RoadRunners Send Miller To Las Vegas
June 17, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Phoenix RoadRunners of the ECHL, a proud affiliate of the San Jose Sharks and the Worcester Sharks, have traded defenseman Gerard Miller to the Las Vegas Wranglers.
The deal completes the Sep. 25, 2007 deal in which the RoadRunners acquired forward Sean O'Connor from the Wranglers.
Miller collected seven assists and a plus-three rating in nine games with the RoadRunners after being acquired on March 5 from the Cincinnati Cyclones in exchange for goalie Cody Rudkowsky. The Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. native totaled four goals, 25 points, and a plus-19 rating in 41 games last season.
O'Connor posted career-bests in 2007-08 with 27 goals, 17 assists, and 44 points in 63 games in his first season with the RoadRunners.
Along with the trading of Miller, the RoadRunners released their season-ending roster for the upcoming 2008-09 campaign. The season-ending roster includes forwards Thatcher Bell, Mitch Carefoot, Matt Carter, Gino Guyer, Mathieu Melanson, Dustin Moore, Sean O'Connor, Cam Paddock, and Ryan Walsh; defensemen Rob Dmytruk, Jeff Moor, Bryan Nathe, Tom Sawatske, and Ian Turner; and goaltender Dave McKee.
Season-ending rosters may include up to 20 players and cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2007-08.
Each team is entitled to reserve rights to a maximum of eight players by extending a qualifying offer no later than July 1. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four can be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the 2008-09 season). Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded. Teams are not required to extend a qualifying offer to players who sign a contract prior to July 1.
The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until August 1 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.
A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player will retain the rights to that veteran until August 1. After August 1, if the veteran player is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other ECHL teams. Restricted free agents may not be traded. When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a team other than the team with the player's rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept the contract offer, the restricted free agent and the offering member must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player's rights and the Professional Hockey Players' Association. The member with the player's rights shall have seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer.
If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by August 31, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent.
Began in 1988-89 with five teams playing in four states, the Premier 'AA' Hockey League has grown into a coast-to-coast league that will have 24 teams in 16 states and British Columbia playing 864 games from Oct. 17, 2008 to Apr. 4, 2009. Nineteen of the 24 teams have played at least five years in their current city.
The third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, the ECHL averaged 4,174 per game last season, marking the fourth year in row and the 16th time in the last 18 years that the league has averaged over 4,000 fans. The league has drawn over four million fans each of the last five years and 11 times in the past 12 seasons.
The RoadRunners return to the ice at US Airways Center in October for their fourth season of ECHL hockey. Keep up with everything that's happening during the off-season from player signings and community appearances by logging on to www.phxroadrunners.com. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans for the 2008-09 season of Phoenix RoadRunners Hockey are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.
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ECHL Stories from June 17, 2008
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