The Stars on Friday got a head start on Wednesday's NHL trade deadline, sending winger Patrick Eaves to the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional draft pick.

There are plenty of conditions tied to the pick, but the deal is a lot like the move that sent Jaromir Jagr to the Boston Bruins in 2013 and landed Dallas the 29th overall pick that allowed them to select Jason Dickinson that year.

Toronto has three second-round draft picks this year and made a deal that Anaheim would get the middle one as part of the Frederik Andersen trade last June. Dallas now owns that pick, which will be the middle of Ottawa, San Jose and Toronto once the draft order is announced. Should the Ducks win their first two rounds in the playoffs and Eaves plays in 50 percent of those games, the pick elevates to Anaheim's first-round pick.

"I started talking with Anaheim in the last week, and they kind of targeted him," Stars general manager Jim Nill said. "He's a low cap hit, and they started pursuing him pretty hard. It got to the point where the price they were willing to pay to get him was something we had to do."

Eaves, 32, has had a career-best season with the Stars. The injury-prone Eaves has played in 59 of 60 games and has 21 goals and 16 assists for 37 points. Eaves suffered a foot injury early in the year and has participated in almost no practices or morning skates. He pretty much just skates in warmups and plays in games.

"It is what it is, so I'm just trying to put everything into games," he said earlier this month.

Eaves told NHL Radio he is ready to join the 32-20-10 Ducks, who sit comfortably in a playoff spot. He could make his Anaheim debut as soon as Saturday.

"You just know you're going to have a tough time every time you play against the Ducks," Eaves said. "It's a team I'm joining and I'm really excited about that, just because of the way they play and the way they're positioned in the playoff hunt."

Nill has known Eaves for years and saw him as a reclamation project after a broken jaw and concussions almost ended Eaves' career. The Stars signed Eaves in 2014 and helped him get things going again, and Nill said he is hoping for the best for Eaves.

"I told him, 'Go there and win the Stanley Cup. You deserve it,'" Nill said.

That said, Stars players would have liked to have given Eaves that chance in Dallas this season.

"It's unfortunate. You almost feel a little bit guilty because it's the product of the season that we've had," said veteran center Jason Spezza, who also played with Eaves in Ottawa. "You lose good people and good players. He's one of the only guys that can say he's had a great year. When you lose a guy like that because of the situation we're in, you've got to look at yourself in the mirror a little bit. It's frustrating to lose a guy like that because you want to be adding this time of year, not subtracting."

Stars captain Jamie Benn said he regrets having to see Eaves go.

"He's one of the most unselfish guys I've ever played with. A great teammate and a great guy. That was tough news to hear," Benn said. "We put ourselves in this situation. I wish we hadn't put ourselves in this situation."

Eaves signed a one-year deal for $1 million this season, and that was one reason his trade got done quickly. He fits for teams that are tight against the salary cap.

Depending on what Anaheim decides to do with Eaves, he could become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and could re-sign with the Stars. But he would command a much higher salary at that time.

"He's probably been our MVP of the season. He's got 21 goals, played great for us and done a great job," Nill said. "You can put him anywhere in the lineup. He can kill penalties, be on the power play, he does all the little things right in the offensive zone."

So doesn't trading that player signal a waving of the white flag for a Stars team that sits nine points out of a playoff spot after Friday's victory? Couldn't that create a negative environment for Dallas' players?

"I'm not too worried about it," Nill said. "The coaches and the players, they have their job. My job is to look at the franchise today, tomorrow, and in the future, and we have to do what's right. I think the players know that. The players know they have to do their job."

The NHL trade deadline is at 2 p.m. Wednesday, and the Stars still have players they could move. Patrick Sharp is a three-time Cup winner, so he has great value. However, he has missed 26 games with concussions this season and has a $5.9 million salary-cap hit. Defenseman Johnny Oduya also could draw interest, but he has missed 15 games with an ankle injury and probably needs to play at least one game. He could return to the ice Sunday against Boston.

"There's lots of talk going on. It's that time of year," Nill said. "You have a deadline, and when you have a deadline, it brings things closer together."