Manitoba Moose

The Manitoba Moose had both a trade and a disappointment on roster-deadline day in the AHL.

Veteran Manitoba-born centre Marty Murray, 35, was sent to the Milwaukee Admirals for 24-year-old left-winger Peter Olvecky on Wednesday morning.

Later in the day, head coach Scott Arniel said the Moose found out that veteran defenceman Brad Lukowich, assigned here last week by the Vancouver Canucks after clearing waivers, has developed a shoulder injury that won't permit him to play anymore this season.

Lukowich, on a one-way, $1.5-million contract, has apparently been playing through the pain but once assigned to the AHL, could not do so any longer.

Until Wednesday, the Moose had made no mention of injury and had said Lukowich was taking some time to sort out some personal matters at his home in Texas.

Murray leaves the Moose with 30 points in 59 games.

"It's a little extra tough, being a Manitoba guy but it's the nature of the business," Murray said. "I don't have any time to think about it. I would have liked to have been here the whole year, seen the team go a long way in the playoffs."

Murray said his was the classic case of deadline-day shock.

"There was no hint; I came in this morning and Keith McCambridge (Moose assistant coach) said that Arnie wanted to see me," Murray said. "You have in the back of your mind that you know what day it is. My number got called.

"There aren't any hard feelings. I certainly enjoyed my time here. It's a first-class organization and I enjoyed being around the players and Arnie's a great coach and I had played with Keith.

"But any time you get traded, a lot of things go through your mind."

He expects to leave today to join the Admirals, who play at home Saturday against Toronto.

"I have talked to both (coach) Lane Lambert and (Nashville assistant GM) Paul Fenton and they both seem real excited to have me," Murray said. "They don't have a lot of veteran guys there, so when somebody wants you, it makes you feel good, that's for sure."

The Moose are desperate for scoring and have lamented all season long they weren't deep enough at centre. They acquired pivot Yan Stastny last Wednesday but then turned around and sacrificed a centre to get some potential scoring from the wing in Olvecky.

"Olvecky can play all three positions but I'm not bringing him in to be there, our answer in the middle," Arniel said. "Having (Mario) Bliznak in that third hole, and having (Yan) Stastny... is it the perfect set of centremen? Maybe not. We just felt that Olvecky is a younger, bigger-body guy who could add a little more for us offensively."

Olvecky falls in the category of exempt player (a veteran who has more than 260 but less than 320 games of AHL/NHL/European experience) and each team is allowed one. And moving Murray, the Moose are back down to five official veterans (more than 260 games AHL/NHL/Europe), the maximum allowed in any one game, counting defenceman Nolan Baumgartner, when and if he returns from Vancouver.

The Moose roster was frozen at 2 p.m. Wednesday and will be officially released today. Injuries, suspensions and NHL call-ups do allow some leeway to access players on the reserve list. As well, AHL teams may sign amateur players and use them freely once their junior or college seasons are done. Possible Amateur Tryout (ATO) players for Manitoba this year:

• Cody Hodgson, Brampton (OHL). Made some impact here last spring.
• Yann Sauve, Saint John (QMJHL). Vancouver D prospect, 2nd round of '08.
• Kevin Connauton, Vancouver (WHL). Another Canucks prospect, an offensive D-man.
• Luca Sbisa, Portland (WHL). An Anaheim prospect, Swiss Olympian but is on a very good WHL team.