In the first step of what could be a long rebuilding process, the Edmonton Oilers traded left-winger David Perron to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday for a 2015 first-round draft pick and centre Rob Klinkhammer. Perron wasnt the last-place Oilers biggest problem in a season that has gone even worse than expected. What the 26-year-old represented was the best chance for general manager Craig MacTavish to acquire assets for the near future. Edmonton is already a strong contender in the Connor McDavid sweepstakes. If the Penguins win the Metropolitan Division or reach the Stanley Cup final, the pick the Oilers are getting will be late in the first round, so it could be used in a future trade. Klinkhammer is a depth centre who began the season with the Arizona Coyotes before being dealt to Pittsburgh for defensive prospect Philip Samuelsson. The Lethbridge, Alta., native has four goals and two assists in 29 games this year and 39 points in 139 career NHL games. The 28-year-old has a salary-cap hit of US$625,000 and is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Klinkhammer may not be a long-term solution, but his addition is expected to allow the Oilers to send 19-year-old Leon Draisaitl back to junior. The team recalled centre Anton Lander from Oklahoma City of the AHL, and hes replacing Draisaitl in the lineup for Friday nights game at Colorado. Interim coach Todd Nelson called sitting Draisaitl a management decision but declined to go any further. He could be back with the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League before playing enough games to accrue a season toward NHL free agency. One of the Oilers biggest issues has been the lack of a No. 2 centre behind Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. They recently acquired Derek Roy from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Mark Arcobello. In getting a first-round pick for Perron, whos signed through 2015-16 at a salary-cap hit of $3.81 million, the Oilers made good use of a player who was capable of producing but not turning the franchise around. After a few years (in the NHL) you just want to win, Perron told reporters in Denver. Obviously its not going to happen this year here in Edmonton, and its nice to get that kind of opportunity in Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old had five goals and 15 assists in 38 games this season. The Sherbrooke, Que., native has 117 goals and 157 assists in 456 career games with the Oilers and St. Louis Blues. He goes from a team stuck in the Western Conference basement to one that is a perennial playoff contender. Perron fills an immediate need given that the Penguins have been besieged by injuries and are missing top-six wingers Pascal Dupuis and Patric Hornqvist. Perron could play on the wing in Pittsburgh with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Its a new chapter for me, and I get a chance to hopefully go really deep in the playoffs, Perron said. Theres not many better opportunities to go to. Entering Fridays games, the Penguins (23-9-5) were just one point behind first-place Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference. The Oilers are facing questions about the future despite a young core that includes Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins. Perron said he was happy to be going to a contender but the competitive forward also said its difficult leaving, even amid the losing. Its always hard leaving a place when youre emotionally involved no matter how tough the situation was here, Perron said. Even if the Oilers are struggling right now, theyll find a way out eventually and theyll be a top team in the league. Looks like I wont be a part of it. Later Friday, the Oilers assigned forward Steve Pinizzotto to Oklahoma City and took forward Benoit Pouliot off the injured reserve list. Nelson said Pouliot coming back and Perron going out wasnt a seamless transition but would help ease the dropoff. Ray Allen Jersey .J. Ellis hit an RBI single in the ninth inning, Hanley Ramirez hit a tape-measure, three-run homer in the first against Cliff Lee and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 on Saturday night. Brook Lopez Jersey .com) - Guard Greivis Vasquez and forward Patrick Patterson, two key pieces to the Toronto Raptors run to an Atlantic Division title in 2013-14, were both given qualifying offers by the team on Saturday. https://www.bucksrookiesshop.com/Pat-Con...Edition-Jersey/. Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards. Oscar Robertson Bucks Jersey . Halak did not get the start in the Washington Capitals Tuesday night game against the St. Pau Gasol Bucks Jersey . The weekend at Oriole Park has been less kind, with three players suffering varying degrees of injury. The worst ailment of the three, at least optically, is the deep bone bruise suffered by Adam Lind when he fouled a pitch off the top of his right foot in the sixth inning of Saturdays game.TORONTO -- Nick Young and the Los Angeles Lakers got the Toronto Raptors to play it their way Sunday afternoon. Young had 29 points while Pau Gasol added 22 to lead the short-handed Lakers to a 112-106 win at the Air Canada Centre, halting Torontos six-game home win streak. Los Angeles (16-25) used an attacking style to rally from deficits of 19 and 17 points and earn its second straight road victory but just its third in 15 games