DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings acquired Mathieu Schneider from the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday in a bid to strengthen their defense for a run at another Stanley Cup.

	The Red Wings are confident that Mathieu Schneider fits into their style of play.

The Red Wings gave up center Sean Avery and defenseman Maxim Kuznetsov in a deal hours before the trade deadline. The Kings also will receive Detroit's first-round pick in the 2003 draft and Detroit's second-round pick in 2004.

"I'm very excited to get the chance to win the Stanley Cup. And if there was one team I wanted to go to it was the Detroit Red Wings,'' Schneider said.

The 33-year-old Schneider, a member of Montreal's 1992-93 Stanley Cup-winning team, is earning $3.5 million this season. He was second on the Kings in scoring with 14 goals and 29 assists. This will be his sixth NHL club.

"I call him a top-four defenseman,'' Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "He can play minutes. He averages 22 minutes with L.A. He plays in every situation.''

Detroit assistant general manager Jim Nill added: "He's a puck-moving defenseman, and he fits into the type of game we play.''

Schneider, in his third season with the Kings, scored in a 3-2 loss to Detroit on Monday night in Los Angeles. He will join the team in Phoenix on Wednesday and is expected to play that night.

		Tues., March 11 This is a great move for Detroit and one it had to make. Mathieu Schneider is a terrific defenseman who can really skate and moves the puck well. He instantly becomes the second-best defenseman on that team behind Nicklas Lidstrom. The Red Wings payed a high price to get Schneider, especially when you consider the first- and second-round picks they gave up, but he will be a tremendous help. He passes well in the neutral zone, and he'll sure look nice entering the offensive zone and feeding Brett Hull for a one-timer. Plus, he gives the Wings some depth with the uncertainty surrounding Jiri Fischer's knee injury.

"A veteran hockey team. I think it'll be a good transition,'' Schneider said. "They do a lot of the things that I do well, like move the puck.''

It is the sixth time in seven seasons the Red Wings pulled off a deadline deal for a defenseman.

A year ago, Detroit picked up Atlanta's Jiri Slegr. In 1999, the Red Wings traded for Chicago's Chris Chelios. They acquired Todd Gill from Phoenix in 2000, Dmitri Mironov from the Mighty Ducks in 1998, and Larry Murphy from Toronto in 1997. Of that group, only Chelios is still with the team.

"I'd like to be able to bring the same things I've done in L.A. I try to play a solid two-way game: offense and defense,'' Schneider said.

The Kings made another move before the trade deadline, sending center Bryan Smolinski to the Eastern Conference-leading Ottawa Senators for the rights to highly regarded defenseman Tim Gleason.

Smolinski is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. The Kings' only All-Star this season, Schneider will earn $3.75 million next season in the final year of his contract.

Schneider was a member of Montreal's 1992-93 Stanley Cup team. He also played for the New York Islanders, Toronto and the New York Rangers.

Nill said the Red Wings will miss the feisty play of Avery, who had five goals and 120 penalty minutes in 39 games this season.

"To do any trade for an elite player, there's a price you pay,'' Nill said.