NEW YORK – The New York Rangers traded star defenseman Brian Leetch to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night, ending his 17-season run on Broadway.

Leetch has only been with the Rangers in his NHL career that began in February 1988, immediately after he played for the United States in the Calgary Olympics.

The Rangers acquired defenseman Maxim Kondratiev, forward Jarkko Immonen, a first-round pick in this year’s draft and a second-round choice in the 2005 second-round selection. The Maple Leafs also received a conditional pick.

“Brian is not only one of the best players to ever play for the New York Ranger, he’s also a classy individual,” Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather said.

“As we proceeded down the path we feel we did very well with the players we got and the draft choices we got. We felt that going as far as we did go with Toronto was as maximum as we could get.”

Oilers acquire Nedved, Markkanen from Rangers

The Rangers also traded center Petr Nedved and goalie Jussi Markkanen to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday for forward Dwight Helminen, goalie Stephen Valiquette and a second-round pick this year.

It was the second move for the Rangers in two days. On Tuesday, they sent Alex Kovalev to the Montreal Canadiens for forward prospect Josef Balej and a second-round pick this year.

A week before the March 9 trade deadline, the Rangers began the dismantling of the team that’s all but eliminated from the playoff race.

Nedved has appeared in 65 games for the Rangers this season, tallying 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points, along with 42 penalty minutes.

Markkanen has played in 26 games with New York this season, posting a mark of 8-12-1, along with a 2.56 goals-against average.

Helminen was Edmonton’s eighth-round selection in the 2002 entry draft. He has played in 32 games this season for the University of Michigan, scoring 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points. Valiquette has played in 35 games this season with Toronto of the AHL, posting a record of 14-14-5, along with a 2.59 GAA. He also appeared in one game with Edmonton this season.

NEW YORK – The New York Rangers traded star defenseman Brian Leetch to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night, ending his 17-season run on Broadway.

Leetch has only been with the Rangers in his NHL career that began in February 1988, immediately after he played for the United States in the Calgary Olympics.

The Rangers acquired defenseman Maxim Kondratiev, forward Jarkko Immonen, a first-round pick in this year’s draft and a second-round choice in the 2005 second-round selection. The Maple Leafs also received a conditional pick.

“Brian is not only one of the best players to ever play for the New York Ranger, he’s also a classy individual,” Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather said.

“As we proceeded down the path we feel we did very well with the players we got and the draft choices we got. We felt that going as far as we did go with Toronto was as maximum as we could get.”