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OILERS ACQUIRE VISNOVSKY FROM KINGS
The Edmonton Oilers have acquired defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for defenceman Matt Greene and forward Jarret Stoll.
Selected by the Kings in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft (4th choice, 118th overall), Visnovsky led the Kings in defencemen scoring for the third consecutive season in 2007-08, collecting eight goals and 33 assists for 41 points, while playing in a career-high 82 games.
Oilers’ General Manager Kevin Lowe says, “Although it is tough to see good players and good people move on, we feel we’ve made a step towards improving our overall offense. Lubomir is a world-class defencemen who has been one of the premier offensive defencemen over the past five years.”
The 5-10, 188-pound native of Topolcany, Slovakia, has played in 499 games over seven seasons, all with the Kings and he ranks fourth all-time in goals (70), assists (209) and points (279) by a Kings defenceman.
Visnovsky, 30, finished the 2006-07 season with 18-40-58 in 69 games. His 18 goals were a career-high and his eight power-play goals ranked second among Kings defencemen and fifth overall on the club. In addition, Visnovsky was named to the 2007 NHL All-Star Game.
Visnovsky is the only defenceman to ever lead the Kings in scoring after recording a career-high 67 points (17-50-67) in 2005-06. His 67 points represented the fourth-highest single-season total ever produced by a Kings defenceman, while his 50 assists led the team and established a new career-high. That same season, Visnovsky was the only defenceman in the NHL to lead his team in scoring.
Internationally, Visnovsky led Slovakia in scoring at the 2008 World Championships with nine points (2-7-9) and a +5 rating in five games. He also represented his country at the Olympic Winter Games in 2002 and 2006
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