As AHL teams made their final major roster preparations for the remainder of the 2005-06 season, the Hartford Wolf Pack have acquired Brad Smyth on loan from the Los Angeles Kings.
In exchange, the New York Rangers have assigned defenseman Joe Rullier to the Manchester Monarchs.
Smyth, who turns 33 today, leads the Monarchs in scoring with 64 points (27g, 37a) in 64 games this season. The Ottawa native ranks 28th on the AHL’s all-time scoring list with 645 career points in 594 games over 10 seasons. Smyth is also tied for 12th place on the AHL’s all-time goal-scoring list with 319 goals.
Smyth returns to Hartford, where he spent five seasons from 1997-2002. He is the Wolf Pack’s all-time leader in goals (177) and ranks second in points (343), and helped Hartford to the Calder Cup championship in 2000.
Rullier, 26, has played in 51 games with the Wolf Pack, collecting 28 points (6g, 22a) and 123 penalty minutes this season. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound native of Montreal played four seasons (2001-05) for the Monarchs and earned 44 points (11g, 33a) and 807 penalty minutes.
Another member of the 2000 Calder Cup champions was on the move Monday, as the Grand Rapids Griffins signed veteran defenseman Terry Virtue.
Virtue, a two-time Calder Cup champ and a two-time AHL All-Star, played four games earlier this season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Virtue, 35, is one of the most esteemed defensemen in AHL history. A 13-year AHL veteran, he stands among the league’s all-time leaders with 853 games played (16th overall and fourth among defensemen) and 1,796 penalty minutes (T-12th), along with 90 Calder Cup Playoff appearances (14th).
Also on Monday, Manchester acquired forward Alexandre Daigle on loan from the Minnesota Wild. In return, the Monarchs assigned forward Brendan Bernakevitch to the Houston Aeros.
Daigle, 31, has played 46 games this season with the Wild, recording five goals and 23 assists. A veteran of 616 career NHL games, Daigle was the first overall pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.
Bernakevitch, 23, appeared in 42 games with the Monarchs this season, recording 17 points (8g, 9a). He is in his rookie season out of Harvard.
In other transactions prior to Monday’s 3:00 p.m. ET Clear Day deadline, Houston picked up the services of forward Greg Mauldin on loan from the Columbus Blue Jackets. In exchange, the Minnesota Wild have assigned defenseman Dustin Wood to the Syracuse Crunch.
Mauldin, 23, has put up solid numbers in two-plus seasons for the Crunch, totaling 56 points (19g, 37a) and 102 penalty minutes in 124 games. This season for Syracuse, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound native of Holliston, Mass., has posted 12 goals and 17 assists in 56 games.
Wood, 24, had seven points (1g, 6a) and 48 penalty minutes in 64 games with the Aeros. He owns the longest active games played streak in the AHL at 206.
The Cleveland Barons added two defensemen for their stretch run, picking up Chris Heid on assignment from Minnesota and John Adams on loan from the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Heid, a third-year pro, has appeared in four AHL games this season with Houston, earning one assist and 14 penalty minutes. Adams has skated in 10 AHL games this year between the Griffins and Springfield, going scoreless with six penalty minutes.
The AHL’s 27 Clear Day lists will be released on theahl.com no earlier than 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
