HOCKEY

ISLANDERS TRADE PECA, SIGN SATAN

The Islanders traded captain Michael Peca to the Edmonton Oilers for center Mike York yesterday, shortly after signing high-scoring forward Miroslav Satan to a three-year deal.

Peca joined the Islanders along with Alexei Yashin in separate draft-day trades in 2001, as New York tried to shed its losing image following seven years of missing the playoffs. The two-time NHL defensive forward of the year immediately became the team’s captain and helped lead New York to three straight postseason appearances. Peca’s salary might have pushed him closer to the door, too, as the 31-year-old center is due to earn $3.99 million this season.

Satan has played in two All-Star games and helped Buffalo reach the Stanley Cup finals in 1999. In the 2003-04 season he had 29 goals and 28 assists with Buffalo.

FLYERS SIGN FORSBERG TO 2-YEAR DEAL

Peter Forsberg will finally play for the Philadelphia Flyers, who signed the former NHL MVP yesterday to a two-year contract. The Flyers originally drafted Forsberg in 1991 but dealt him to Quebec in the Eric Lindros trade in 1992. Since then, Forsberg has become a seven-time All-Star and the league’s most valuable player with the Colorado Avalanche in 2003.

No terms were announced, though the Avalanche say they offered him the maximum they could afford,$13.5 million over four years. Forsberg helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 1996 and 2001, though injuries limited him to 39 games in 2003-04. Last year, he played for the Swedish Elite League.

To make room for Forsberg’s salary under the cap, the Flyers were reportedly set to trade center Jeremy Roenick to the Los Angeles Kings.

LEETCH SIGNS WITH BRUINS

Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Brian Leetch signed a one-year,$4 million contract yesterday with the Boston Bruins.

Leetch, 37, was selected by the New York Rangers with the no. 9 pick in the 1986 NHL draft. He went on to become the defensive cornerstone of the Rangers team that won the Stanley Cup in 1994. He played 17 seasons in New York until he was traded in March 2004 to Toronto. Leetch had two goals and 13 assists in 15 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs.

IGINLA AGREES TO STAY IN CALGARY

Jarome Iginla is staying with the Calgary Flames. The Calgary captain, who was a restricted free agent, agreed to a three-year, $21-million deal yesterday. The $7 million per season puts Iginla fifth on the NHL’s list of highest-paid players behind Jaromir Jagr, Keith Tkachuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Alexei Yashin. Iginla could’ve taken his qualifying offer of $5.32 million for this season and then become a free agent next summer, but he opted to sign a long-term deal.

BASKETBALL

BLAZERS WAIVE VAN EXEL, ANDERSON

The Portland Trail Blazers waived veteran guards Nick Van Exel and Derek Anderson yesterday. Van Exel averaged 10.7 points and 4.3 assists last season before going on the injured list March 12 with left knee pain. The 34-year-old Van Exel also played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, and Dallas Mavericks, averaging 15 points and 6.9 assists in his career.

Anderson, an eight-year NBA veteran, averaged 9.2 points with the Blazers last season but had a variety of injuries.

HORSE RACING

JOCKEY PAT DAY TO RETIRE

Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day is retiring, bringing to an end one of horse racing’s greatest and most lucrative careers. Day, who won the 1992 Kentucky Derby aboard Lil E. ee, has 8,804 victories and is the career money leader with purses totaling $297,941,912. His 32-year racing career comes to a close just months after he returned to racing following hip surgery.

Day, 51, finished runner-up four times in the Derby, and won 12 Breeders’ Cup races, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic four times. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991, and ranks fourth in career victories. He won 23 races this spring at Churchill Downs, lifting his career total at the track to a record 2,481.

– Associated Press