Ducks Deal Away Two Old-Timers

The Mighty Ducks made a big splash in landing free-agent defenseman Scott Niedermayer this month and created another stir in bringing back popular goal-scorer Teemu Selanne on Monday, but those moves and others eventually came at a cost in the new age of the NHL’s salary cap.

Steve Rucchin and Mike Leclerc, two gritty forwards who had spent their careers with the team, were traded Tuesday as the Ducks maneuvered to create room under the $39-million cap.

Rucchin was sent to the New York Rangers for minor-league enforcer Trevor Gillies and a conditional draft pick in 2007, and Leclerc was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes for a conditional pick in 2007.

The moves free up $3.4 million for Duck General Manager Brian Burke, but he also may have opened himself to fan backlash by trading away two productive, home-grown players.

“This job is not a popularity contest,” Burke said. “I’m not running for office. I’m being paid to win games. I don’t expect these trades to be popular ones.”

In a twist, Rucchin is leaving as Selanne returns to the Ducks after signing a one-year, $1-million deal. Rucchin centered the high-scoring line with Selanne on his right and Paul Kariya on his left for five seasons.

The 34-year-old veteran took over the role of captain when Kariya left for Colorado after the 2002-03 season, when the two helped power the Ducks to within one game of a Stanley Cup title. Rucchin said he was excited about possibly reuniting with Selanne but also expected that a trade would occur.

“There’s no question I knew something had to be done with the team,” said Rucchin, who averaged 43 points in 10 seasons and is the team’s all-time leader in games played with 616. “Guys were signing, and the salaries were moving up against the cap. By no means did it come as a surprise to me.

“No question I was excited about Teemu coming back. There was the potential of playing together with a great player and a great friend, but it didn’t work out. It’s unfortunate, but it’s also part of the business.”

The acquisition of Selanne wasn’t a significant financial risk, but it put the Ducks at the salary-cap threshold.

With Sergei Fedorov, Rob Niedermayer and Andy McDonald in place, the expected signing today of Samuel Pahlsson and the possibility of Zenon Konopka’s or Ryan Getzlaf’s making the team out of training camp, the Ducks had a surplus of centers and trading away Rucchin and his $2.26-million salary became attractive.

“These are tough trades to make,” Burke said. “No question they were economically motivated. Our greatest depth was at center, and that’s where the interest was.”

Leclerc will make $1.14 million this season after accepting the Ducks’ qualifying offer on Aug. 11. The trades leave the Ducks at about $35 million committed to 17 players, counting the $1.8-million qualifying offer on the table to defenseman Ruslan Salei.

Burke said that his ideal amount would be $37 million and that he would pursue adding some more toughness, perhaps an enforcer to fill a spot on the wings. The extra money, he said, probably will be used to make a deal during the season and not to speed up the process of re-signing Salei to a multiyear deal.

Salei will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

“We’re down to where we thought it was critical to have a cushion there,” Burke said. “To start the season bumping up against [$39 million] makes no sense to me.”

Leclerc, 28, spent eight seasons with the Ducks and was an instrumental player in their run to the 2003 Stanley Cup finals. He had a career-high 20 goals and 44 points in 2001-02 but has also been saddled with knee injuries in recent years.

In the last NHL season, Leclerc sat out the first 55 games because of an injured left knee and sat out the last 17 after undergoing arthroscopic surgery because of recurring pain. He had a goal and three assists in only 10 games.

Rucchin, who played in all 82 games in 2003-04 and had 20 goals and 23 assists, took the news in stride and looked forward to joining the Rangers.

“The hockey was great here,” he said. “Orange County will always be home to me, and I wish the organization nothing but success.”