Aug 29, 2008 - 9:03 PM
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The Senators also obtained the San Jose Sharks' 2009 first-round pick, which the Lightning acquired in a previous deal.
Unable to come to terms on a new contract with Meszaros, Ottawa found a trade partner in Tampa Bay, which has undergone an enormous transformation since a new ownership group led by Oren Koules and Len Barrie took over the franchise in mid-June. In addition to naming Barry Melrose their new coach, the Lightning have added goaltender Olaf Kolzig, defenseman Matt Carle and forwards Vaclav Prospal, Gary Roberts, March Recchi, Radim Vrbata and Ryan Malone, among others, to their roster.
"We are very excited to acquire the rights of Andrej Meszaros," Tampa Bay executive vice president of hockey operations Brian Lawton said. "Andrej is a perfect fit within our plan to rebuild the Lightning into a contender. He has a strong all-around game, he competes, he moves the puck and he can handle big, strong forwards defensively.
"Perhaps more importantly, we're pleased to add a 22-year-old player with almost 250 NHL games already under his belt. We know Andrej will continue to grow and improve as he matures with the rest of our defense."
Drafted 23rd overall by the Senators in 2004, Meszaros recorded nine goals and 27 assists in 82 games last season. The 6-2, 218-pound Slovakian netted a career-high six power-play tallies and ranked third on the team with 100 blocked shots.
Meszaros, who represented his country at the 2006 Winter Olympics, led all rookies in 2005-06 and finished third overall in the league with a plus-34 rating. Yet to miss a game during his three-year career, he collected 26 goals, 84 assists and 213 penalty minutes in 246 contests with the Senators.
Kuba, 31, notched six goals and 25 assists in 75 games with the Lightning in 2007-08. The 6-5, 225-pound Czech, who was an eighth-round pick of Florida in 1995, has registered 55 tallies, 207 points and 239 penalty minutes in 531 career contests with the Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Lightning.
Acquired from Philadelphia in February, the 23-year-old Picard scored three goals and set up three others in 20 games with Tampa Bay last campaign after going scoreless in four contests with the Flyers. The 2003 third-round pick has scored six goals and recorded 28 points in 92 career games with the Flyers and Lightning.
"We'd like to thank Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard for their service to the Lightning," Lawton said. "It's hard letting go of players that we like, but as we all know, you can't get something for nothing."
