I thought when the Blues finally made a move this season it would be shipping off one of the extra defensemen for some offensive help. Swapping out a 35 year old center in Doug Weight for a 30 year old center in Andy McDonald simply was not what I was expecting. We also sent minor leaguer Michal Birner and a low rent draft pick to Anaheim as well.
Weight was a good member of the Blues, and showed his loyalty to the organization by waiving his no trade clause. This deal looks to make the Blues better. Weight wasn't really clicking with any of the forwards we have nowadays, although he picked up some points of late. Weight certainly should be able to help a talented team like the Ducks, so it isn't as if the Blues fleeced anybody.
Still....this is a really good move for the Note. McDonald may not be the flashiest player out there, but he is a proven goal scorer as well as a set up man. If I remember correctly, he plays a strong two-way game as well, so he should fit right into the scheme the Blues have been playing under Andy Murray.
With T.J. Oshie in the pipeline, the Blues should be set at center for a little while.
This isn't a blockbuster, but it is yet another solid move.
UPDATE: Here is THN take, Blues win deal, but is more in store for Ducks?
There are a couple of questions you have to ask yourself when assessing the trade the Anaheim Ducks made Friday.
No. 1, are the Ducks a better team with Scott Niedermayer and Doug Weight than they were without Niedermayer and with Andy McDonald in the lineup?
No. 2, is this part of a bigger series of moves for the Ducks?
What we do know is that in order to get the tagging money they needed to get Niedermayer back into the lineup, they had to acquire a contract that was due to expire after the season. As it turns out, Weight's deal is up after this season, which gives the Ducks an additional $3.5 million in tagging room, far more than the $900,000 they needed to activate Niedermayer.
McDonald, by comparison, is in the second of a three-year deal that pays him $3.33 million per season.
It's hard to believe that the Ducks got anything close to the better of this deal. Even though McDonald has had a sub-par season, he's six years younger than Weight and is coming off seasons of 85 and 78 points. Weight, on the other hand, has slowed down considerably over the past few seasons and it would seem a stretch to expect him to effectively step into the second-line center role vacated by McDonald, behind No. 1 center Ryan Getzlaf.
...
I can't help but think that's what behind all of this. Brian Burke is one of the top GMs in the league and he's not in the habit of getting fleeced in trades, even when he's not dealing from a position of strength.
That seems about right. The Blues needed the player and the Ducks needed some flexibility and someone who can be a second line center for the rest of the season and the playoffs.
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