Severson, Popovic, Getzlaf Sent Down

The Mighty Ducks trimmed their roster to the opening-day limit Sunday by sending forward Cam Severson and defenseman Mark Popovic to minor league Cincinnati and returning forward Ryan Getzlaf to his junior team.

The only decision left to make is whether center Andy McDonald, who has recovered from post-concussion syndrome, starts the season on injured reserve. McDonald said he expects to be playing soon.

“Nothing is set in stone,” Coach Mike Babcock said. “I told guys that this is not their permanent address. I told them that [Samuel] Pahlsson and Jason Krog were not with this team at this point last season, and they are a big part of it now.”

Rookie Joffrey Lupul beat out Getzlaf for the last spot.

Getzlaf, 18, was the Ducks’ top pick in June and was not expected to make the team, but he made their decision difficult. In the end, Duck officials thought it was better that he go back to juniors, where he can play more minutes.

“He can go back and be a productive player, maybe make Team Canada for the World Juniors, and get himself to the point where he is ready to come back and be an NHL player,” General Manager Bryan Murray said. “If we were not a [playoff] contender, he would probably be here now getting experience. We are trying to win games, and we already have a couple kids. It wouldn’t be fair to deny Ryan the ice time he needs to become the player he can be.”

Murray said he would continue to try to get Getzlaf under contract for next season.

Lupul, the team’s No. 1 pick in 2002, will get a chance to show he’s ready. He probably will skate on the Ducks’ third line.

“I can be happy for a couple minutes, but then it is back to work,” Lupul said. “Now I have to prove I can do this every day.”

McDonald’s future may affect Lupul, or even second-year players Stanislav Chistov and Alexei Smirnov, who both had less-than-impressive training camps. McDonald said he would return within the next couple of weeks and did not rule out playing against Dallas in Wednesday’s opener.

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The Ducks’ opening-night payroll will be $54,191,750. That includes players on injured reserve. The team’s payroll at the end of last season was about $45 million.