Canucks Aquire O'Brien and Ouellet from Lightning

The Vancouver Canucks announced today that they have acquired defenseman Shane O'Brien and right wing Michel Ouellet from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenseman Lukas Krajicek and right wing Juraj Simek. Ouellet had been on the trade block for some time, even being waived last week by the Lightning, while O'Brien popped up in the rumor mill in recent days. In 77 games last season with the Lightning, O'Brien had four goals and 17 assists for 21 points and 154 penalty minutes. He played in Tampa Bay's first game against the New York Rangers in the Czech Republic over the weekend. Ouellet played in 64 games last season with the Lightning, where he scored 17 goals and added 19 assists for 36 points. He had recently been demoted to the Lightning's AHL affiliate in Norfolk. In 39 games last season with the Canucks, Krajicek scored two goals and nine assists for 11 points. Simek has yet to play in an NHL game. In Krajicek, the Lightning get a defensive blueliner with some experience, though it does not help out their defensive situation since they had to trade O'Brien. Only time will tell if the Lightning will make another move to acquire another defenseman. They may want to consider looking at Bryan Berard or Richard Matvichuk for depth, as both players have recently been released from training camp tryouts. The Canucks get another very physical defenseman in O'Brien, giving them one of the toughest bluelines in the Western Conference. The Canucks also get some scoring depth they've been seeking with Ouellet. However, they demoted him to the minors after the trade was announced, which will not help the Canucks' lack of scoring if Ouellet sits in the minors.