The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired defenceman Andrew Alberts from the Boston Bruins in exchange for 22-year-old forward Ned Lukacevic and a fourth round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
The 2009 fourth round pick will turn into a 2009 third round selection if Philadelphia resigns Alberts at the end of his contract, which expires on June 30, 2009.
''Andrew is a big, competitive defenceman and he skates well,'' Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren said in making the announcement. ''He will bring experience and depth to our team.''
Alberts became expendable with the emergence of defenceman Matt Hunwick, while the move also allows the Bruins to free up cap space and give them the flexibility to call up Vladimir Sobotka from the AHL's Providence Bruins.
Boston's fifth pick, 179th overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Alberts is in the second year of a $2.5 million contract he signed with the club last June. He has yet to play in a game this season, while he was limited to just 35 games in 2007-08, recording two assists. In 181 career NHL games, he has one goal and 18 assists.
Lukacevic collected 17 goals and 19 assists in 61 contests last year for Reading of the East Coast Hockey League. He was originally drafted in the fourth round (110th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Kings and was traded to Philadelphia in June 2008.
Hunwick is Boston's sixth pick, 224th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Last season, the Michigan native spent the majority of his time with the Providence Bruins and earned a spot in 13 games with NHL Bruins, recording one assist.
Sobotka, the club's fourth selection, 106th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, split last season between Boston and Providence. With Boston, he saw action in 48 regular season games and contributed one goal and six assists and added two goals in six postseason games.
