The New York Islanders, parent club of the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, have traded forward Matt Koalska to the Ottawa Senators, parent club of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators, in exchange for defenseman Tomas Malec.
Malec, an AHL All-Star in 2003, had a goal and 12 assists for 13 points in 33 games with Binghamton this season. The 24-year-old native of Skalica, Slovakia, was a third-round draft choice by Florida in 2001.
In 282 career AHL games with Binghamton, Cincinnati and Lowell, Malec has recorded 13 goals and 70 assists for 83 points, along with 408 penalty minutes. He has also appeared in 43 career NHL games with Ottawa and Carolina.
Koalska, 26, has three goals and two assists for five points in 14 AHL games between Bridgeport and the Hershey Bears this season.
The third-year pro from St. Paul, Minn., had 19 goals and 30 assists for 49 points in 75 games with the Sound Tigers in 2005-06, after recording seven goals and eight assists in 60 games as a rookie in 2004-05.
Koalska has played three career NHL games, all with the Islanders last year.
