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Devils acquire O'Donnell from Wild for Mitchell in defenseman swap
March 4, 2001
SportsLine.com wire reports




ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The New Jersey Devils filled their need for an experienced defenseman on Sunday by acquiring Sean O'Donnell from the Minnesota Wild for rookie defenseman Willie Mitchell and future considerations.

New Jersey was one of several teams pursuing O'Donnell, a 29-year-old who has four goals, 12 assists and 128 penalty minutes in 63 games.

The 6-3, 230-pound O'Donnell should step in as the Devils' sixth defenseman, a spot filled at times this season by Mitchell, fellow rookie Mike Commodore and Ken Sutton. Last year, New Jersey acquired veteran defenseman Vladimir Malakhov from Montreal before the trade deadline and went on to win the Stanley Cup.

O'Donnell has been durable, playing 80 games each of the previous three seasons. Minnesota claimed him in last year's expansion draft after he spent parts of six seasons with Los Angeles. He has 16 goals, 71 assists and 927 penalty minutes in 444 NHL games.

Mitchell, 23, made his NHL debut during the 1999-00 season and split this season between New Jersey and Albany of the American Hockey League. He had two assists and 29 penalty minutes in 16 games with the Devils.

"Mitchell is a young prospect that we are going to work on developing for the long-term success of the organization," Minnesota general manager Doug Risebrough said. "He's a defenseman that can play both ways and has a definite upside to his game."

This was the Wild's second trade in four days. On Thursday, they dealt experience for youth by sending leading scorer Scott Pellerin -- a former Devil -- to the Carolina Hurricanes for left wing Askhat Rakhmatullin, a 2001 third-round draft pick and future considerations.

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