Brian Burke made his first move as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, acquiring forward Brad May from his former club the Anaheim Ducks.
In exchange, the Ducks receive a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2010. The move reunites May and Burke for the third time, after sharing stints with the Ducks and Vancouver Canucks.
"Brad will provide character, toughness, and he is a proven winner," said Burke in a statement. "We look forward to the veteran leadership that he will give our team."
May, 37, is in the final year of a two-year contract that pays him $600,000 this season.
In 20 games with the Ducks in 2008-09, he has five assists and 28 penalty minutes. In 963 career games with Anaheim, Vancouver, Phoenix, Buffalo and Colorado, the Toronto native has 285 points and 2,121 penalty minutes.
Since taking over as team president and general manager in early December, Burke has said on numerous occasions that the Maple Leafs needed more toughness and character in the lineup, something that head coach Ron Wilson emphasized after Toronto's 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
"I was not very happy with the effort," said Wilson. "We had zero energy at all from any veteran players, to show up and lead the way. It was a quiet room before the game, it was quiet on the bench. We've got to find a way to get a little bit more passion or energy when we play a team like that."