updated 8:34 p.m. ET March 4, 2009

The biggest names stayed put as the NHL trade deadline came and went Wednesday with a flurry of activity, but not a great deal of star quality.

After top defensemen Chris Pronger, Jay Bouwmeester and Tomas Kaberle made their way through the rumor mill leading up to the deadline, none were sent packing. Tampa Bay held on to Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, while St. Louis didn't move forward Keith Tkachuk, and Ryan Smyth remained with sliding Colorado.

Whether that was due to the state of the economy, the hard salary cap, or unwillingness by teams to give up prime assets for rental players, the dealing that was done took on more of a second-tier feel.

“Two years from now is a concern for a lot of teams. Is the cap going to go down in that year?” said Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee, who didn’t make a trade Wednesday for his Southeast Division-leading club. “When there were really no cap restrictions, the phone was ringing all day long.

“In today’s world, teams focus on trying to do one or two things, and they have the three or four teams that they’re talking to, and they don’t bother to talk to anybody else, because they know there’s nothing there.”

There were 22 trades and a record 47 players moved in the final six hours of dealing Wednesday. In each of the past three years, 25 deals were completed — involving at least 40 players every season. This marked the sixth consecutive season that 20 deals were made. The previous record for players traded was 46 in 2003, and the number has gone up every season since except 2004.

Bouwmeester drew a lot of interest, but Florida general manager Jacques Martin wasn’t satisfied with the offers.

“They were offers that didn’t fulfill our needs,” Martin said. “I wanted two players in return, a defenseman who could play in our top four. Some teams thought their defense could play in our top four. Obviously, I didn’t.”

As far as marquee value, Bill Guerin was the closest to a household name that changed addresses. After being in trade limbo since Saturday night when the Islanders yanked him out of the lineup after warmups, the 38-year-old former New York captain waived his no-trade clause and was dealt to Pittsburgh.

Now instead of being a part of a youth movement, that so far has landed the Islanders at the bottom of the NHL standings, he can be part of the Penguins’ playoff push on a line with Sidney Crosby. All Pittsburgh paid was a conditional draft pick that won’t be any higher than a third-rounder.

Guerin, once one of the NHL’s top power forwards, was the Islanders’ second-leading scorer with 16 goals and 20 assists in 61 games.

“I think it’s worth a chance with a Billy Guerin, that playing with good players he will be able to score goals,” Penguins general manager Ray Shero said. “I’m hoping he can re-energize his career here in Pittsburgh. I think it’s a good move for both of us.”

The Phoenix Coyotes, who have dealt with questions surrounding team finances during a season in which they dropped into last place in the Pacific Division, stripped down their roster in a series of moves.

Shipped out from coach Wayne Gretzky’s club were leading forward Olli Jokinen, defenseman Derek Morris, enforcer Daniel Carcillo and goalie Mikael Tellqvist.

Morris, due to be an unrestricted free agent after the season, was traded to the New York Rangers for young forwards Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes and veteran defenseman Dmitri Kalinin.

NHL trade deadline      Discuss: Sound off on moves  |  Trade list Plenty of trades, but few big names move Flames spark Cup talk by acquiring Jokinen Penguins get Guerin to help out Crosby Bruins hope Recchi can help in playoff run Expert: Sather's roll of the dice unlikely to work Rotoworld: Winners, losers  |  Blog Opinion: Some solid under-the-radar moves Clement: Biggest trade winners since '90

Jokinen, Phoenix’s second-leading scorer, was dealt to Calgary along with a third-round draft pick for center Matthew Lombardi, right wing Brandon Prust and a conditional first-round pick. Carcillo headed to Philadelphia for forward Scottie Upshall and a 2011 second-round draft pick, and Tellqvist moved on to Buffalo for a fourth-round draft pick in 2010.

In addition to the deal that brought Morris to New York, the Rangers also sent a second-round draft pick and a conditional choice to Toronto for 6-foot-6 forward Nik Antropov.

Those trades were made on the day Sean Avery rejoined the Rangers for practice after he was claimed off waivers from Dallas on Tuesday. There were four other waiver claims Wednesday as Toronto grabbed goalie Martin Gerber from Ottawa and defenseman Erik Reitz from the Rangers; Dallas took center Brendan Morrison from Anaheim; and Pittsburgh plucked right winger Craig Adams from Chicago.

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