FLAMES ACQUIRE VALIEV, TAORMINA FROM MONTREAL

The Calgary Flames announced today that they have acquired defencemen Rinat Valiev and Matt Taormina from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenceman Brett Kulak.
Rinat Valiev, a 23-year-old native of Nizhnekamsk, Russia, was originally draft in the third round (68th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He spent 40 games with the AHL's Toronto Marlies netting five goals and adding 10 assists for 15 points and 26 penalty minutes before being moved at the trade deadline to Montreal where he played an additional five games with the Laval Rockets, scoring once and adding a pair of assists. He also played two games with the Montreal Canadiens during the 2017-18 season.
RINAT VALIEV - DEFENCEMAN
BORN: Nizhnekamsk, RUS DATE: May 11, 1995
HEIGHT: 6'3'' WEIGHT: 214 lbs.
SHOOTS:Left
Matt Taormina, a 31-year-old native of Warren, MI, was the third highest scoring defenceman in the American Hockey League last season where he put up four goals and 48 assists for 52 points in 63 games with Montreal's AHL affiliate, the Laval Rockets. The veteran blueliner with over 550 games of pro experience was an AHL first team all-star and was awarded the Eddie Shore award as the AHL's best defenceman in 2017.
MATT TAORMINA - DEFENCEMAN
BORN:Warren, MI DATE:October 20, 1986
HEIGHT:5'10'' WEIGHT:190 lbs.
SHOOTS: Left