Sunday Op-Ed: Ducks GM Bob Murray Must Go Big
By Ed Stein
Our Sunday opinion piece urges Ducks General Manager Bob Murray to bring in a top player for the long-term at the trade deadline.
We are less than 24 hours away from the NHL trade deadline. Nobody outside of the Anaheim Ducks executive offices has a clue what General Manager Bob Murray going to do as the clock ticks down. I’m once again renewing my plea for the GM to go big, really big.
The Big Two
TSN has a 45-player trade bait list on their site. There are a good six impact players on it who are 28 or younger (not including pending free-agent John Taveras). Murray has a realistic chance to pull off one of the most difficult management feats in all of sports. He can rebuild the Ducks on the fly.
In Thursday’s Expert’s Panel, I advocated for Murray to go all out for center Taveras or defenseman Erik Karlsson. There is absolutely no skater in the organization that is unavailable when it comes to those players. Murray’s only restrictions in this regard are contractual (limited or no movement clauses).
Related Story: Which Anaheim Player Could be on the Way Out?
The Fantastic Four
It leaves five players on the trade bait list Murray should make a move to acquire. Obtaining a scorer is paramount. Unfortunately, those five players come with questions attached.
Mike Hoffman in Ottawa is the best of the group. He’s averaged a hair over 27 goals for the past three seasons and is also a force on the power play (26 ppp last year). Put him on a line with a playmaker like Ryan Getzlaf and he’s a 30 goal scorer. He has two years left at a reasonable $5.19M/yr and a modified no-trade clause.
Let’s call the next two players somewhat enigmatic. Jeff Skinner (Car, 1yr, $5.83M, NMC) has been up and down throughout his career. He’s scored over 30 goals three times in his career but has only been a plus player once in eight pro seasons. If you look up enigma in the dictionary, you would find a picture of Alex Galchenyuk (Mtl, 2yrs, $4.9M). His career is a mixture of tantalizing talent and puzzling inconsistency. At only 23 years old, there is plenty of time for him to put it all together. Galchenyuk could be a special player if he finds a way to do so.
Evander Kane (Buf, UFA, $5.25M), is one of the better pure power forwards in the league. He has put up decent numbers on some very bad teams. Unfortunately, his off-ice issues and pending free agency make him unlikely to become a Duck.
Maybe These Guys
There are other very good players on the list that can help the Ducks but may not fit as well.
Max Domi (Ari, RFA, $1.36M) is only 22. At this point in his career, he’s more of a playmaker than a scorer. Its unlikely Murray makes a deadline deal within the division.
Anaheim left wing Nick Ritchie has failed to live up to expectations thus far. Boone Jenner (CBJ, RFA, $2.9M) is two years older than Ritchie and does the job at a higher level for the Blue Jackets. Although Jenner is an upgrade, he isn’t worth the additional salary.
29-year-old Max Pacioretty (Mtl, 1yr, $4.5M) is the best of the rest. He has scored 30 or more goals in five of the past six seasons. The only reason he isn’t on my main list is that he will turn 30 at the end of the year. His age and amount of money he will want to extend his contract makes him an unlikely long-term investment. If reasonable trade compensation can be worked out with Montreal, he could be the Ducks missing piece for this season and next.
Tick-Tock
Note: For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term OpEd, it refers to a newspaper section. It consists opinion pieces put forward by the papers editorial staff. This isn’t a newspaper. The Op-Ed here at Pucks of a Feather is my opinion, and well, my name is Ed. Rocket science to the 9th degree.