Islanders Trade Trevor Linden to Canadiens

The New York Islanders traded center Trevor Linden to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday for the Canadiens’ first-round pick--and 10th overall--in this year’s entry draft.

Linden, 29, then signed a four-year contract with the Canadiens. He was to become a restricted free agent on July 1.

“It was a tough decision,� Islander General Manager Mike Milbury said. “He’s a class act and a good player. I won’t kid you--there were financial considerations in moving him.�

Linden, the Islander captain, made $2.5 million last season. He had 18 goals and 29 assists in 82 games.

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Before the Western Conference finals, the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche had never played in the postseason, not even when they were the Minnesota North Stars and the Quebec Nordiques.

Now, there’s a real rivalry going.

Four exciting, intense games between top-seeded Dallas and second-seeded Colorado have stirred strong emotions toward one another. The series is tied at 2-2, with Game 5 today at Dallas.

“I think we came in with respect and fear. The fear is pretty well gone and that’s been replaced by hate,� Dallas Coach Ken Hitchcock said Saturday. “That’s good. It makes for healthy play.�

It also makes for physical play, and the rough stuff has escalated with each game between defensive-minded Dallas and offensive-oriented Colorado.

“Whenever you play a team in the playoffs, you get that fire between the two teams,� Avalanche forward Adam Deadmarsh said. “You definitely can say the fire is lit.�

In Game 4, Dallas defenseman Richard Matvichuk broke the collarbone of Avalanche rookie Milan Hejduk, ending a postseason in which he’d had six goals and six assists, and shook up Peter Forsberg with another hit. Forsberg returned and will play today.