Andy McDonald, a key member of the Anaheim Ducks' Stanley Cup championship team last season, was traded Friday to the St. Louis Blues for Doug Weight, Michal Birner and a seventh-round draft pick. McDonald, in the second year of a three-year, $10 million contract, had 27 goals and 51 assists in 82 games last season, and played in his first NHL All-Star game.

But his production slipped dramatically this season (four goals and 12 assists in 33 games), likely due to the absence of former linemate Teemu Selanne. With Selanne on his wing, McDonald emerged as a point-per-game forward, and it seems no coincidence that his numbers fell precipitously without Selanne.

Ducks GM Brian Burke called McDonald "one of the better players ever to wear a Ducks uniform," adding that "moving a guy like Andy is tough." But Burke believes Weight might be a better fit for the Ducks now. "I know he can pass and he can compete," he said.

When Scott Niedermayer announced that he would be returning to the Ducks, it meant that Anaheim would once again possess a Stanley Cup-caliber defense corps. But it also meant that GM Brian Burke would be forced into some tough decision-making in order to fit Niedermayer under the salary cap, not only for this season but also for 2008-09. Weight's contract expires at the end of this season, while McDonald will be due $3.3 million in 2008-09, likely the impetus behind this otherwise questionable deal.

Another concern for the Ducks is forward Cory Perry, who is due to become a restricted free agent this summer. After seeing the egregious deals handed out to the likes of Thomas Vanek and Dustin Penner last summer, Burke would like to avoid getting to that point with Perry. And this McDonald trade, in addition to clearing the $900,000 (for 2008-09) needed to bring Niedermayer aboard, also gives Burke some much-needed flexibility where Perry's concerned.

From the Blues' standpoint, adding McDonald makes them younger and better, for both this season and next. The Blues' top line of Keith Tkachuk, Paul Kariya, and Brad Boyes has been amongst the league's best, and so it appears likely that McDonald will line up alongside Lee Stempniak to form 2/3 of what should be a very dangerous second scoring line.