Anaheim Ducks Breakdown Of A Successful Trade Deadline
The Anaheim Ducks made a few moves on deadline day and walk away a better team as Bob Murray once again bulks up a contending roster, how did he do it?
Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray did it again. For the second year in a row Murray patiently waited until the final moments of deadline day to bolster his roster, pegging his team as even stronger cup contender.
Four moves were made yesterday, each one serving it’s own purpose in terms of present and future implications and improvements. Let’s jump right into it and dissect each deal.
Here are my thoughts and trade grades for each of the four Ducks deadline day deals.
Next: Ducks acquire Brandon Pirri from Florida
Ducks acquire forward Brandon Pirri from Florida in exchange for a 2016 6th round pick
Who is Brandon Pirri
Brandon Pirri is a 24 year old left shot forward that has the ability to play down the middle or on the wing. He is a former second round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks and was traded to the Florida Panthers at the 2014 trade deadline. Since the start of the 2013-2014 season, Pirri has 73 points in 150 NHL games.
A few weeks back Pirri nearly avoided breaking his ankle when he went into the boards akwardly. In a conference call Monday afternoon, Bob Murray told the media that Pirri will begin skating again in about two weeks.
Pirri may be a bit one dimensional in terms of his overall game, but he is a skilled offensive player that will surely give the Ducks added offensive help.
Why and how was this deal made
Pirri is a restricted free agent this summer and Florida appeared to have no plans of re-signing him. Bob Murray spoke to the media a few weeks back claiming that he knew of a few available players that could help his team now, as well as a few years down the road and that is exactly what Pirri brings to the table. This is a deal that was made to give the Ducks more depth up the middle and on the wing now, as well as a deal to hopefully add future offense if a contract extension can be worked out.
Pirri’s ability to play center makes him a more versatile acquisition and the 6th round pick the Ducks surrendered was a small price to gamble on a guy that they absolutely have a chance of re-signing.
Plain and simple, this was a move to acquire a young player that may have a bright future ahead of him if he finds his game and stays healthy.
Statistically Speaking
According to Sportlogiq, Pirri generates 5.1 scoring chance generating plays per 20 minutes at even strength and 1.8 shots from the slot per 20 minutes at even strength. Pirri’s 5.09 power play points per 60 minutes leads all Florida forwards since 2013-2014.
This season Pirri has generated 6.6 individual scoring chances per 60 minutes of ice time at 5 v 5 and he ranks 1st amongst Florida forwards in individual corsi (all shot attempts) per 60 minutes of play at 5 v 5.
Number to know
49.
The most games Pirri has ever played in an NHL regular season before this season, he is currently at 52 games played.
More from Ducks News
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- Is Pierre-Luc Dubois on the cards for the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks?
- Making the case for the Anaheim Ducks to trade with the Edmonton Oilers
- Anaheim Ducks might benefit tremendously by trading John Gibson
- How close are the Anaheim Ducks to becoming contenders again?
This can be taken one of two ways. One, a kid who can’t stay healthy enough to be a regular top 6 forward that consistantley produces. Or two, what if we haven’t seen what Pirri can really do yet? What if we have yet to see Brandon Pirri play to his full potential. Could he become a regular 50 point guy in years to come if he plays a full 82 games?
The fact he has yet to play the majority of games in one season also means that Bob Murray might be able to use that in contract negotiations in order to get Pirri to sign a favorable bridge deal this offseason. Gambling a 6th round pick on a guy that we have yet to see reach his full potential, a risk you should be willing to take.
Contract and business side of the deal
As I mentioned, Pirri is a restricted free agent this summer and he also holds player elected arbitration rights. What does that mean?
Well, If Pirri and his agent elect to do so, they can take contract negotiations to the arbitration process which will likely result in a one or two year deal. The Ducks have several other key RFA’s needing new deals this summer, Freddie Andersen also holds arbitration rights, so it may be somewhat tricky to work out a deal with Pirri.
Pirri’s expiring contract is a two year $1.85 million dollar deal, so it is possible however that Murray could work out a favorable deal this offseason as Pirri is not due to cash in on a big extension, not yet anyway.
Some believe that the arbitration rights aspect steered teams away from paying a big price to acquire Pirri, but Murray was willing to gamble a 6th round pick.
