Chipchura a Duck

The Canadiens announced today that former 1st round pick Kyle Chipchura has been traded to the Anaheim Ducks for a 4th round pick in the 2011 draft. As I mentioned in yesterdays post it appeared his time in Montreal was nearing the end so this move is really no surprise. The Habs picked Chipchura 18th overall in the 2004 draft hoping he would continue to develop as a top notch checking forward. A sliced achilles tendon the season after his draft year appeared to hurt his skating even further and he was never able to solidify a full time spot with the big club because of it. A former captain of the Canadian World Junior gold medal winning team, many felt he would develop into a Bob Gainey type leader. This season has been a disaster for Chipchura going pointless in 19 games with 16 PIM's and a awful -10. He leaves the Habs with 4 goals and 10 assists in 68 career games along with 31 PIM's and a -17.

It's always difficult to give up on a former 1st round pick, but it was clear that Chipchura wasn't in Martin's plans for this team going forward. The games he did play he was used sparingly, especially in his last 4, playing less than 6 minutes each game. He appeared to be trying to do too much in his last few games with his limited ice time, causing turnovers by holding on to the puck for too long. Best of luck to Chips, you were a guy that always worked hard, but had limited upside due to skating issues.