Ducks Trade McInnis

The Mighty Ducks traded right wing Marty McInnis to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday for a third-round pick in the June draft.

The Ducks, who were “close” to being a playoff contender, according to General Manager Pierre Gauthier, seem to have taken a step back from that alleged status with Tuesday’s trade. They gave up a veteran, who had struggled this season, for a draft pick.

McInnis has nine goals, and only two in the last 30 games.

“We’re going to make changes and you start to look where to make the changes,” Gauthier said. “We have a lot younger players who are keepers. Marty has been good for us. Lately we have not been getting a lot for our money.”

That being the criteria, there may be a lot of changes during the off-season for the Ducks, some possibly off the ice. The Ducks have had 62 players and three head coaches in the last three-plus seasons. Only five players remain from the 1998-99 team that made the playoffs.

“Obviously I’m disappointed because I don’t get to finish what I started,” McInnis said. “But I kind of like where I’m going so that makes it a little easier. I look back on this as a positive experience. We didn’t win as many games as I would have liked, but there are good people there.”

McInnis was a fixture in the Duck lineup since he was acquired from Calgary during the 1998-99 season. He scored 18 goals that season, helping the Ducks reach the playoffs. He had 10 goals in 1999-2000, but was slowed by a groin injury that required off-season surgery. He had 20 goals last season.

Gauthier saw McInnis as part of the Ducks’ future last season when he signed him to a three-year contract extension worth $5 million.

But as this season began to unravel, McInnis, 31, and others s fell out of favor. He was among 10 players Gauthier put on the trading block in January.

McInnis is going home; he was born in Hingham, Mass., and played at Boston College. The Ducks recalled forward Timo Parssinen to replace him..