Sandstrom Sent To Red Wings

The Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday traded right wing Tomas Sandstrom to the Detroit Red Wings for center Greg Johnson.

Sandstrom, 32, is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He has nine goals and 15 assists in 40 games with the Penguins this season. He has 361 career goals and 428 assists in 814 games with Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and the New York Rangers.

Johnson, 25, has six goals and 10 assists in 43 games with the Red Wings this season. He has recorded 33 goals and 48 assists in 177 career games with Detroit.

Ex-Islander Hart charged

Former New York Islander Gerry Hart was arrested in Smithfield, R.I., and charged with punching a referee and striking a 14-year-old player during a hockey tournament last weekend.

Hart, who played 15 seasons in the NHL with the Islanders and three other teams, was coaching a Suffolk County (N.Y.) Police Athletic League team when the incident happened during the post-game handshake. He told the New York Times the charges were exaggerated and he never punched the opposing player.

Hart said after a Syracuse player spit at him, “I did the protective thing, I put my hand up.”

Hart’s team had lost 9-1.

The Eagle has landed

The trade that sent goaltender Ed Belfour from Chicago to San Jose seems to be a perfect move for the Sharks, despite a 5-2 loss in his debut Monday night.

Belfour can play goal, especially in the playoffs. Which is why the Sharks dealt for him Saturday for Chris Terreri, Ulf Dahlen, Michal Sykora and, if they sign Belfour - who wants more than $4 million a year - a 1998 second-round draft pick.

Belfour’s status was a source of tension for the Blackhawks ever since he rejected a new contract last summer. General manager Bob Pulford, desperate to improve the club’s morale, was dealing from weakness and got only Sykora, a promising young defenseman, a useful forward in Dahlen and a capable backup in Terreri.

On the ice

Tony Amonte scored the tying goal and set up newcomer Ulf Dahlen’s game-winner within a 3-minute span of the third period as the visiting Chicago Blackhawks stopped a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday night.