The Canadiens drafted Kyle Chipchura 18th overall in 2004, but he never made the club's roster full-time. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)The Montreal Canadiens have traded forward Kyle Chipchura to the Anaheim Ducks for a fourth-round pick in 2011, the team said Wednesday, ending a disappointing tenure with the club that drafted him 18th overall in 2004.
The 23-year-old hasn't notched a point for the Habs in 19 games this season since re-signing over the summer and has seen his ice time dwindle to an average of nine minutes a game.
In his latest contest, against Toronto on Tuesday, Chipchura was only on the ice for two minutes but was saddled with a minus-two for the night as the Leafs beat the Canadiens 3-0.
After being drafted, Chipchura bounced between the Habs' AHL affiliate in Hamilton and the big club in Montreal, finally cracking the Canadiens lineup for 36 games in 2007-08. He notched four goals and seven assists in that span.
In 2008-09, he had three assists in 13 games for Montreal, while tallying 14 goals and 21 assists for Hamilton during the season.
Chipchura has had much more success in the minors and junior. He won the Calder Cup with Hamilton in 2007 and was captain of the Canadian world junior team that won gold in 2006.
It's the second move by the Habs in the span of a week and a half, as Montreal dealt forward Guillaume Latendresse to the Minnesota Wild for forward Benoit Pouliot on Nov. 23.
