With the 2008 NHL entry draft nine days away, the Ducks used a trade Tuesday to improve their draft prospects, but it wasn’t a big one: Marc-Andre Bergeron was sent to Minnesota for the Wild’s third-round pick in the entry draft.
The Ducks are reported to be fielding offers to move up from #12 in the first round, and if anything, this only reinforces that Brian Burke is looking to get as many picks as he can — whether for keeps or for trades. Anaheim lost a third-round pick to the Islanders to get Bergeron at the trade deadline in the first place; now they’re back even, only moving down from #12 to #24 in the third round.
Bergeron didn’t do much for the Ducks. He filled in for Chris Pronger when Pronger was suspended 8 games late in March for stepping on Ryan Kesler. He finished with 1 assist in 9 games and didn’t play in the playoffs.
Still, since they’re trading a defenseman who’s already on the roster, can we read into it that Scott Niedermayer has told the Ducks he’s coming back? Probably not. If he doesn’t come back, with Niedermayer’s salary off the books, the Ducks will be able to afford a better defenseman than Bergeron. All this means is that Anaheim wanted more picks on the table heading into the draft, with or without Niedermayer and Selanne.