Trade grade and final thoughts
Grade = A
Pirri is a very talented player first and foremost. Seeing that the Ducks were only forced to surrender a 6th round pick should not lead you to believe he is a bust or a bad player that hasn’t panned out. As I mentioned, the arbitration rights he holds seemed to have played a role in his departure from Florida and it also somewhat explains the low price Murray was asked to pay in this deal.
Pirri’s offensive talent is somewhat underrated, the statistics I compiled show that if he played a full 82 game season he could produce as a top 6 forward. The problem is he has never played more than 49 games in an NHL season, but who knows what he could do if he plays a full season.
Overall, this is a win for the Ducks. Murray gambles a 6th round pick on a guy that will absolutely help this team in the playoffs and if Pirri re-signs and doesn’t effect Murray’s chances of re-signing Lindholm and Rakell, then this will be a huge win for the Ducks and a move that we’ll look back on as one of Murray’s best deadline deals.
Next: Ducks acquire Jamie McGinn from Buffalo
Ducks acquire forward Jamie McGinn from Buffalo in exchange for a conditional 3rd round pick
*Condition on the pick: 2016 3rd round pick becomes a 2017 2nd round pick if the Ducks reach the conference finals and McGinn plays in 50% of the Ducks games during the first two rounds.
Who is Jamie McGinn
27 year old Jamie McGinn was a second round pick of the Sharks back in 2006. He spent four seasons with the Sharks, then four with the Colorado Avalanche before he was traded to Buffalo as part of this offseason’s Ryan O’Reilly deal.
While McGinn has never panned out to be a great player in this league, he is now a good veteran that has found an added offensive touch over recent seasons. McGinn has 27 points in 63 games this year and plays a strong north and south physical game, something the Ducks love in a forward.
McGinn was labeled as one of the available rentals before the deadline as he is an unrestricted free agent this summer with his two year $5.9 million dollar deal expiring.
Why and how was this deal made
McGinn is a physical forward that goes to the front of the net. He has added a scoring touch this season and that made him an attractive deadline target. He gives the Ducks depth up front and could play on the Getzlaf or Rakell line if need be as he was playing in Buffalo’s top six for the majority of this season and excelling while doing so.
The pick involved in this deal is a conditional one. If the Ducks reach the western conference finals and McGinn plays in 50% of the Ducks games through the first two rounds of the playoffs, then the 2016 3rd round pick turns into a 2017 2nd round pick (the Ducks don’t have a 2016 2nd rounder).
More from Ducks News
- Who could the Anaheim Ducks consider presenting offer sheets to?
- Is Pierre-Luc Dubois on the cards for the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks?
- Making the case for the Anaheim Ducks to trade with the Edmonton Oilers
- Anaheim Ducks might benefit tremendously by trading John Gibson
- How close are the Anaheim Ducks to becoming contenders again?
The Ducks also were planning on moving Pat Maroon today and they eventually did so. By doing that they cleared his $4.1 million in salary that he was owed over the next two seasons. Jamie McGinn’s role with the Ducks will be similar to what Maroon’s was, be a physical presence on the forecheck and go to the front of the net. However, McGinn does provide a little more offensive upside.
McGinn will be an upgrade from Maroon, who has seen his play drop off a little this season, in the top 6 and at the end of the day you look at the big picture and understand what Bob Murray was doing here. While McGinn is a rental, a contending team must take a gamble at times to get over the hump and he plays a style the Ducks like.
Buffalo get’s a good pick in return for their rental winger and the Ducks get a guy that is going to help them win in the playoffs, this is your typical deadline deal.
Statistically Speaking
According to Sportlogiq, 30.3% of McGinn’s shot attempts this season have come from the inner slot. In other words, he goes to the net and shoots the puck from dangerous scoring areas. 64.8% of McGinn’s shot attempts have been on goal, no nonsense type of guy who puts his nose down, gets to the net and puts shots on net.
McGinn ranked 3rd amongst Buffalo forwards in terms of 5 v 5 goals and points per 60 minutes. He generates nearly 7 scoring chances and nearly 4 high danger scoring chances per 60 minutes of ice time at 5 v 5, impressive numbers.
McGinn can also play on the power play, he ranked 2nd amongst Buffalo forwards in terms of individual power play scoring chances and he ranked first in individual power play high danger scoring chances. Again, impressive numbers.
To cap off his strong offensive numbers, McGinn has 112 hits on the season at 5 v 5, more than any Ducks forward so far this season. Something to ease the pain of losing Maroon’s physicality.
