One team needed defensive help. The other had some good defensemen riding the pine. So Milan dealt veteran blueliners Zbynek Michalek and Jaroslav Spacek to Dublin on Monday in exchange for a second round pick and $1.35 million.

Zbynek Michalek

Jaroslav Spacek

Both players had trouble cracking the Guerriero lineup which features Dustin Byfuglien and Brooks Orpik as the top pairing, followed on the depth chart by Jason Garrison and Andrew MacDonald, and then Travor Daley and Sheldon Souray. It’s a good mixture of defense-first guys and players with two-way skill.  Byfuglien, Garrison and Souray have cannons on the point, and Spacek and Michalek just weren’t assured of quality ice time. Michalek saw an average of 15 minutes in only 3 games this season (1 assist total), and Spacek had not been used at all. Milan GM Jeff Kelly figured each was worth a second-rounder. It also knocks some salary off the ledger for Milan, although the Guerriero already looked strong financially.

In Dublin, Michalek joins brother Milan, a right wing who is currently fourth on the team in scoring. The Fighting Irish defense corps has been hit hard by injuries, with 3 members of that group currently out of the lineup.  The two former-Guerriero will find work right away and probably keep it if they remain healthy. The top Irish defense pair will be Keith Yandle and James Wisniewski (when he returns to the lineup). Two of either  Nick Schultz, Michalek or Spacek are likely to be planted into the second pairing with the third member of that group likely to mentor one of several younger defensemen in the Dublin organization.  The addition of the two vets is the good news. The bad news is that the $1.35 million Dublin gave up in the trade adds to what was already the league’s lowest net profit.

Shortly after news of the trade spread, the office of the Czech Republic’s Honorary Consulate in Milan issued a terse press release saying that it was curious that both players traded away were the Guerriero’s only Czech-born players. “It is unfortunate for Northern Italy, because its people  will not have the pleasure of knowing these fine gentlemen,” the press release stated. The release also mentioned that the Czech ambassador to Italy, Peter Tonovani, expects to make a trip from Rome to the consulate to speak with team officials.