The Atlanta Thrashers, parent club of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, have acquired forward Tim Stapleton and defenseman Pavel Kubina from the Toronto Maple Leafs, parent club of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, in exchange for forward Colin Stuart and defenseman Garnet Exelby.
Stapleton tied for seventh in the AHL in scoring and led the Toronto Marlies in goals (28), assists (51) and points (79) while appearing in 70 games in 2008-09, his first full AHL season.
He also saw action in four NHL games for the Maple Leafs and scored one goal.
Stuart, a 23-year-old from Rochester, Minn., split the 2008-09 season between the Thrashers and the Wolves. In 33 games with Atlanta, Stuart registered five goals, three assists and eight points with 18 penalty minutes.
In 42 AHL games, he had 15 points on nine goals and six assists along with 38 minutes in penalties.
Stuart was selected 135th overall by Atlanta in the 2001 Entry Draft.