Ducks trade Sean O'Donnell to Kings
KINGS-DUCKS FYI
Deal, which includes a conditional 2009 draft pick, should solve Anaheim's salary cap issues and gives L.A. a veteran defenseman to anchor a young back line.
In a deal that solves most of the Ducks' salary cap woes and gives the Kings the veteran they sought to anchor their young defense, the Ducks traded Sean O'Donnell to the Kings Tuesday for a conditional 2009 draft pick.
O'Donnell, 36, won't have to move far. While playing for the Ducks the last 2 1/2 seasons, he commuted to Anaheim from the South Bay home he bought during his first tour of duty with the Kings, from 1994-95 through 1999-2000.
The pick is a third-round selection that will be transferred only if the Kings trade O'Donnell elsewhere later this season. If the Kings keep him, the Ducks would not get the pick.
O'Donnell, who will earn $1.25 million this season, was not at Staples Center on Tuesday for the opener of a home-and-home exhibition series involving the two teams.
His departure leaves the Ducks a few hundred thousand dollars above the $56.7 million limit with the lineup they have projected. However, that shouldn't be a problem to fix before opening night. Bobby Ryan is part of their projections and now seems all but certain to make the team.
Adding O'Donnell's salary lifted the Kings slightly above the cap floor of $40.7 million. They're also trying to re-sign restricted free agent forward Patrick O'Sullivan, but talks remain at an impasse, more over length than money.
The trade was the second between the two franchises. Last February, the Kings traded goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin to the Ducks for a seventh-round pick in the 2008 entry draft.
helene.elliott@latimes.com
