Ducks Trade Kasatonov, Acquire Prospect and Pick

Some other teams made moves for the playoff run Monday before the NHL’s trading deadline, but the Mighty Ducks made a deal for the future, trading veteran defenseman Alexei Kasatonov--their oldest and highest-paid player--to the St. Louis Blues for a prospect and a draft pick.

Kasatonov was the Ducks’ first All-Star, but at 34 is nearing the end of his career and has a year left on a contract paying him $650,000 this season. He has sat out the last 10 games recovering from a broken foot.

“I have a long hockey life, so I’m not surprised (to be traded),” Kasatonov said. “But I am surprised because I have an injury. I’m not ready to play. It’s still sore. Maybe after two games.”

The Ducks got left wing Maxim Bets, 20, a second-round draft pick last June, and St. Louis’ sixth-round pick in 1995.

Bets, six feet and 200 pounds, is from Chelyabinsk in the former Soviet Union. He is playing junior hockey with Spokane of the Western Hockey League this season, and has 116 points, including 46 goals, in 63 games. He might play for the Ducks this season, but will finish with his junior team first.

“He is the type of player who will provide us with additional offense and creativity,” Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira said. “Bets is someone who we project to play for the Mighty Ducks in the next year or two.”