ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have acquired defenseman Milan Jurcina from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Jurcina, 26, rejoins the Capitals after playing 27 games for Washington earlier this season before being sent to Columbus with Chris Clark in a Dec. 28, 2009, trade that brought Jason Chimera to the Capitals. He played 17 games for Columbus, recording one goal and two assists. He has one goal and six assists in 44 combined games this season. Jurcina recently represented Slovakia at the Olympics. He has a minor injury and may not be immediately available to play for the Capitals.

The 6’4”, 236-pound native of Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia, was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the eighth round, 241st overall in the 2001 NHL Draft. He has played in 319 career NHL games and has recorded 15 goals, 38 assists and 220 penalty minutes for Boston, Washington and Columbus.