Hockey Headlines: Backstrom Traded; “Big” Moves for the Oilers

A collection of the latest news from around the world of hockey:

How have mid-season trades helped to fuel recent Stanley Cup Champions? [National Post]

So who won this years trade deadline? [The Hockey News]

The Dallas Stars have acquired defenceman Kris Russell from the Flames. He’s a gritty player who is well-liked in the room, but they paid a hefty price. Perhaps the Stars don’t believe they’ll make the Conference Final? [Today’s Slapshot], [Calgary Herald], [NESN]

The Flames also acquired goalie Niklas Backstrom from the Minnesota Wild. [Twin Cities], [TSN]

Mikkel Boedker is headed to the Colorado Avalanche. [ESPN]. So is Eric Gelinas. [Mile High Hockey]

The Panthers traded Brandon Pirri to the Ducks for a surprisingly low price. [Litter Box Cats]. Anaheim also brought in Jamie McGinn. [Los Angeles Times]

Dan Hamhuis likes Vancouver and would prefer to stay there. [Metro News]

Turns out the Penguins are that one team that believes they can make Justin Schultz into a player. [Cult of Hockey]

Pittsburgh finished the day with another minor league deal. [Pensburgh]

The Oilers added some waiver-wire pickups. [Copper N Blue], [Oil on Whyte]. They also traded for the not-so fleet of foot Patrick Maroon. [Beer League Heroes]. That’s quite an upgrade in size for the notoriously small Oilers.

We will finally get to see the first installment of McDavid vs. Eichel. [Edmonton Journal]

Things didn’t work out in Montreal for Devante Smith-Pelly. Can’t say the kid doesn’t care. [Eyes on the Prize]

The Blue Jackets have signed Boone Jenner to a contract extension. [Yahoo]

Nothing changed for the Blues. No Backes trade. [St. Louis Game Time]

What’s the deal with Ilya Kovalchuk? [Sportsnet], [NJ.com]

And finally, Mats Zuccarello helped a guy get a prom date. [Daily News]