Jason Chimera, pictured, was traded by the Columbus Blue Jackets to Washington for the Capitals' Milan Jurcina and Chris Clark. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The Columbus Blue Jackets swapped left winger Jason Chimera to the Washington Capitals for right winger Chris Clark and defenceman Milan Jurcina on Monday.

The 30-year-old Chimera, from Edmonton, Alta., has split his 11 NHL seasons between Columbus and the Edmonton Oilers. He has eight goals and nine assists in 39 games for the Blue Jackets this season.

"We needed a guy that was a little more physical and plays with an edge," Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He can be a really good energy guy."

"We just thought it was the right trade for us right now," Capitals general manager George McPhee explained. "We had extra defencemen all year and it's not a great situation to be in [and] we just had too many right wingers and not enough left wingers."

Clark, 33, leaves during his fifth season with the Capitals, his fourth as captain.

Jurcina, 26, was in his fourth campaign with Washington. The six-foot-four Czech blue-liner had six goals and 30 assists in 211 NHL games.

"We're acquiring a defenceman who's going to solidify our group," Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson said. "Chris Clark's been a captain there.

"It's not very often that you get to acquire a captain, so he'll bring a veteran, leadership presence to our team, which will be very beneficial to our group."

With files from The Associated Press