Once Lane MacDermid cleared waivers Wednesday morning, it was pretty clear the Dallas Stars were going to send him to play in the AHL once Ray Whitney was healthy enough to give the team an extra body at forward.

But that won't happen now because the tough fourth liner has been traded to the Calgary Flames for a sixth-round draft pick.

Here's the word from the veritable Mike Heika:

Dallas trades Lane MacDermid to Calgary for a sixth round draft pick. More to come. — Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) November 22, 2013

This is a bit of a surprise given the Flames could have acquired MacDermid for free off the waiver wire, but players picked up off waivers are automatically assigned to the NHL roster, and as Heika Tweeted, Calgary also wanted the freedom to assign him to the minors and call him up when necessary.

MacDermid was acquired in the trade with the Boston Bruins for Jaromir Jagr; he came to Dallas along with Cody Payne, who is playing for the OHL's Saginaw Spirit, and a conditional first-round pick used to select center Jason Dickinson. He was on a one-year contract with a cap hit of $660,000 this season.

During his brief tenure in Dallas, MacDermid played in 12 games with two goals (both last season), two assists (both this season) and 14 penalty minutes, including two fights. He's played 20 career games with 29 penalty minutes and was the Stars de facto enforcer, though he hadn't played in three weeks at the time of the trade.

There are plenty of other Stars who can fight as well as earn regular ice time on the roster - Antoine Roussel and Brenden Dillon chief among them - but some still think the loss of a designated goon may be something the Stars regret.

Very interesting the Lane MacDermid trade to Calgary. I hope the Stars aren't counting on playing games where an enforcer is needed. — Bruce LeVine (@BruceLeVine22) November 22, 2013

Is this a move in isolation to get some return for a guy who was clearly not going to get much playing time in Dallas or the start of more things to come? We'll just have to wait and see.

Here's the official release from the team: