SUNRISE -- The Russian Elite League had a post-season showcase in April. North American representatives in the crowd: Lightning general manager Rick Dudley and head scout Jake Goertzen.

Oh, and an agent looking for clients.

"He told me 25 times during the two days, 'I can't believe you're here,' " Dudley said.

The trip to the Siberian city of Chelyabinsk, a three-hour flight from Moscow, paid off big time Sunday during the second day of the draft at National Car Rental Center.

Tampa Bay got three players from that tournament: left wing Dimitri Bezrukov, its original target at the showcase, and center Vitali Smolianinov and left wing Ilya Solarev, whom Dudley and Goertzen spotted after the fact.

"I remember seeing Smolianinov, and we looked at each other and said if he is (draft eligible), we have a lot of interest," Dudley said. "We realized not many people had seen him."

Bezrukov is the most established of the three and at 23 was Tampa Bay's only over-age draft pick. The 6-foot-3, 196-pounder had seven goals and 10 assists with 54 penalty minutes in 35 games.

Goertzen said that previous scouting trips determined Bezrukov was the best left wing in the Elite League available for the draft.

"He's got good talent, is a good skater and has good size," Goertzen said. "He is a smart player and is a good skater."

For Dudley, the episode in Chelyabinsk was another justfication of the Lightning's commitment to scouting Russia.

"It makes you feel very proud," he said.

EUROPEAN FLAVOR: Of Tampa Bay's 14 draft picks, eight came from Europe, six from Russia.

Canada led the draft with 106 players (36.7 percent of 289), followed by the United States (41), Russia (37) and the Czech Republic (31).

ACADEMIC FLAVOR: Dennis Packard (seventh round, 219 overall) joins former Lightning center Steve Martins as players in the Tampa Bay organization who majored in psychology at Harvard.

Isles pick up Peca; Graves sent to Sharks

A day after trading for Alexei Yashin, the Islanders got another disgruntled center when they made a deal with the Sabres for Michael Peca.

"It puts us in a great position to move forward," general manager Mike Milbury said. "These two guys alone bring a lot to the table and make it an exciting team. ... We have a lot of pieces in place to be a seriously competitive team this season."

The Islanders' moves highlighted two busy days that included about 40 trades.

Also Sunday, the Rangers traded veteran forward Adam Graves to the Sharks for two prospects, forward Mikael Samuelsson and defenseman Christian Gosselin.

The Flames made two substantial trades Saturday, getting center Rob Niedermayer from Florida and goaltender Roman Turek from St. Louis.

Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr and Philadelphia's Eric Lindros, dynamic scorers who have asked to be traded, stayed put.

"If Eric wants to continue to try to pick the team he wants to play for, he won't play next year," Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said. "I don't (care) if he plays or not."

The Islanders expect Peca and Yashin to play next season, especially considering what they gave up for them.

New York traded the No. 2 overall pick, forward Bill Muckalt and defenseman Zdeno Chara to Ottawa for Yashin, who sat out the 1999-00 season because he believed he was underpaid in the final year of his contract.

Making $3.6-million, Yashin returned to Ottawa last season and became the player fans everywhere loved to hate. The 27-year-old Russian is looking to sign an $8-million contract for this season.

Peca, dealt for young forwards Taylor Pyatt and Tim Connolly, won't come cheap, either. He sat out last season after failing to negotiate a deal with the Sabres.

Negotiations between Peca and the Sabres fell apart early last fall and stalled, even after Peca lowered his demands from $4-million a season to about $3.5-million.

The Sabres didn't budge from their initial offer of about $2.5-million until after Peca announced he would no longer play for them.

Peca, who helped Buffalo reach the Stanley Cup final in 1998-99 when he had career-high 27 goals and 56 points, has since been playing for Team Canada. He has had two injuries, including a fractured cheekbone this spring

"This is obviously a big deal for us," Milbury said. "We thought long and hard about this one. The assets that we had to give up to make this happen were painful, but we have suffered a long time on Long Island, and we were sorely lacking in the leadership department."

Graves' move to the Sharks ends the forward's 10-year run with the Rangers, which included the 1994 Stanley Cup and a club record 52 goals that season.

BRUINS: Boston traded right wing Cameron Mann to Dallas for defenseman Richard Jackman. "We think Cameron is a fine prospect," general manager Mike O'Connell said. "We just felt that maybe it was time for him to have a change of scenery, and we think this trade with Dallas for Richard is a good fit for both teams."

HURRICANES: Chris Dingman, who averaged 21/2 minutes of penalties in every game he played last season for Colorado, was acquired for a fifth-round draft pick. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound left wing was the first-round pick of the Flames in 1994. He had one goal and one assist in 41 regular-season games for the Avalanche but had 108 penalty minutes.

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