Yushkevich Traded for Two Draft Picks

The Kings, reducing to four their number of potential unrestricted free agents this summer, traded rent-a-defenseman Dmitry Yushkevich to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday for two draft picks.

The Kings picked up a fourth-round choice in this summer’s draft and a seventh-round selection in the 2004 draft for a player they had no intention of re-signing after acquiring him in a Nov. 26 trade that sent forward Jaroslav Bednar and defenseman Andreas Lilja to Florida.

Yushkevich, 31, played in 44 games for the Kings, who also acquired a fifth-round choice in this year’s draft when they traded for him.

“When we picked him up, we were a little thinner on defense,” General Manager Dave Taylor said.

But with Aaron Miller and Lubomir Visnovsky back from injured reserve and rookie Joe Corvo emerging as a dependable alternative, Yushkevich became expendable. In the last year of his contract, he will be paid $2.75 million this season.

His departure creates an opening for Corvo, who had been scratched from four consecutive games before returning to the lineup Saturday.