Gary Roberts Allows Trade To Penguins

Veteran left wing Gary Roberts has waived his no-trade clause so the Florida Panthers can deal him to the Pittsburgh Penguins, his agent said Tuesday.

"He waived the no-trade portion of his contract, he waived that last night," agent Richard Curran told The Associated Press from his home in Devon, Pa. "I would expect there would be an announcement later this morning about a transaction between Pittsburgh and Florida."

Curran would not speak about other terms of the deal, including who or what the Penguins were planning to send to Florida in return for the 40-year-old veteran.

Penguins officials did not immediately return calls for comment.

Panthers spokesman Justin Copertino said he was trying to track down general manager Randy Sexton with the team in Washington, D.C., because of speculation about such a deal in various media sources. But Sexton was not immediately available and the Panthers did not immediately plan to announce a trade, Copertino said.

Roberts has 421 goals and 451 assists in 1,127 career games with Calgary, Carolina, Toronto and Florida. Roberts has played in 108 games since last season with 27 goals and 47 assists and is plus-9 during that span.

Roberts was the 12th overall pick in the 1984 draft, the same draft in which the Penguins selected Mario Lemieux first overall. He broke into the NHL in the 1986-87 season playing five games with the Flames, and became a full-time player the next season.