The Vancouver Canucks traded defenseman Lukas Krajicek and minor-league forward Juraj Simek to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday for defenseman Shane O'Brien and right wing Michel Ouellet.

Ouellet, with 54 goals in 187 NHL games with Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, was already in the AHL with Norfolk after clearing waivers last week. Ouellet, with a salary of $1.3 million this season, will be sent to Vancouver's farm team in Manitoba.

O'Brien fills a defensive spot created when the Canucks lost Nathan McIver to a waiver wire claim from the Anaheim Ducks over the weekend. O'Brien has 37 points and 330 penalty minutes in 158 NHL games.

Krajicek missed most of last season with a shoulder injury that required surgery and slipped down the depth chart with the emergence of Canucks rookie Alexander Edler and the additions of Rob Davison and Lawrence Nycholat.

Simek was the Canucks' sixth-round pick in 2006, and has yet to play an NHL game.

TORONTO'S HOLLWEG SUSPENDED: Maple Leafs left wing Ryan Hollweg received an automatic two-game suspension Monday after collecting his third boarding or checking from behind major in a 41-game span.

The third penalty came in last Wednesday's 7-3 preseason loss at St. Louis, when Hollweg was assessed a boarding major and game misconduct. Last season with the New York Rangers, Hollweg received checking from behind majors and game misconducts on Jan. 5 against Edmonton and Feb. 3 against Montreal.

Hollweg will miss Toronto's season-opener Thursday at Detroit and Saturday's home-opener against Montreal. He forfeits $5,510.76 in salary, which goes to the players' emergency assistance fund.

CAPITALS SET ROSTER: The Washington Capitals set their season-opening roster Monday, sending 2007 first-round draft pick Karl Alzner and Chris Bourque to AHL club Hershey and waiving forward Quintin Laing.

Alzner was the No. 5 overall pick last year. The 20-year-old defenseman signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Washington in May.

"We thought this was the best way for him to develop into what we think is going to be a great defenseman," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said.

Bourque is a forward who is the son of Hall of Fame member Ray Bourque.

"Right now, there's just no room," Boudreau said. "If you look at our roster, where was he going to fit in at this stage? We know we have a bona fide guy who can be called up and eventually knock somebody out of a job. It just wasn't going to be right now at the start of the year." Boudreau said.

Laing appeared in 39 games for the Capitals last season, with one goal and five assists. If no other NHL club claims the left wing off waivers, the Capitals will send him to Hershey.

"What a tremendous teammate," Boudreau said. "And a better character guy, you can't find."

The moves trimmed Washington's season-opening roster to 22, one below the maximum. There are 14 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies.

Boudreau noted that forward Sergei Fedorov's ability to move back and play on the blue line made the team comfortable about not carrying a seventh defenseman such as Alzner.

BLUE JACKETS RELEASE MATVICHUK: The Columbus Blue Jackets assigned goaltender Dan LaCosta to their American Hockey League affiliate and released defenseman Richard Matvichuk from his tryout contract on Monday.

The 35-year-old Matvichuk played for Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock with the Dallas Stars when they won the Stanley Cup in 1999. With 14 years and almost 800 games in the NHL, he was making $96 a day in training-camp pay to try to make the team after being out of the league a year ago.

LaCosta is considered insurance behind top goalies Pascal Leclaire and Fredrik Norrena.

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