will be entering his second NHL season in the fall.

The trade came less than 24 hours after Jordan Staal was traded by Pittsburgh to Carolina, where he'll be playing with older brother Eric.

Luke Schenn, the fifth player taken in the 2008 NHL Draft, has played four seasons for Toronto after making the team out of training camp. He has missed just six games in his first three years, managing 75 points in 310 games. He also averaged 260 hits a season for the past two seasons while playing about 16 minutes per game.

Van Riemsdyk, the second player chosen in the 2007 NHL Draft, has 47 goals and 99 points in 196 regular-season games. However, he missed half of this past season with injuries and managed only 24 points in 43 games -- though he reached the 40-point plateau the previous season.

Van Riemsdyk is under contract through 2017-18, with a cap hit of $4.25 million per season. Schenn will make $3.6 million for each of the next four seasons.

Prior to their deal with the Flyers, the Leafs made a minor deal by shipping the rights to goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, slated to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, to Winnipeg for a conditional pick in the seventh round of the 2013 Draft.

Gustavsson, 27, went 17-17-4 with a 2.92 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. He also had four shutouts this season.

He is known as "The Monster" for his imposing 6-foot-3 frame.

"First off, I want to thank him for his hard work," Toronto GM Brian Burke said. "This is a guy who is a skinny guy and he put on 15 pounds of lean muscle mass and played for us, he saved our butts last season at times and played some really good hockey for us and it's time for us as an organization to move on and it's time for him to move on. Winnipeg approached us and said they would like to sign him as a backup goalie in return for conditional picks. I left Jonas a message and said thank you for your hard work and good luck; spoke to his girlfriend, so they know what's going on."

Gustavsson has a 39-45-15 record in 104 NHL appearances with a 2.98 GAA and a .900 save percentage.

But, in the end, as Burke said, the partnership between Gustavsson and the Leafs had played out its usefulness.

"It's certainly not for a lack of effort on Jonas' part, so whether it's the market or athletic ability, it doesn't matter," Burke said. "He gave us his best and I wish him well."

In the only other deal during Saturday's drafting involving NHL players, Tampa Bay acquired the rights to Benoit Pouliot for Michel Ouellet and the No. 131 pick in the 2012 Draft. Pouliot had 16 goals and 32 points for the Bruins last season, and is set to become a restricted free agent July 1. He must receive a qualifying offer from the Lightning by Monday.

Ouellet had 16 goals and 31 points in 55 games for the Norfolk Admirals in the American Hockey League, helping them win the Calder Cup. Pouliot was the No, 4 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft. He has 53 goals and 104 points in 257 career games with Minnesota, Montreal and Boston.

There could be more dealing in the days ahead, Penguins GM Ray Shero said.

"I don't think it was as quiet as you might think just because the trades didn't happen," he said. "I think a lot of things are being held up maybe by July 1 with a few notable free agents out there. I think after that things will fall through and start to work. There were certainly plenty of offers made, or at least came my way, but I think you'll see that pick up as we get to July 1 and maybe beyond."

The other deals involved draft picks only:

NY Rangers traded a third-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (No. 89) to Nashville for a third-round pick in 2013.

Chicago traded a fourth-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (No. 109) to San Jose for a seventh-round pick in 2012 (No. 191) and a fourth-round pick in 2013.

Nashville traded a fifth-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (No. 142) to the New York Rangers for a fifth-round pick in 2013.

Los Angeles traded a seventh-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (No. 183) to Dallas for a seventh-round pick in 2013.

Dallas traded a seventh-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (No. 194) to Florida for a seventh-round pick in 2013.