The Ducks have acquired center Mathieu Perreault from the Washington Capitals in exchange for left wing John Mitchell and a fourth-round selection in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

"It was a little bit of a shock, but I'm very excited to get a chance to come to this organization," Perreault said. "Things were good in Washington, but I feel like this will be a good fit for me. Bruce knows me from before, and I'm very excited."

Perreault, 25 (1/5/88), has appeared in 159 career NHL games with Washington, scoring 33-37=70 points with a +17 rating and 70 penalty minutes (PIM). He has also played 11 career Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Capitals, posting 1-3=4 points. Perreault has won over half of his faceoff attempts in each of his first two full NHL seasons, going a combined 397-for-776 (51.2) since 2011-12.

"Adding a young, quality center to the mix makes us that much deeper," said Ducks executive Vice President and General Manager Bob Murray. "I thought we needed some additional speed and scoring, and he is a feisty competitor. Having played under Bruce was also a factor in acquiring him, that's another positive. He makes us a better team today."



Selected by Washington in the sixth round (177th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Perreault made his NHL debut in 2009-10 under current Anaheim Head Coach Bruce Boudreau. He set several career highs in 2011-12, including goals (16), assists (14), points (30), plus/minus (+9) and games played (64). Perreault appeared in 39 games with the Capitals last season, earning 6-11=17 points with a +7 rating and 20 PIM. He played in all seven Eastern Conference Quarterfinal games against the New York Rangers, co-leading the team in scoring (1-3=4), assists and plus/minus (+3).

A native of Drummondville, Quebec, Perreault played three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with Acadie-Bathurst from 2005-08. He won the Jean Beliveau Trophy as the league’s leading scorer in 2007-08 (34-80=114 in 65 games) and earned the Michel Briere Trophy as the league’s MVP in 2006-07 after scoring 41-78=119 points in 67 games

Mitchell, 27 (7/10/86), collected 10-4=14 points with 48 PIM in 61 games with Norfolk of the American Hockey League (AHL) last season, setting a career high in goals. Signed as a free agent on May 3, 2012, Mitchell has appeared in 171 career AHL games, scoring 27-24=51 points with 135 PIM. He also played four Calder Cup Playoff games in 2012, scoring one goal (1-0=1) with Syracuse.