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Matthews goes first, but trades define draft night

Auston Matthews was selected with the first overall pick, becoming the first American-born top pick since Patrick Kane. Alexander Demianchuk\TASS/Getty Images

As expected, Auston Matthews was the first pick in the NHL draft on Friday night.

After his selection, trades dominated the first day of drafting.

Matthews goes first

Matthews became the first U.S.-born player drafted first since Patrick Kane in 2007; the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Matthews with the top pick.

Matthews becomes the second No. 1 pick in Maple Leafs history, joining Wendel Clark, who was taken with the top pick in 1985.

In fact, Matthews is the first top-three pick for the Maple Leafs since Scott Thornton in 1989.

Matthews was the first of 12 U.S.-born players drafted in the first round, which Elias Sports Bureau research notes is an NHL record for U.S. players selected in the first round of the draft.

Blackhawks continue to ship away players

The Blackhawks sent Andrew Shaw to the Canadiens. Shaw’s 99 points over the past three seasons are tied for seventh-most on the team in that span.

Shaw is the latest player shipped away by Chicago to control the team's salary-cap room after the Blackhawks extended the contracts of Kane and Jonathan Toews.

Red Wings officially say goodbye to Datsyuk

In what was largely a salary dump, the Detroit Red Wings traded Pavel Datsyuk to the Arizona Coyotes.

Datsyuk ranks sixth in points in Red Wings history behind five Hall of Famers: Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Alex Delvecchio, Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Fedorov.

Datsyuk had already announced that he is not returning to the NHL.

Blues pick Allen over Elliott

The back-and-forth between Jake Allen and Brian Elliott is over for the St. Louis Blues.

They traded Elliott to the Calgary Flames for the 35th pick in this year’s draft and a conditional third-round pick in 2018.

Did they make the right choice?

Despite Elliott’s regular-season dominance, he struggled in the 2016 playoffs, allowing 2.44 goals per game.

Performance in the playoffs was a consistent problem for him; he had a 15-19 record in the postseason with the Blues and didn’t win a series until this past season.

The draft resumes Saturday with the second through seventh rounds.