ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has acquired left wing Kip Brennan from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for defenseman Mark Popovic.

“Kip Brennan adds size and strength to our hockey club,” said Executive Vice President/General Manager Brian Burke. “We thought our team needed more of a physical presence and have addressed that over the last month.”

Brennan, 24 (8/27/80), has played in 46 career NHL games, scoring one goal with 175 penalty minutes. He played in 48 games with Chicago of the American Hockey League (AHL) last season, scoring 7-6=13 points with a team-leading 267 penalty minutes (PIM). In 18 Calder Cup playoff games, he posted 1-1=2 points with 105 PIM.

The 6-4, 230-pound native of Kingston, Ontario, split the 2003-04 season between the Los Angeles Kings, Manchester Monarchs (AHL) and Atlanta Thrashers. In 18 games with Los Angeles, Brennan scored one goal with 79 PIM. With Manchester, he was scoreless in two games played with six penalty minutes. In five games with Atlanta, Brennan was scoreless with 17 PIM.

Brennan was originally drafted by Los Angeles in the fourth round (103rd overall) of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. On March 9, 2004, Brennan was traded to Atlanta by Los Angeles in exchange for Jeff Cowan.