Ducks Send Grimson, Ferner to Red Wings : Hockey: Two more expansion veterans depart, with a draft pick, to Detroit for Sillinger and York.

The few remaining original Mighty Ducks have noticed by now that their pictures on the dressing room wall are attached with nothing more than Velcro.

Stu Grimson’s portrait came down Tuesday when he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings, and it leaves a blank spot that other players wonder if anyone else can fill.

Grimson scored only one goal in two seasons, but more than any other player he was the heart, soul and fist of the Ducks.

“It’s a tough one, really tough,” said General Manager Jack Ferreira, who sent Grimson, defenseman Mark Ferner, also an original Mighty Duck, and a sixth-round pick in the 1996 draft to Detroit for two younger players, center Mike Sillinger and defenseman Jason York. “Stu does things for your team that don’t show up in the statistics.”

Grimson, a lumbering 6-foot-5 forward, was the first player on the ice for the first practice the team held, and he was the first person to suggest an alternative nickname--the Muscular Waterfowl. Within the walls of the dressing room, he was an eloquent leader who helped a bunch of discards respect the opportunity the expansion team had given them.

He made sure they got respect on the ice too.

“I walked over and thanked Stu before he left,” defenseman Bobby Dollas said. “He said, ‘What are you thanking me for?’ I said, ‘You stuck up for us a lot of times. That earns a lot of respect in my book.’

“Stu had a job and he did it well, and that’s why there’s a lot of demand for him.”

In Detroit, where the Western Conference-leading Red Wings are girding for the Stanley Cup playoffs, Grimson will take on a role once filled by Bob Probert and more recently by Darren McCarty, who badly cut his hand in a fight last week.

“It’s always difficult to say good-by to guys you bled and sweated with for a year and a half,” Grimson said. “I’ll miss the organization and especially the guys, but this is a good fallback plan. I’m excited and encouraged that an organization like Detroit feels like I can be a part of the chemistry.”

Grimson became more than just a fighter in Anaheim, and his evolution was part of what made him attractive to Detroit.

Until recently, it was almost impossible to think of the Ducks parting with Grimson, and they rejected inquiries from Scotty Bowman, Red Wing coach and director of player personnel, as recently as a month ago. But when Duck Coach Ron Wilson started to use only one of his two enforcers--Grimson or Todd Ewen--in the lineup, it became clear that one might be traded.

“It put into my mind that there was an option for the organization to leverage one of us,” Grimson said. “This team is growing, and they get two young players in Mike Sillinger and Jason York. I knew once they were content to go with Todd or myself this might happen.”

Wilson called the deal “a low-risk trade” since the Ducks have depth at Grimson’s and Ferner’s positions and both are 29.

Sillinger, a small, burly player with good speed who might become the Ducks’ No. 2 center, is 23 and a former first-round draft pick. He hasn’t played in the last 15 games and had asked to be traded because he was stuck behind Sergei Fedorov, Steve Yzerman, Keith Primeau and Kris Draper. It’s no great sin to be fifth on that depth chart.

York, 24, an offensive defenseman, has a good shot and might be able to help the Ducks’ dismal power play.

The biggest question, Wilson admitted, is whether the team can replace “the character part.”

“That’s something we’ll find out. The torch will be passed to younger players. That’s been the plan all along, to develop younger players and grow.”

Grimson and the other veterans have known for some time. Ewen thought he might be the one traded because he had sat out more often. Instead, he said goodby to a friend.

“Stuie and Ewie, it was like a twin combo. Nobody’s going to miss Stuie more than me, but I’m happy for his opportunity to go to Detroit and fill their void for an enforcer. We lost a great person.”

Ewen will see Grimson on April 21, when the Ducks play in Detroit. They have fought before, when Grimson played for Chicago and Ewen for Montreal.

“There are no friends in a hockey game,” Ewen said. “You’re friends before and after. If we bump heads together, I’ll be more than happy to go out and buy him a . . . well, he doesn’t drink, a Diet Coke. I’m sure he feels the same.”

Duck Notes

Left wing Denny Lambert has been called up from San Diego and left wing Tim Sweeney and defenseman David Williams were sent down. Lambert, 25, adds depth and toughness after the Stu Grimson trade--and Todd Ewen has a cut on his left hand and could barely hold a stick Tuesday. . . . More Grimson: “The fans really embraced the team and I felt as though they embraced me personally. We had our moments when we were weak-kneed in the first year and a half, but from opening night they supported us wholeheartedly.”