In an effort to add some bodies to a decimated blue-line, the Anaheim Ducks made a move to acquire veteran defenseman Eric Brewer from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2015 3rd round pick.
Brewer is in the last year of a four year, $15.5 million extension he signed with the Lightning. Brewer came to the Lightning on February 18, 2011 via trade after waiving his no-trade clause while serving as captain of the St. Louis Blues. That season, Brewer and the Lightning went to the Eastern Conference Final, overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round and sweeping the Washington Capitals in the second round before falling 1-0 in Game 7 to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.
Brewer scored 10 goals and 56 points through 246 games with the Lightning. Brewer was scratched for the first two games of the season for Tampa Bay, as well as four of the past five. He had lost his spot as a regular player for the Lightning, and with the imminent return of Victor Hedman, it made Brewer expendable.
Brewer has a total cap hit of $3.875 million this season, but has a true salary of $3.75 million. However, the Lightning agreed to retain 26% of the salary and cap hit in the deal, meaning the Ducks only have to take on $2.8675 million in cap room and $2.775 million in actual salary. That gives Brewer the fifth highest cap hit among defensemen on the team, behind Cam Fowler, Sheldon Souray, Francois Beauchemin, and Clayton Stoner (and Souray’s cap hit is not on the books, with him being on Long-Term Injured Reserve). Brewer’s contract expires after this season, so the Ducks have essentially added a veteran defenseman whose contract expires this season after unloading one just eight days ago (Bryan Allen).
Brewer will give the Ducks a veteran presence on their blue-line. Beauchemin, Ben Lovejoy, and Mark Fistric are all out for extended periods of time with various ailments. The mumps virus hit Stoner, who sat today’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Ducks, all of a sudden, are left with Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, and Sami Vatanen as the most experienced defensemen in terms of NHL games, who only have a combined 470 NHL games (288 of which have been played by Fowler). Brewer has played 982 career games by himself and served as an alternate captain for the Lightning last season.
Brewer is also a left-handed shot on defense: with all the injuries, Fowler and Lindholm are the only left-handed shooting defensemen on the Ducks currently. The Ducks dressed four right-shooting defensemen against Chicago, which is a strange phenomenon, considering the majority of players in the NHL possess left-shots.
When the Ducks become fully healthy on defense, Brewer will most likely become expendable. However, it’s a short term option: unlike Rene Bourque, who was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens in the Allen deal, Brewer has no term left on his contract. The Ducks gave up a third round pick, but they had three picks in the third round this season: their own pick, the Vancouver Canucks’ pick (acquired in the Ryan Kesler deal), and the Edmonton Oilers’ pick (acquired in the Viktor Fasth deal and dealt to the Lightning).
Jason Byun is the editor for Pucks of a Feather. He can be found on Twitter. For more Anaheim Ducks coverage, follow Pucks of a Feather on Twitter or like us on Facebook.