The Columbus Blue Jackets have traded defenceman Rostislav Klesla to the Phoenix Coyotes for Scottie Upshall and Sami Lepisto.
Klesla, 28, is a 10-year NHL veteran who's spent his entire career with the Blue Jackets.
Drafted by Columbus in the first round (4th overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Klesla has 41 goals and 92 assists with a minus-50 rating over 515 games played.
Upshall, 27, was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the first round (6th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and spent three and a half seasons there before being packaged out to the Philadelphia Flyers, along with Ryan Parent and two draft picks, for Peter Forsberg in Feb. 2007.
This season, the Fort McMurray, Alta., native has 16 goals and 11 assists over 61 games.
Lepisto is a 26-year-old blueliner with 131 NHL games under his belt. Drafted by Washington in the third round (66th overall) in 2004, the Capitals traded him to the Coyotes for a fifth round selection in 2009.
The Espoo, Finland, native has four goals and seven assists through 51 games this season.
