As the clock struck 3 p.m ET on March 2nd, Anaheim Ducks fans everywhere were anxiously refreshing their Twitter feeds, hoping to see an NHL insider’s reports of a trade involving the Ducks. The deadline came, and many last-minute deals were being reported, yet none of the deals on the Ducks. Then, the first was announced. Slowly, trade after trade was announced, and all four of the Ducks’ deals at the deadline were announced after the deadline hour had passed. Ducks general manager Bob Murray went to work to make sure he had a roster that was set to make a deep playoff run.
Next: First Two Deals: Upgrading the Defense
Feb 6, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Simon Despres (47) controls the puck against the Calgary Flames during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Pittsburgh Penguins won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Defense Additions: Simon Despres, James Wisniewski
First came the reports that Ben Lovejoy was on his way out of Anaheim. Lovejoy, who started his career as a Penguin, was traded back to the Pittsburgh Penguins. When Simon Despres was said to be the returning piece in exchange for Lovejoy, it was a bit of a shock to many.
Despres, who was a first-round pick of Pittsburgh in 2009, is only 23 years old and is a big body at 6’4, 215 pounds. Once again, Murray executed a well-designed hockey trade in a player-for-player deal. While Lovejoy was playing important minutes for the Ducks (primarily on the top-four with Cam Fowler), it seems Murray felt that the recent struggles of his blue liners meant a change was needed. Despres brings a little bit more offensive talent, and a whole lot of size and physicality.
Despres’ arrival means he will be another rugged blue-liner that can give this team some of the physical play that Lovejoy brought without having to sacrifice the ability to move the puck, which is a must in the NHL today. In fact, the Despres addition adds more of that skill to the blue-line. This was a deal that was completely unexpected, as many believed that Despres would be a part of the Penguins’ core.
Jan 9, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman James Wisniewski (21) during their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Blue Jackets 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
The deal required Murray to give up a bit more, as the Ducks surrendered prospect William Karlsson in the trade. Karlsson had appeared in 18 games for the Ducks this season and has a promising future. His transition to the North American game was not perfect, but he could be a very productive player and adds another young center to the mix in the Blue Jackets’ organization.
Rene Bourque and the Ducks’ 2015 second-round pick were also included in the deal. However, Murray was able to get a third-round pick from Columbus back (originally belonging to the Detroit Red Wings). This still leaves the Ducks with, technically, four draft picks in 2015. As for Bourque, he was included to make the salary figures work: Bourque has a cap-hit of $3.33 million until 2015-2016, while Wisniewski has a cap-value of $5.5 million until the 2016-2017 season.
While giving up Karlsson was not ideal, teams must be willing to give to get. Wisniewski is a savvy veteran who is ready to help the Ducks win right now. Wisniewski racked up 44 assists and 51 points last season: the assists were a career-high, while the points matched the 51 he scored with the Islanders and Canadiens in the 2010-2011 season.
His great shot from the point is a terrific asset for the Ducks, especially on the power-play. Outside of Sami Vatanen, the Ducks seem to lack a willing “trigger-man” and tend to frustrate with the man-advantage because they do not seem to shoot the puck enough. Wisniewski should help improve a unit that is ranked 23rd in the NHL.
Wisniewski also adds a veteran experience to the team: the Ducks’ defense is a very young group, and that was not helped by the Lovejoy trade. Now, Wisniewski and Francois Beauchemin can act as the veterans leading the way on a young blue-line. Once Vatanen returns, Bruce Boudreau will have a very deep, capable blue-line.
The Ducks’ weakness at the blue-line was one of two key areas the Ducks were exposed in last postseason. It took time, but the Ducks have done everything realistically possible to address those two areas: center (with the acquisitions of Ryan Kesler and Nate Thompson, and the development of Rickard Rakell) and defense (with the acquisitions of Wisniewski and Despres and further development from Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, and Vatanen).
Next: Last Two Deals: Prospect, Budget
Feb 26, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Korbinian Holzer (55) takes down Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux (28) during the first period at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Sgarbossa is just 22 years old with nine NHL games to his credit. He will likely try to fill the void in the prospect pool that was created when the Ducks dealt Karlsson. The future is still a question mark for both Sgarbossa and Clark. Sgarbossa’s a playmaker and can put up points, but he’s very small and will have to overcome that lack of size. Meanwhile, Clark is a low-ceiling defensive-defenseman who did not readily impress with the Ducks in limited action this season.
At the surface, this is a strict rental-for-rental swap: both Holzer and Brewer will hit unrestricted free-agency after this season. Both have also not had good seasons, but Brewer carried a cap-hit of almost $3 million (even after the Lightning retained 26% of his salary when the Ducks acquired him). Of course, this is no problem for the Leafs, who took on the contract of Nathan Horton ($5.3 million cap-hit, and that will give them LTIR relief) to unload David Clarkson.
For a budget team like the Ducks, this is an important move. The Ducks do not operate to the salary cap ceiling: instead, they operate under an organizational budget. The Ducks’ acquisition of Wisniewski automatically made him the Ducks’ third largest cap-hit player (behind Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf). The Blue Jackets retained no salary in the deal either, so the Ducks made some flexibility by freeing up some cap-room by dealing Brewer.
These are the types of shrewd moves that a GM of a budget-team has to make. The Ducks did not have the financial flexibility to make a splash, nor did they have the draft-pick assets to do so. Still, the Ducks made two very solid trades to shore up the blue-line without surrendering a first-round pick, added another prospect, and made deals to make the dollars work. He managed to deal away the three worst contracts in the organization, in Dany Heatley, Bourque, and Brewer. That constitutes as a successful trade deadline in itself, but he also made the team better.
Bob Murray successfully dealt Heatley, Bourque, and Brewer at this deadline. A+?
— Pucks of a Feather (@PucksofaFeather) March 2, 2015
Next: Final Overview
Mar 4, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks players
(15) celebrate after a short-handed empty net goal in the third period against the Montreal Canadiens at Honda Center. The Ducks defeated the Canadiens 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Final Result:
Overall Murray made it even more evident as to why he was and award winning general manager after last season. After acquiring Jiri Sekac and Tomas Fleischmann earlier in the week to add skill to the forward group, Murray didn’t stop working and made the extra push to make his team better.
The moves to get Despres and Wisniewski added the size and power-play help that was evidently necessary. Both moves added capable puck-movers who can also play the physical game that the Ducks love. Murray has never been one to give up top prospects or first-round picks, and he did so once again at the deadline.
It seems as though the trade deadline for general managers is eerily similar to Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. It gets done, but in the scramble, not everything is as effective as possible. However, it seems Murray found four sensible deals that worked.
After all the big names had been dealt for fairly high prices, Murray got what he was looking for while paying less in overall cost than some teams that made only one move. The Ducks were obviously buyers and looking to improve a team with championship aspirations, but how Murray maneuvered the deadline with bargains was impressive.
Maybe not for the entire season, but Murray definitely deserves an A+ for his work at the deadline. He may not repeat as the NHL GM of the Year, but he definitely turned in a performance that is deserving of consideration. As Murray said himself in interviews, this Ducks team just got a lot better, and they are because of him.
