Anaheim Ducks Should Make A Deal With Tampa Bay
If you watched the majority of the NHL’s western and eastern conference finals games from this past season, you probably noticed that three of the four teams all had one thing in common, defense. Unfortunately, the one team that didn’t share the common trend of an above average cup caliber blue-line was the Anaheim Ducks.
Chicago had Duncan Keith and a solidified top four with Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook. Tampa Bay had their young star Victor Hedman breakthrough to lead them to the cup finals alongside veterans Braydon Coburn, Matt Carle and Anton Stralman. The Rangers had arguably the deepest blue-line due to acquisitions of Dan Boyle and Keith Yandle to play along side Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi and Marc Staal.
The Ducks however, had 4 defensemen under the age of 25, an aging veteran in Francois Beauchemin who was noticeably beginning to slowly decline and a third pairing guy in Clayton Stoner who was playing far to many minutes for a guy who does most of his damage with his gloves off.
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The result was a predictable one if you were basing it off of defensive talent and depth. The Hawks and Lightning reached the cup finals. The Rangers came close but lost a tough game 7 and the Ducks collapsed in game 7 once again and their defense appeared as though it was not cup caliber by any means.
For this reason, Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray should have Tampa Bay’s general manager Steve Yzerman on speed dial.
Heres why.
There have been a number of reports surfacing about concerns over a contract extension for Tampa Bay’s captain Steven Stamkos. Arguably one of the most talented offensive players in the league, Stamkos deserves a deal paying him north of $10 million per year.
The issue is that the Lightning have minimal cap space for this season and like the Ducks, they also have a number of young players needing new deals next summer. To make this problem even worse, there is future salary cap concern due to the value of the Canadian dollar diminishing.
There have been reports stating that the uncertainty of Canada’s economy is causing multiple GM’s around the league to take a step back from contract talks until the future becomes more clear.
So, with one simple move the Lightning can shed some salary to get the Stamkos deal done and the Ducks can add a much needed piece to their blue-line.
Tampa Bay is actually over the salary cap limit at the moment. They will need to make a move somewhere and somehow to get under the $71.4 million salary cap for this upcoming season. Beyond that, Stamkos, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, J.T. Brown, Cedric Paquette, Braydon Coburn, Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikita Nesterov all need new deals when they hit free agency next summer.
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The issue is that with the Canadian dollar value diminishing, the salary cap may only rise to around $73 or $74 million for next season. If this is the case, Tampa Bay would have somewhere between $24 and $26 million in cap space next summer to re-sign all of the before mentioned players.
Take $10 or $11 million off of that number as that is what Stamkos will be making if he gets a contract extension, and Steve Yzerman would then be looking at $14 or $15 million in cap space to re-sign seven very important players next summer. Yikes.
Here’s one quick fix for Yzerman, trade a defensemen.
Tampa Bay’s blue-line carries a cap hit of nearly $29 million for this upcoming season. That doesn’t seem like much until you realize that their defense is accounting for nearly 40% of the Lightning’s cap hit. To put this in comparison, the Ducks defense is accounting for 24% of Anaheim’s 2015-2016 cap hit.
Anton Stralman, Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn all carry a cap hit north of $4 million for this upcoming season. Stralman and Carle are under contract for the next couple of years while Coburn becomes a free agent next summer.
Stralman will likely be playing alongside Victor Hedman and the two give Tampa a strong top pairing. Coburn and Carle are both top four caliber defensemen and Bob Murray should figure out a way to get one of them to Anaheim.
Lets start with Stralman. He carries a cap hit of $4.5 million for the next four seasons. he is 29 years old and has become Tampa’s second best defensemen behind Hedman. Trading him would clear a ton of future cap space for the Lightning but it would also hurt Tampa as they would lose a piece of their elite top pairing.
What about Carle? He carries a cap hit of $5.5 million over the next 3 seasons. He is 30 years old and is a good top four defensemen but an above average third pairing guy, a much better defensemen than the Ducks Clayton Stoner. Trading Carle clears a ton of space for Tampa and only slightly hurts their blue-line. For the Ducks, Carle would be a slight upgrade but his cap hit is unattractive.
Then there is Coburn. Acquired at the trade deadline from Philadelphia, he made a big impact for Tampa in the playoffs and that deal alone showed the genius that is Steve Yzerman. Coburn carries a cap hit of $4.5 million this upcoming season and hits free agency next summer. He is 30 years old but looked very good in the playoffs.
Acquiring Coburn would help the Ducks. He is a veteran and would be a significant step up from Clayton Stoner. He will likely be a top four defensemen for Tampa this season but if you put him alongside Sami Vatanen on the Ducks third pairing, it instantly improves Anaheim’s young blue line.
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There is virtually no way that Yzerman re-signs Coburn next summer. With so many young talented players needing new deals along with Stamkos, there is just no way that the 30 year old Coburn will get offered a significant portion of that $14 or $15 million in cap space that the Lightning will have next summer if Stamkos gets his deal done before then.
Stralman is the best of the three but it is unlikely that Tampa Bay would trade him before or during this season. Carle’s cap hit is scary but if the Ducks find a way to send some significant cap hit pieces back to Tampa, it could work.
Braydon Coburn is the most realistic option. As I said, I just don’t see him getting an extension done with the Lightning as their money available next summer is slim which puts Coburn on the trade block.
If Bob Murray can send some assets or picks to Yzerman, I think that the Lightning would much rather make a deal and get something in return for Coburn right now as opposed to watching him walk away for nothing and sign with a different team in free agency next summer.
Coburn could bring a stabilizing defensive presence to the Ducks blue-line if he is paired with Vatanen, Fowler or even Lindholm. This move also makes Clayton Stoner the Ducks seventh defensemen, something that also improves Anaheim’s blue-line depth. Bob Murray loves defensive depth more than just about anything.
This all boils down to money and what the future holds. With a ton of decisions to make, Braydon Coburn’s future with the Lightning may be the least of Steve Yzerman’s worries at the moment. Bob Murray has the assets, picks and current cap room to make a deal for Coburn or possibly Matt Carle.
Murray has already improved the Ducks defense by swapping Lovejoy for Despres and if he can add a guy like Coburn, you could see a cup caliber blue-line in Anaheim next postseason. It could be the difference between success and failure in a game 7.
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