Suddenly, the Ducks Get a Lot Stronger

ST. LOUIS —  The Mighty Ducks toughened themselves up with one final deal before the NHL trading deadline passed Wednesday, getting veteran enforcer Ken Baumgartner from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fourth-round pick in the upcoming draft.

“It’s just going to make us a harder team to play against,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “With Baumer coming in, it makes it much harder to push us around.”

A former King, Baumgartner has played for the Maple Leafs the last four seasons and has 1,703 penalty minutes in nine NHL seasons.

Todd Ewen, the Ducks’ lone enforcer, has been carrying the load against other teams’ increasingly physical tactics recently. Wilson said Ewen is “on the razor’s edge” because he has already drawn two NHL suspensions for accumulating too many game misconducts and will receive an automatic three-game suspension if he gets another. Rookie Jeremy Stevenson, 21, had been his backup.

“I just thought we had to get tougher,” said General Manager Jack Ferreira, who made seven trades in the final two months before the deadline, including the blockbuster for Teemu Selanne.

Baumgartner, 30, became expendable in Toronto with the addition of such physical players as Tie Domi, Nick Kypreos and Wendel Clark and had appeared in only three of the last 10 games.

Though he was disappointed to leave his loyal fan following in Toronto, Baumgartner was eager for the chance to play and praised the Anaheim organization.

“Now that they have a very competitive, up-and-coming team, the thought now is that you’re moving to the Ducks, not moving to Donald’s team,” he said. “They’ve got a talent base of skilled players who will be there for years to come.

“Toronto is a few points ahead right now, but Anaheim is on a nice roll, five in a row. I read that’s a franchise record, and this is a great time of year to have that kind of confidence.”

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In other deals, the Vancouver Canucks added punch and scoring punch by acquiring enforcer Joe Kocur from the New York Rangers for minor-league goalie Kay Whitmore and by trading right wing Alek Stojanov to Pittsburgh for winger Markus Naslund, who had 19 goals and 53 points in 66 games.

The Canucks, who have lost six consecutive games, didn’t complete a much-rumored deal for Buffalo center Pat LaFontaine. However, they did get center Jesse Belanger from the Florida Panthers for future considerations. Belanger had 17 goals and 38 points.

Whitmore, a backup most of his career, gives the Rangers insurance should Mike Richter get hurt again. Richter on Tuesday returned from his second pulled groin muscle of the season. Kocur became expendable when the Rangers got Shane Churla and Marty McSorley from the Kings last week.

The high-scoring Penguins picked up left wing Kevin Miller from the San Jose Sharks for a fifth-round draft pick this year and future considerations. Miller, 30, was second on the Sharks with 22 goals, but the Sharks are intent on rebuilding as they end their first non-playoff season in three years. The Penguins also got offensive-oriented defenseman J.J. Daigneault from St. Louis for a sixth-round pick this year.

The Buffalo Sabres, whose playoff chances have virtually disappeared, continued to clear out veterans when they sent center Dave Hannan to the Colorado Avalanche for a sixth-round pick this year and traded forward Yuri Khmylev and an eighth-round draft pick to St. Louis for a 1996 second-round pick the Blues had previously gotten from Ottawa, a third-round pick in 1997 and junior defenseman Jean-Luc Grand Pierre.

The Chicago Blackhawks dealt scoring for toughness by sending defenseman Igor Ulanov, left wing Patrick Poulin and a second-round pick to Tampa Bay for defenseman Enrico Ciccone--one of the NHL’s most-penalized players with 258 penalty minutes--and a second-round pick. The Blackhawks also got rookie winger Ravil Gusmanov from the Winnipeg Jets for a fourth-round pick.

Veteran center Pat Conacher, who began the season with the Kings, was traded for the second time when the Calgary Flames sent him to the New York Islanders with a 1997 second-round pick for center Bob Sweeney. The Islanders will be Conacher’s sixth team.

Also, the Detroit Red Wings acquired right wing Kirk Maltby from the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Daniel McGillis, who is still in college. Maltby had two goals in 49 games.

In addition, Winnipeg claimed Dallas Eakins off waivers from the St. Louis Blues.

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Dealing Ducks

Mighty Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira has made seven trades since the All-Star break. The Ducks were 16-26-5, in sixth place in the Pacific Division and six points out of a playoff berth on Jan. 21. They were 28-36-6, fourth in the division and one point out of a playoff berth when the trading deadline passed Wednesday. Here’s a look at Ferreira’s deals:

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Date Acquired Dealt 3/20 Ken Baumgartner Fourth-round pick to Toronto 3/19 Anatoli Semenov* Brian Wesenberg to Philadelphia 3/15 Roman Oksiuta Mike Sillinger to Vancouver 3/8 Mike Torchia Todd Krygier to Washington 2/7 Teemu Selanne** Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky to Winnipeg 2/6 Chris Herperger Bob Corkum to Philadelphia 1/21 Jim Campbell Robert Dirk to Montreal

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* Also acquired rights to Mike Crowley, a standout defenseman at University of Minnesota.

** Also acquired rights to Marc Chouinard and a fourth-round pick in 1996 draft (sent to Toronto Wednesday) and sent a third-round pick in the ’96 draft to Winnipeg.

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Helene Elliott contributed to this story.