LEWISTON – The company line holds, but behind the scenes, the Lewiston Maineiacs are busy wheeling and dealing in advance of this year’s annual Quebec Major Junior Hockey League entry draft.

Two separate major potential trades have popped up on various Web sites, with one being confirmed by one of the players’ father.

Danick Paquette, last season’s captain and the league leader in penalty minutes, along with defenseman Patrick Cusack, forward Dominic Savoie and goaltender Peter Delmas, are reportedly heading to the Quebec Remparts. In return, the Maineiacs would receive 17-year-old defensive standout Samuel Carrier, 18-year-old Sebastien Trudeau, Quebec’s first-round selection at this year’s draft (No. 11 overall), and the Remparts’ third-round pick, as well.

“My job is to build a successful team, a championship team here in Lewiston,” general manager Roger Shannon said. “I cannot confirm any trades at this point, because we’re not allowed by the league to discuss trades at this time of the year.”

“I would second what Roger said,” Maineiacs’ president and coach Don MacAdam added.

Reminded of an earlier promise to shake up the team’s roster, MacAdam reiterated that stance.

“It was our feeling that we would change six or eight players on the team before the start of the season,” MacAdam said. “At the end of the season, a couple of players did ask for trades, and we felt it was the right things for us to at least see what we could do to accommodate their requests. The players were informed that we would try to accommodate their requests, but it would have to be in the best interests of the Lewiston Maineiacs as well as the player. We were not going to move a player just because they wanted to be moved. We’re hoping there will be a couple of trades announced at the draft that will accommodate the players and improve the team. We feel confident that both will happen.”

The deal with Quebec, at least in part, was confirmed mid-day Friday by Paquette’s father, who posted on his Facebook page that his son had been dealt to the Remparts.

“I am very happy for Danick that he was traded,” Lucien Paquette wrote in French, “but I am sad for the people in Lewiston. I made some very good friends there, and I have nothing but great things to say about the people and the city. Thanks for everything, and good luck in the future.”

Lucien Paquette also said that Danick had received a contract offer from the Atlanta Thrashers, by whom he was drafted last summer, Friday morning.

“We’re very proud of him,” Lucien said.

Matthew Wuest of the Metro in Halifax also posted a deal involving 17-year-old Lewiston defenseman Garrett Clarke. In return, the Mooseheads would send Lewiston’s way an “offensive-minded, 19- or 20-year-old forward and a late round draft pick.”

Sources indicate the player headed to Lewiston may be centerman Alexis Piette, a 6-foot, 3-inch, 203-pound 19-year-old who recorded 19 goals and 16 assists while winning 55.6 percent of his face-off attempts for the last-place Mooseheads last season.

“Again, that’s not something we can comment on,” Shannon said.

MacAdam did comment on the four players rumored to be involved in the Quebec deal, saying that each was “a good or great player, as a person.”

Even before this rumored transaction, the Remparts appeared primed to make a run at next year’s Memorial Cup. Quebec owner and GM Patrick Roy has ties with the Colorado Avalanche, which drafted Delmas in last year’s NHL draft, and the acquisition of Cusack as a 20-year-old blueliner, Paquette and Savoie would give the former NHL star some much-needed depth at each of those positions.

All indications are that the Maineiacs may not even be done with those two deals. The team still holds a high draft pick in this summer’s European draft (No. 7 overall), and may deal it due to cost concerns. The windfall from such a deal could include several entry draft picks, which could then be flopped for another player or two.

“Our job is to bring a championship team to Lewiston,” Shannon said. “If that means we have to make a few trades to make sure we reach our goals, than that’s what we’re prepared to do.”

If the deals go through, the Maineiacs’ blue line would get much younger. Soon-to-be-NHL-drafted Eric Gelinas, 18, would anchor a group that would include 18-year-old Sam Finn, acquired from Cape Breton last season, 18-year-old Dany Coulombe, Carrier (from Quebec) and 17-year-old Zack Shannon, GM Roger’s son.

The deals would also leave a visible hole in the net, where the only potential returning player who saw significant time last season would be 20-year-old Adrien Lemay.

By league rules, no deals can be officially announced until Friday, June 5, the day before the league’s entry draft. The summer trade window closes when the draft is complete on Saturday, June 6. The Maineiacs currently hold the third overall selection in the draft.