London arrived in Erie today still waiting to learn if Oshawa center John Tavares will become a Knight. "Nothing's changed," assistant coach Pat Curcio said before the game. Tavares played for the Generals tonight, scoring the club's first goal - his 26th goal of the season.
Club officials remain optimistic a deal will be completed before the OHL trade deadline on Friday at noon. "Johnny's an elite player," Curcio said. "At the end of the day, it's up to the powers that be." But officials don't feel pressured to make a deal to offset Windsor's acquisition of center Scott Timmins, defenseman Ben Shutron and goaltender Josh Unice from Kitchener earlier in the day.
"We want to improve our hockey club," Curcio said. "But we think we have a good hockey club." In the meantime, the coaching staff will keep the current players, especially the players reportedly linked to a deal - injured center Phil Varone, right wing Christian Thomas and defenseman Scott Valentine - focused on playing for the Knights. They have spoken with those players about how to handle the situation, Curcio said.
"We have to treat it like professional hockey," Curcio said. "They have to be London Knights."
In other deals, Brampton acquired defenseman Josh Day and a 2009 seventh-round pick from Niagara for right wing Mike Hasson and a 2009 third-rounder. The IceDogs also sent right wing Andrew Merrett to Brampton for a 2011 fifth-rounder.

– Victor Fernandes