Jarome Iginla was among the few "name" players involved in transactions on Wednesday, the NHL trade deadline.
Iginla, a Stanley Cup finalist with the Calgary Flames in 2004, will be reunited with his coach from that season, Darryl Sutter, now that he has been traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Avalanche-Kings trade was one of 18 made Wednesday, the fewest deadline-day trades since there were 17 on the 2012-13 deadline day.
The 33 players involved in trades Wednesday was a low-water mark for a deadline day also since April 2013, when 30 players changed hands.
In the 17 deadline days between 2000 and this year, the largest number of trades and players came in 2010, when 31 deadline-day trades involving 55 players were made. Among the trades that year was the Maple Leafs' deal to send Lee Stempniak to the Coyotes. It was the first of three deadline-day trades Stempniak has been involved in (2010, 2014, 2016), behind only Alan May (1988, 1989, 1994, 1995) for most times traded on deadline day since 1980.
This year’s deadline-day volume was down from the 19 trades and 37 players involved last year. A salary cap for next season that will potentially be no higher than this season’s and the looming expansion draft’s requirements for exposing and protecting players are possible reasons that more deals weren’t made.
