After Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray quietly executed a trade with Pittsburgh, he made some interesting comments and we take a deeper look at what he said.
The Anaheim Ducks traded Carl Hagelin to Pittsburgh in exchange for David Perron and the trade was interesting to say the least. Neither Hagelin or Perron’s names had been thrown into the rumor mill recently but it was however a trade that made you say, “well that makes some sense” after all things were said and done.
After the trade, Ducks general manager Bob Murray sat down for an interview that was posted to the Ducks website. While Murray discussed the trade, he also made some interesting comments in regards to rumors surrounding his team.
There are three quotes I have pulled from the interview as they all caught my attention. Here’s what I took away from the interesting interview.
"“It was a definite planned move, financially.”"
I wrote about this the day after the trade occurred and I broke down the financials surrounding the deal, you can find that article here.
Plain and simple, Bob Murray felt Hagelin was not fitting in like he had hoped he would so this move became an easy one to make when you look at the money involved.
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Hagelin is in the first year of a four year deal and carries a salary cap hit of $4 million. Perron carries a cap hit of just under $4 million but is an unrestricted free agent at seasons end. Adam Clendening is a restricted free agent at seasons end.
So Bob Murray essentially cleared $12 million dollars over the next three seasons and most importantly, opened up money to be spent this upcoming offseason.
Hampus Lindholm, Freddie Andersen, Rickard Rakell, Sami Vatanen and Jiri Sekac all hit restricted free agency this summer. Before the Hagelin deal, the Ducks were in trouble. With so many key restricted free agents needing new deals this summer, the offer sheet risk was going to become real. Just look at what it did to Chicago and Boston last summer. Trading Hagelin gave Murray options.
But could clearing Hagelin’s cap hit also allow Murray flexibility in trying to find another goal scorer before the deadline?
The Ducks are a budget team operating under an internal cap set somewhere around $67 million. When the Ducks return to full health, they should be looking at $5-$7 million in cap space.
The tradeoff between Hagelin’s cap hit and Perron’s cap hit is incredibly insignificant this season, but it now allows Murray to possibly acquire a guy with another year or two left on his existing deal.
Again, clearing $12 million over the next three seasons opened the door for endless possibilities. When Murray said this was a “financial move” he should also said it was a move to give him and his staff more long term flexibility.
"“We still have to get better. That’s how I feel about our team. We still have to get better. My group is working at doing that. Things have started to finally move in the league. There are a lot more phone calls lately. We’re going to attempt to get better here.”"
Murray is not done. His history as a GM shows he will make a multitude of moves is he feels necessary. Just take last seasons deadline moves, for instance when he acquired James Wisniewski to add defensive depth and then also acquired defensemen Simon Despres.
David Perron is a nice piece to acquire, but he doesn’t solve the puzzle. Pieces are still missing and Murray’s comments shouldn’t come off as surprising, he is going to try and improve his roster before the deadline.
"“Every time I turn the page, I hear we’re making a deal with a certain team down in the East Coast. There is more than just him that is probably out there and available right now. Let’s just leave it at that. We’re looking at a whole bunch of things. I hope that answers it. We know he’s there, let’s put it that way. But there are a few others out there, too, that haven’t requested trades.”"
First things first, when Bob Murray said “him” he is referring to Jonathan Drouin, who has requested a trade from Tampa Bay.
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The interesting part to this quote? Jonathan Drouin’s name was never mentioned in this article before Murray refers to Drouin as “him.” Murray brings up Drouin and almost immediately says that those are just rumors and that he is not locked onto solely Drouin.
He say’s that he and his staff are looking at all possible options but then he goes back to say, “We know he’s (referring to Drouin) there, let’s just put it that way.”
To me, this screams that the asking price for Drouin is incredibly high, as in Vatanen, Lindholm, Theodore, Ritchie or a first round pick in return for Drouin. This comment by Murray leads me to believe he knows what it will take to get Drouin, but he wants to see if he can find a better deal for a player of similar impact before taking somewhat of a gamble on Drouin.
Why do I say it’s somewhat of a gamble to go after Drouin? I say that because of something else Bob Murray told Helene Elliot from the L.A Times.
"“Requesting trades on entry level that’s something new for you and I.”"
I don’t think Bob Murray is to fond of young guys assuming they are entitled to certain things. Is this what’s holding him back from going after Drouin? Because let’s face it, Murray has the necessary pieces to make the trade.
As far as the “others out there, too, that haven’t requested trades” this is the tricky part. The Despres and Perron trades make it clear that you shouldn’t focus solely on the rumors surrounding the big name players or the ones who have publicly requested a trade.
Next: Ducks execute financially driven trade
The Ducks tend to keep things quiet and Murray has continued to do so to this point in the season. A deal for Drouin could be done by tonight or it could never happen. However, something will happen and Murray’s comments lead you to believe it could be sooner rather than later.
Salary cap info via Generalfanager.com
Bob Murray interview via AnaheimDucks.com