Sens Acquire Stillman In 4-Player Trade

OTTAWA – The Ottawa Senators acquired forward Cory Stillman and defenseman Mike Commodore from the Carolina Hurricanes for forward Patrick Eaves and defenseman Joe Corvo on Monday.

Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said Stillman waived a no-trade clause to complete the deal.

“We’re very happy to address one of our needs, making our defense more mobile and adding a player like Joe that can play on the power play,” Rutherford said. “Also, we view Patrick as a real character player, a real good young player that can fit into our style of play.”

Stillman and Commodore were part of Carolina’s championship team in 2006.

“It’s very tough to say goodbye to guys that we part of winning a championship,” Rutherford added. “So this is a tough deal, but one that’s necessary.”

Stillman and Commodore will each be unrestricted free agents July 1. Eaves will be a restricted free agent while Corvo has two more seasons left at $2.75 million per year.

The Senators lead the Eastern Conference and have made few changes from the team that lost to Anaheim in last year’s Stanley Cup. But they’ve struggled of late and Senators GM Bryan Murray worked the phones trying to make a deal.

Stillman, who earned $1.75 million this year, has 21 goals and 25 assists in 55 games. The Senators had been looking to add a top forward to complement leading scorers Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza.

Commodore is a rugged defenseman who had 12 points and 74 penalty minutes in 41 games. He earns $1.3 million.

Eaves had four goals and six assists in 26 games. Corvo had six goals and 21 assists in 51 games.