Washington sheds salary in deal with Columbus

The Washington Capitals gained over $2 million in cap space today when they traded captain Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina to Columbus for forward Jason Chimera. Clark is in the middle of a three year deal with an annual cap hit of $2.633 million while Jurcina’s one-year, $1.375 million deal expires after this year.

Chimera is in his second year of a four year, $7.5 million contract that pays him $1.875 million per year.

Clark, 33, missed most of the past two seasons with injuries, but had a break out year in 2006-07 when he compiled 30 goals. Chimera, 30, had 17 points this season for Columbus.

What the deal mainly comes down to is trading Chimera for Clark. The Blue Jackets win because they need to add leadership and defense to its struggling team, while the Capitals need to clear cap space to sign its young players and make a move at the trade deadline.