Ducks Trade McCarthy; Getzlaf to Play Tonight

The Anaheim Ducks have found a way to rid themselves of Steve McCarthy’scontract this season. The team announced that the veteran defenseman has been traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for some stick tape and a used pair of shin pads. Actually he was traded for future considerations, but I’m guessing it’s based on the Thrashers making the playoffs this year which is a tall task considering Ilya Kovalchuk will probably be traded. Future considerations typically involves a low draft pick if a certain performance metric is attained, usually a team making the playoffs or a player playing a certain amount of NHL games.

McCarthy became expendable when several younger Ducks players outplayed in during the preseason and training camp. McCarthy was able to collect one assist in two preseason games, and also had 7 penalty minutes. McCarthy played in Russia’s KHL last year with his last NHL action coming as a member of the same Thrashers team that he has been dealt to.

In other news, Ryan Getzlaf is expected to play tonight after taking part in his first two full practices the last two days. Getzlaf had off-season sports hernia surgery. Erik Christensen, still recovering from a shoulder injury, is not expected to play.