Tampa Bay Lightning acquire Brian Lee from Ottawa Senators
Gilroy was here. Past tense.
Defenseman Matt Gilroy was traded to the Ottawa Senators this afternoon in exchange for 2005 1st round draft pick and fellow defenseman Brian Lee.
Lee has played in 35 games this season for the Ottawa Senators, he was minus-2 and recorded a total of 8 points. Meanwhile, Gilroy had been coming into his own on the Lightning defense, with 17 points in 53 games this season.
Lee is 3 years younger than Gilroy, as well as larger (6' 4" as to 6' 1") . An interesting quirk is that he was in a defense pairing at the University of North Dakota with former Bolt Matt Smaby. Lee will be an RFA after the season while Gilroy will be an unrestricted free agent. That's what made Gilroy expendable and what may still lead to the dealing of defenseman Brett Clark.
To recap: The Bolts have acquired three defenders today, one being a short-term solution while the other two (Keith Aulie and Lee) seem to fit the long-range building and competitiveness pans laid out by Steve Yzerman.
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