overall. "We didnt get defence into the game," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "We played their game . . . it was pretty but we didnt get defence into the game. "That allowed those big runs and thats not who we are. We have to be a defence-first team, not a three-point shooting team . . . we got caught up in their quick threes, which were not very good at." The Lakers hit 12-of-22 (54.5 per cent) three-pointers but also made 26-of-28 free throws. Toronto finished 9 of 30 (30 per cent) from beyond the arc and held a 47-31 edge in rebounding but only attempted 11 free throws, making nine. "That tells us either were not getting the calls or were not driving to the rim," Casey said. "They were the aggressor going to the basket. We had some bonehead fouls on some three-point shots, thats something you shouldnt do. "But it starts on the defensive end. We didnt get up into people and when we did react we reacted late and subsequently you get fouls called." DeMar DeRozan had 23 points while Kyle Lowry added 21 for Toronto (20-19), which lost the chance for its first-ever season sweep of the Lakers. The Raptors won the first meeting 106-94 on Dec. 8. Kyle Lowry added 21 points for Toronto while Patrick Patterson added 17 points coming off the bench. Lowrys three-pointer pulled Toronto to within 102-101 with just over two minutes remaining. Ryan Kellys three free throws made it 105-101 before Youngs three-pointer put the Lakers ahead 108-103 with 1:15 left. Youngs two free throws with 20.5 seconds made it 110-104 and effectively cemented the win. Kelly said Young was a difference-maker for the Lakers. "The one thing Nick does is score, especially at the end of clocks," said Kelly, who finished with 17 points. "There are not many people in the league who can do what he does. "We have seven seconds on the clock and you get Nick the ball and he finds a way to get a shot or get to the line . . . we need that." The Lakers were without all-stars Steve Nash of Victoria and Kobe Bryant. Nash, a two-time NBA MVP, is out with a back injury while Bryant, a five-time league champion and Los Angeless all-time scoring leader, is sidelined with a fractured left knee. "After not feeling it in the first half, we just got a bit more aggressive on defence and they felt us," Lakers coach Mike DAntoni said. "You have to give them credit, they hit a lot of good shots to start with but our guys somehow found the resolve to stay into themm and it worked out.dddddddddddd" The Lakers improved to 27-8 all-time against Toronto, including 13-5 at the ACC. "Weve got to understand no matter now big the lead is no team is going to lay down," DeRozan said. "Theyre going to play extremely hard to try and get back and weve got to understand that and withstand the runs theyre trying to make. We didnt do that. "We gave up too many threes. We know theyre a three-point shooting team and we left them in their comfort zone and they knocked them down." Lowery couldnt hide his disappointment about Torontos inability to twice put the Lakers away after surging into commanding double-digit leads. "Yeah, it sucks," he said. "They did a good job of playing the way they wanted and making us play that way also. "They attacked us a lot more. We settled for a lot more jumpshots and we didnt attack as much as we couldve to get to the free-throw line as much as they did." L.A. took an 82-81 lead into the fourth, thanks to three Young free throws with 27.3 seconds left. Young converted a technical on Terrence Ross, then hit two-of-three from the line after being fouled by Ross on a three-point shot. The resilient Lakers overcame a 17-point deficit to take the lead. Toronto opened the third on a 14-2 run to go ahead 73-56 but the Lakers tied it 79-79 on Manny Harriss three-pointer with under three minutes remaining after both Kendall Marshall and Young connected from beyond the arc. Gasols two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining cut Torontos half-time advantage to 58-54. The Raptors surged into a commanding 50-31 lead in the quarter before being outscored by the Lakers 23-8 the rest of the way. DeRozan was a one-man show for Toronto, scoring 12 of his 16 first-half points in the second. The Raptors were 5 of 16 (31.3 per cent) from three-point range in the half while L.A. was 6-of-10. Toronto led 36-29 after the first, erasing a 24-20 deficit by outscoring L.A. 16-5 over the final 2:58. Patterson led the way for the Raptors with eight points, including two three-pointers as the home team hit on 14-of-19 field goals and 5-of-6 three-pointers in the quarter. Gasol played a big part in leading the Lakers to their early lead with 10 points. NOTES -- Toronto is off to Charlotte for a game Monday afternoon against the Bobcats on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the U.S. while Los Angeles continues a seven-game road trip in Chicago on Tuesday night . . . Torontos 94-89 home win over Minnesota on Friday night was its 20th victory in 38 games this year, the fastest the Raptors have reached 20 wins since 2007-08 when they did so in 37 games . . . Toronto forward Tyler Hansbrough (ankle) missed his ninth straight game while forward John Salmons, who reportedly suffered a back injury against Minnesota, didnt dress . . . Lakers centre Robert Sacre is a native of Baton Rouge, La., but grew up in B.C. and has dual Canadian-American citizenship. ' ' '