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A light day of trading was capped Tuesday with the highly anticipated trade of Toronto winger Alexei Ponikarovsky, who joined the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins in exchange for defenseman Martin Skoula and prospect Luca Caputi.
The 29-year-old Ponikarovsky, who becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1, has 19 goals and 41 points in 61 games this season. He joins a Penguins team that trails New Jersey by a point in the standings for the Atlantic Division lead and the Eastern Conference's No. 2 playoff seed.
"I didn't think this was a deal we'd be able to do, and if you'd have told me we could have done this a few deays ago, I'd have said 'No way,' " Penguins general manager Ray Shero told reporters. "This gives us a chance to be a good team again."
Caputi, 21, was the Penguins' fourth-round draft pick (111th overall) in 2007. The left wing had 23 goals and 47 points in 54 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the club's American Hockey League affiliate. He appeared in four games for Pittsburgh this season, notching a goal and an assist.
The 11-year veteran Skoula appeared in 33 games this season, collecting three goals and eight points. His playing time had declined in recent months, and he was the odd man out after the Penguins acquired blueliner Jordan Leopold from the Florida Panthers on Monday.
Earlier Tuesday, defenseman Andy Sutton went from the New York Islanders to the Ottawa Senators for a second-round draft pick. The 34-year-old Sutton, who hails from nearby Kingston, Ont., is in the final season of a three-year contract he signed with the Islanders in August 2007 and is eligible for unrestricted free agency on July 1.
 In 54 games this season, Sutton has four goals, 12 points and 73 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound blueliner ranks second in the NHL in blocked shots (153) and is seventh among defensemen in hits (155).
"I'm ecstatic. It's an unbelievable opportunity," Sutton told the Senators' team Web site. "That was the first thing I said to Bryan — I thanked him so much for the opportunity. Being an older player and getting a chance to play on such a great team and having a chance to win the Stanley Cup is a dream come true."
The Montreal Canadiens shipped defenseman Matt D'Agostini to the St. Louis Blues for prospect Aaron Palushaj. D'Agostini's production fell off precipitously from his rookie season of 2008-09, when he scored 12 goals and 21 points in 53 games. In 40 games for the Habs this season, the 23-year-old had two goals and four points.
Palushaj was drafted in the second round, 44th overall, by the Blues in 2007. He had give goals and 22 points in 44 games for the AHL's Peoria Rivermen this season.
In a pair of smaller deals, the Anaheim Ducks traded defenseman prospect Steven Kampfer to the Boston Bruins for a fourth-round draft pick in either 2010 or 2011. General manager Bob Murray also dealt minor-league defenseman Nick Boynton to Chicago for future considerations.
The last small deal of the evening was Edmonton trading forward Matt Marquardt to Boston for defenseman Cody Wild.
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