The Latest on the NHL’s trade deadline day (all times Eastern):
12:45 p.m.
New Winnipeg Jets center Kevin Hayes expected to be traded from the rebuilding New York Rangers after signing a one-year deal last summer.
He says he is excited to get back to playing for a Stanley Cup contender after the Rangers shifted toward a youth movement. Hayes thinks he will fit in well in the middle of a “big, heavy team” like Winnipeg, which has skill on the wing in the form of Blake Wheeler and Patrik Laine.
After the Jets traded a 2019 first-round pick, forward Brendan Lemieux and a conditional 2022 fourth-round pick to the Rangers, a photo surfaced on social media of Hayes wearing an original Jets jersey before that franchise moved to Winnipeg. Hayes is a cousin of former Jets forward Keith Tkachuk, who was among the first to call him after the deal.
___
11:40 a.m.
The Phoenix Coyotes have acquired Michael Chaput in a trade that sends Jordan Weal to the Montreal Canadiens in a swap of centers.
Weal joins his second team in two months after the Los Angeles Kings traded him to Arizona on Jan. 11. The 26-year-old Weal had a goal and assist in 19 games with Arizona and has totaled four goals and seven assists in 47 games this season.
He was selected by Los Angeles in the third round of the 2010 draft, and has 20 goals and 24 assists for 44 points in 153 career NHL games.
Chaput joins his fourth team since breaking into the NHL in 2013-14 with Columbus. He has five assists in 32 games for the Canadiens, who signed him as a free agent last summer after two seasons in Vancouver. Overall, he has six goals and 16 assists in 167 career games.
___
11:15 a.m.
The New York Rangers have traded center Kevin Hayes to the Winnipeg Jets for forward Brendan Lemieux, a 2019 first-round pick and a conditional 2022 fourth-round pick.
The conditional pick only goes to New York if Winnipeg wins the Stanley Cup this spring. Hayes gives the Jets depth down the middle as they try to become the first Canadian-based team to win the Cup since 1993.
An injury to defenseman Josh Morrissey on Sunday night could also force Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to make a move or two to shore up his blue line.
The rebuilding Rangers earlier sent forward Mats Zuccarello to Dallas for conditional second- and third-round picks. They could also trade defenseman Adam McQuaid before the deadline.
___
9 a.m.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils got the dealing started early on NHL trade deadline day.
Columbus acquired goaltender Keith Kinkaid from New Jersey for a 2022 fifth-round pick. Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen says his team is strong in goal with Sergei Bobrovsky and Joonas Korpisalo but that Kinkaid provides some depth.
This is the Blue Jackets’ third trade in the past four days after acquiring forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel in separate deals with the Ottawa Senators. Kekalainen also may not be done making moves ahead of the deadline Monday, though he said Sunday it would take a significant offer with short-term help to trade pending free agent winger Artemi Panarin.
Wingers Mark Stone of the Senators, Marcus Johansson of the Devils and Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers were also considered trade possibilities.
___
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
