Latest Trade Talks Center on Gratton

The Mighty Ducks are talking with the Buffalo Sabres about acquiring center Chris Gratton.

Gratton, 27, had 15 goals and 39 points for the Sabres last season. His best season was in 1996-97, when he had 30 goals and 62 points. He was the third pick in the 1993 draft, by Tampa Bay.

The Ducks would benefit from Gratton’s size--he’s 6 feet 4 and 226 pounds. The Ducks could part with a center as part of a deal. They have depth at the position with Adam Oates, Steve Rucchin, Matt Cullen, Andy McDonald, Samuel Pahlsson and Marc Chouinard.

Any deal, however, probably will have to wait until an owner is found for the financially strapped Sabres. In June, NHL officials took control of the team’s operations from John Rigas. The Rigas family also owns Adelphia Communications Corp., which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Gratton will make $2 million this season.

*

The Ducks signed Rucchin to a four-year deal worth about $12 million Monday.

Rucchin, 31, was once the center on the Ducks’ top line but has missed 108 of 162 games the last two seasons because of injuries.

He had seven goals and 23 points in 38 games last season.

“I’m pleased that the Ducks where confident enough to sign me to a long-term contract,” Rucchin said. “This is the place I wanted to be.”

Rucchin would have been an unrestricted free agent next summer and General Manager Bryan Murray said the team wanted to lock in the center.

“It’s hard to find big, strong center-ice men,” Murray said. “We want to make a commitment to the guys who have been there and performed well for this organization.”

Rucchin probably will yield some of his duties to Oates, who led the NHL in assists last season.

“Let’s be honest, Adam is a great player,” Rucchin said. “But we have more balance now and I know what I can do. Teams won’t be able to key on certain lines.”

*

Joffrey Lupul, the Ducks’ No. 1 draft pick in June, will miss at least part of training camp because of a hairline fracture in a vertebra. Lupul will attend the Ducks’ first rookie camp, which begins Sept. 5 at Disney Ice.

“I’m hoping partway through camp that the doctors will allow him to skate,” Murray said. “We want to see where he fits.”