Anaheim Ducks Trade Deadline: Tomas Fleischmann (Left Wing)

Dec 27, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Anaheim Ducks left wing Dany Heatley (51) against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. The Coyotes defeated the Ducks 2-1 in an overtime shootout. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Florida Receives: Dany Heatley, 2015 3rd Round Pick

A few years ago, this could have been seen as a wing-for-wing swap, and the idea that the Ducks would have to send a draft pick for a team to absorb Heatley would have been preposterous. But Heatley is in this deal for one purpose: to make salary work. Heatley was under a one-year, $1 million contract, and instead of having Florida retain a portion of Fleischmann’s salary, the Panthers absorbed Heatley’s contract.

Heatley had been a major disappointment in Anaheim, going without a point in six games with the Ducks. A preseason groin-injury didn’t help, but he looked like a complete shell of his former fearsome self. Eventually, the Ducks waived him (which made room for a permanent roster spot for Rakell).

Essentially, this deal ended up being Fleischmann for a 2015 3rd round pick. The Ducks lost another one of their deadline assets: the team only had five of its nine 2015 draft picks before dealing their 2015 3rd away. They had already dealt a 4th and 7th round pick for Thompson, the Oilers’ 3rd round pick for Eric Brewer, and a conditional 5th round pick for Louis LeBlanc. This left the Ducks with their 1st, 2nd, and 6th round picks, as well as the Canucks’ 3rd round pick (acquired in the Kesler deal).

The Panthers are a bubble team, fighting with the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They are two points back of Boston, but the Bruins have a game in hand. Still, the Panthers have a plan to build for the future and would have been contradicting that by making a blockbuster deal for a splash acquisition.

Instead, the Panthers made small moves at the deadline, dealing Sean Bergenheim to the Minnesota Wild for a 2016 3rd round pick. They also acquired veteran forward Jaromir Jagr from the New Jersey Devils for a 2015 2nd round pick and a conditional 2016 3rd round pick (whichever pick is higher between their own and the Wild pick acquired in the Bergenheim deal).

The Panthers got a top-90 selection in the draft for a winger who would have most likely left in the offseason for nothing. For teams like the Panthers, which build internally, acquiring a draft pick for a player is preferred. Yes, Bergenheim could help with a potential playoff push, but the draft pick is a future player for the organization. The pick is also another asset, whether it is as the actual selection or the player picked down the road.

While the goal of every season is to win the Stanley Cup, the goal of an organization is to put the team in that position each year. Even if this means the Panthers do not make the playoffs this season, they are continuing to build for later, when many of their players (Bjugstad, Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad, and others) are in their prime.

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