NHL upholds trade of former Ducks defenceman Visnovsky to Islanders

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - An NHL arbitrator has upheld a trade between Anaheim and New York that sent defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky to the Islanders for a second-round pick.

The teams made the deal on June 22, the first day of the NHL draft. About a month later, Visnovsky filed a grievance through his agent, stating the no-trade clause in his contract was valid. Visnovsky had waived the clause in 2010 to accept a deal from the Edmonton Oilers to the Ducks.

Visnovsky has played the last three seasons with the Ducks, totalling 108 points (29 goals and 79 assists) in 165 games. He had a career year with Anaheim in 2010-11, leading NHL defencemen in scoring with 18 goals and 50 assists in 81 games.

The five-foot-10, 197-pound defenceman from Topolcany, Slovakia, has 117 goals, 333 assists and a career plus-32 rating over 771 games with Los Angeles, Edmonton and Anaheim.