Anaheim Ducks Trade Deadline Approach Impacted By What Lies Ahead

The Anaheim Ducks are going to be buyers at the deadline, but they will have to keep financial stability as a primary focus.

There’s no question that the Anaheim Ducks are going to be buyers at this seasons trade deadline. After an awful start to the season they have come full circle to find their identity. However there is some uncertainty surrounding the Ducks trade deadline strategy.

How much of a financial risk is general manager Bob Murray willing to take?

This financially driven question has nothing to do with salary cap space as the Ducks are a budget team operating under an internal cap. While the league’s $71.4 million dollar salary cap upper limit is obviously in play for all 30 teams, Murray and the Ducks set their primary focus on actual year-to-year player salary as they work within the realms of their internal budget.

While we don’t know exactly what the Ducks internal  budget is set at, $64-$68 million is a number that has been thrown around more than once so it’s safe to assume Bob Murray will work somewhere within that $4 million dollar range.

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As of this moment the Ducks total player salary for this season is around $61 million, which leads you to believe Murray will have somewhere between $3 and $7 million to work with at the deadline. They’re current salary cap hit is around $63.5 million, which also gives them some wiggle room as they sit well below the $71.4 salary cap upper limit.

While that wiggle room is nice, it is what lies ahead that leads to tough decisions at this seasons deadline.

The Ducks total player salary for next season is currently around $55 million, not a far drop off from where they currently stand. You might be asking how, so many players are on one year deals.

Well, Kesler, Gibson and Despres all have hefty contract extensions kicking in next season and to make things even more alarming, Lindholm, Rakell, Vatanen and Andersen all need new deals this summer as upcoming restricted free agents.

Pieces will be moved before the deadline and before next season, but the underlying message for Bob Murray at this seasons trade deadline is don’t do anything that put’s you in a tough position to re-sing your young RFA’s this summer.

So what does this mean in terms of who the Ducks could look to acquire?

Well the immediate thought would be a rental player like Andrew Ladd, Loui Eriksson or Kyle Okposo. All are unrestricted free agents at seasons end and all are very talented wingers that certainly would give the Ducks added offensive help as we approach the playoffs.

Jonathan Drouin is another name that makes sense because he is currently on an entry-level contract and does not need a new deal until the summer of 2017.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of who the Ducks go after at the deadline, the primary focus will be on future financial stability. Even if Vatanen or Andersen is moved before the deadline or the draft, extensions for Lindholm and Rakell will add a significant amount of money to that $55 million the Ducks already have committed to next season.

The problem with acquiring a notable rental player is that the asking price is often a high draft pick or a top prospect. The Ducks currently sit without a 2016 second round pick and they have selected in the first round of every draft since 1999, a trend that Murray does not want to break.

Murray tends to look for hockey deals, straight up player for player trades, much like the Despres-Lovejoy deal at last seasons deadline. Don’t be surprised if this occurs again as it would make sense for Murray to shed some salary if he is going to take a significant amount of money back.

Next: Anaheim Ducks mailbag part 2

This is why it is a so hard to make a deal in this hard salary cap league. It gives troubles to big spenders such as Chicago and New York while internal budgets limit the flexibility of a team like the Anaheim Ducks.