Leafs trade Modin to Tampa Bay for Cross

By NEIL STEVENS --Canadian Press Left-winger Fredrik Modin was traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenceman Cory Cross and a 2001 seventh-round entry draft selection Friday.
Modin, 24, is beginning his fourth NHL season. The six-foot-four Swede had 31 points including 16 goals in 67 games last season on the Leafs' first line. He was dropped from the unit late last season, and would have been on the fourth line had he started the season with Toronto.
Cross, 28, who re-signed Thursday with Tampa Bay, had 18 points including two goals in 67 games with the Lightning last season. He'd been with the Lightning since 1993. The six-foot-five native of Lloydminster, Alta., will help fill the lineup hole left in Toronto by restricted free agent Dimitri Yushkevich, who missed all of training camp while unable to reach agreement with the Leafs on a new contract.
"I'm excited about going to a contender," Cross said. "It'll be good get into a progressive, winning environment" after playing for a Tampa Bay team that finished last overall in the NHL last spring.
Cross flew to Montreal to join the Leafs for their season opener tonight against the Canadiens.
Meanwhile, the New York Rangers returned right-winger Pavel Brendl to his WHL junior team in Calgary and centre Jamie Lundmark to his WHL junior club in Moose Jaw, Sask. Brendl, 18, was New York's first pick, fourth overall, and Lundmark, 18, was their second selection, ninth overall, in the June entry draft.
In Ottawa, the Senators announced that Daniel Alfredsson will be the team captain, replacing holdout centre Alexei Yashin.
In Uniondale, N.Y., the New York Islanders made defenceman Kenny Jonsson the new team captain.
In Raleigh, N.C., the Carolina Hurricanes announced that Ron Francis will wear the C since 1998-99 captain Keith Primeau is absent in a contract dispute. It's the second time in franchise history that Francis has been captain. He wore the C with the Hartford Whalers from 1985 until he was traded to Pittsburgh during the 1990-91 season.
The announcement came after Primeau rejected the team's latest contract offer -- a two-year deal worth $7 million plus incentives.
"We don't view this as leverage or a boiling point," Todd Reynolds, one of Primeau's agents, said of the announcement on the captaincy. "Keith wants to be the captain of the Carolina Hurricanes but if they are going to take the C from him and give it to somebody else that is their decision."
The club previously had a five-year, $20-million deal on the table.
"Unfortunately, a bad decision has been made here that cost the player money, and as time goes on it's going to cost more," said GM Jim Rutherford.

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