"In a deal that solves most of the Ducks' salary cap woes and gives the Kings the veteran they sought to anchor their young defense, the Ducks traded Sean O'Donnell to the Kings on Tuesday for a conditional 2009 draft pick.

O'Donnell, 36, won't have to move far. While playing for the Ducks the last 2 1/2 seasons, he commuted to Anaheim from the South Bay home he bought during his first tour of duty with the Kings, from 1994-95 through 1999-2000.

The pick is a third-round selection that will be transferred only if the Kings trade O'Donnell elsewhere later this season. If the Kings keep him, the Ducks would not get the pick.

O'Donnell, who will earn $1.25 million this season, was not at Staples Center on Tuesday for the opener of a home-and-home exhibition series involving the two teams.

His departure leaves the Ducks a few hundred thousand dollars above the $56.7-million limit with the lineup they have projected. However, that shouldn't be a problem to fix before opening night. Bobby Ryan is part of their projections and now seems all but certain to make the team.

Adding O'Donnell's salary lifted the Kings slightly above the cap floor of $40.7 million. They're also trying to re-sign restricted free agent forward Patrick O'Sullivan, but talks remain at an impasse, more over length than money.

The trade was the second between the two franchises. Last February, the Kings traded goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin to the Ducks for a seventh-round pick in the 2008 entry draft.

Ducks General Manager Brian Burke thanked O'Donnell for his efforts, especially during the team's 2007 Cup run but acknowledged that economics drove the deal.

"We're in a situation where we had to move some money and we may not be done yet, but we thank him and wish him well," Burke said.

The amount of money he must still move "depends on the configuration of the lineup," he said, but he added he would like to have the option of keeping Ryan.

"We're exploring other avenues and we can't do that then we're going to have to start without him," Burke said. "I've been over that with Bobby. He understands.""