The Tampa Bay Lightning, parent club of the AHL’s Springfield Falcons, have acquired defenseman Joe Rullier from the Anaheim Ducks, parent club of the AHL’s Portland Pirates, in exchange for defenseman Doug O’Brien.
Rullier, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound defenseman, has split this season between Manitoba and Portland of the American Hockey League, scoring two goals and recording nine points in 30 games. He is a veteran of 428 AHL games and has scored 22 goals while registering 87 points and 1,205 penalty minutes in his AHL career with Portland, Manitoba, Hartford, Manchester and Lowell.
The 27-year-old Montreal native has also appeared in 29 career Calder Cup Playoff games, tallying six assists.
O’Brien, 23, has registered six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 53 AHL games for Springfield in 2006-07. The third-year pro, a 2003 draft choice by Tampa Bay, made his NHL debut with the Lightning last season and appeared in five games.
In 201 career AHL games, all with Springfield, O’Brien has tallied 17 goals and 51 assists for 68 points.
