ANAHEIM, Calif. (CP) - The Anaheim Mighty Ducks have claimed centre Todd Marchant off waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Marchant had been rumoured to be part of the blockbuster deal that saw star centre Sergei Fedorov shipped to Columbus from Anaheim last Tuesday, but refused to waive a no-trade clause.

The Jackets have since been trying to move the 32-year-old checking centre. The club needed to shed salary after acquiring Fedorov, who counts for $6.08 million US a season through 2007-08. The Jackets stood at just over $37 million in payroll before losing Marchant and wanted more breathing room under the $39-million salary cap.

Marchant is earning $2.47 million this season and has three more years on his deal after that paying him $2.47 million in 2006-07, $2.47 million in 2007-08 and $2.66 million in 2008-09.

Marchant cleared waivers last week and the Jackets put him on waivers again this weekend before the Ducks finally claimed him.

The Jackets did not want to assign Marchant to the AHL and then call him back up on re-entry waivers, in which case a team such as Anaheim could have claimed the centre for only half of his contract with Columbus paying the other half. More importantly, the Jackets would have been charged half of that salary against their salary cap for the next four seasons.

The Ducks, instead, inherited a full contract and salary cap hit Monday.

Marchant had three goals and six assists in 18 games this season, his second with the Jackets after leaving Edmonton and signing a free-agent contract in Columbus in the summer of 2003.