It’s official: Mathieu Schneider has been traded.
The defenseman and his $5.75 million contract are heading to Atlanta in exchange for defenseman Ken Klee, LW Brad Larsen and LW Chad Painchaud.
Schneider’s cap hit was $5.625 million. Klee’s is $1.25 million, Larsen’s is $535,000 and Painchaud’s $563,333. Doing the math, the Ducks get roughly $1 million below the $56.7 million salary cap.
Reports around the media had recently portrayed Atlanta as the front-runner in the monthlong Schneider sweepstakes, and the Thrashers were a logical destination for one big reason: At $15.8 million under the salary capaccording to NHLscap.com, they had plenty of room for his contract, moreso than nearly every top-tier team. Not to mention their tremendous room for improvement on the blueline. The 266 goals they allowed last year tied for worst in the league with Tampa Bay.
Of course, the Kings are themselves $17.8 million below the cap ceiling ($1.2 million below the cap floor) and Schneider lives within driving distance of Staples Center. The Kings’ future is a shade brighter, their team a shade younger than Atlanta’s … but apparently a 39-year-old defenseman is too risky an investment, even for just a year. Okayyyy.
But are the Ducks done dealing? Can they sign Selanne? Brian Burke will hold a teleconference shortly to clue us in. Stay tuned.
