UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders made two major deals Friday, sending holdout center Pat LaFontaine to the Buffalo Sabres and center Brent Sutter to Chicago.
LaFontaine goes to Buffalo with left wing Randy Wood, defenseman Randy Hillier and future considerations for center Pierre Turgeon, defenseman Uwe Krupp, center Benoit Hogue and center-right wing Dave McLiwain.
Sutter and left wing Brad Lauer were dealt to Chicago for center Adam Creighton and left wing Steve Thomas.
The shakeup comes with the Islanders last in the Patrick Division with a 2-4-2 record. They also finished last in the 1990-91 season.
LaFontaine, mired in a bitter contract dispute, never reported this season and demanded a trade. He joined the team in 1983 and was the Islanders' best scorer. Sutter, and Islander since 1981, played on the 1982 and 1983 Stanley Cup championship teams.
Turgeon was leading Buffalo in scoring after eight games with two goals and six assists and Creighton scored six goals with six assists in 11 games for Chicago.
Chicago Coach and GM Mike Keenan has been trying to acquire Sutter for several weeks, needing another center with some punch behind Jeremy Roenick's line. Sutter's brother, Darryl, is associate coach with the Blackhawks.
Of the two players traded for Sutter, center Creighton has never progressed to the point the Blackhawks had hoped. The bruising 6-5, 214- pound center, acquired three years ago from Buffalo for high-scoring Rick Vaive, had 34 goals and 36 assists in 1989-90 but dropped off to 22 goals and 29 assists last season. Thomas, acquired by Chicago five years ago in a multi-player deal with Toronto, scored a career-best 40 goals and had 30 assists in 1989-90 but dropped to 19 goals and 54 points last season.
'It's really taken the most part of the year to be able to complete this deal with the Islanders,' Kennan said. 'We've worked a long time trying to acquire Brent, and we were able to finally close the deal in the wee hours of the morning last night.'