Oh yea, McGinn also had 5 points in 7 games with Colorado in the opening round of the 2014 playoffs.
Number to know
2.50
That was Jamie McGinn’s 5 v 5 points per 60 with Colorado during the opening round of the 2014 playoffs. 2.50 5 v 5 points per 60 ranked McGinn 3rd amongst Colorado forwards during that playoffs series, putting him behind only Paul Stastny and Nathan MacKinnon.
Further proving that this deal will give the Ducks an added edge come playoff time.
Contract and business side of the deal
Again, McGinn is a rental as a UFA this summer but do the Ducks have a shot at re-signing him? Sure.
Yes, Murray has a ton of RFA’s he will need to re-sign this summer but is it out of the question to think that a deal could be worked out? With most of Maroon’s salary gone (some was retained, more on that later) it creates some room and it’s not like the Ducks gave up a 3rd or 2nd round pick for a guy that will be seeking $5 million annually in a new deal this summer.
The financial and business side to this makes a lot of sense.
Trade grade and final thoughts
Grade = B+
You don’t win the Stanley Cup by playing it safe. Contending teams are expected to give up a little at the deadline in order to help them reach their goal and that is exactly what the Ducks did today by giving Buffalo a high pick for a guy that will help them in the playoffs.
You replace Pat Maroon’s physicality and net front presence with a guy that plays a stronger overall game and provides more offensive upside. McGinn could find a home with Rakell and Perry or even on the Ducks top line. Overall, he creates more individual quality scoring chances than Maroon.
The condition on the pick is something that I’m sure Bob Murray didn’t want to have included, but it will be a 2017 2nd and there is plenty of time to replace that pick as Murray has the assets to do so if he wishes. This was a great move for the Ducks, who are a much stronger contender than they were 24 hours ago before this deal was made.
Next: Ducks trade Tim Jackman to Chicago
Ducks trade Tim Jackman to Chicago along with a 2017 7th round pick in exchange for AHL’er Corey Tropp
Who is Corey Tropp
Tropp is a 3rd round pick back in 2007, has bounced around quite a bit since as he has not panned out to be a regular NHL player. 8 points in 61 games last season with Columbus and has spent this season in the AHL playing for the Albany Devils, 28 points in 51 games.
Average size guy that plays right wing and will give the San Diego Gulls some depth.
Why was this deal made
AHL depth. Tropp is 26 and Tim Jackman wasn’t getting any younger. I don’t think the Ducks expect Tropp to be pushing for a call up this season, because that just won’t happen. Chris Wagner is back with the Ducks and he is a guy they have called up from time to time and adding Tropp allows the Ducks to continue recalling Wagner if an injury to an Anaheim center occurs.
Tropp is not a bad AHL player either and he should give the Gulls a boost come playoff time.
Statistically Speaking
Uhhhh. Do I really need to talk about Tim Jackman from an analytical standpoint?
Contract and business side of the deal
Tropp is an RFA this summer while Jackman is a UFA. The Ducks and Hawks could sign both to minor league deals if they want, not much more to it then that.
Trade grade and final thoughts
No grade on this one.
One of those deals you see someone break on twitter, but then you quickly scroll past it after staring at it for about 20 seconds, just an AHL deal to help the Gulls and provide some depth. Next.
Next: Ducks trade Pat Maroon to Edmonton
Ducks trade Pat Maroon to Edmonton and acquire a 2016 4th round pick along with AHL’er Martin Gernat
Who is Martin Gernat
Gernat is a defensemen that has bounced between the ECHL and AHL this year, that kind of says it all. I’ve seen some describe him as a guy with some offensive skill but he is likely going to continuously bounce around the minors for quite some time. He did put up 55 points in the WHL at one point and 21 points in his first AHL season, but has not replicated that production since.
Why was this deal made
Money.
Pat Maroon was given an extension last season and that was a 3 year $6 million dollar deal. Maroon’s extension carried a cap hit of $2 million, but the salary portion was slightly back loaded, which is what the Ducks look at. Maroon was set to make $2 million next season and $2.1 million the season after next and Bob Murray felt that Maroon’s financial burden outweighed his on-ice performance, which was beginning to regress.
However, the Ducks will retain 25% of Maroon’s remaining salary, so $500,000 retained in each of the next two seasons. Still, that’s $1.5 million Murray and the Ducks clear which is money in the pocket to throw at the upcoming RFA’s.
The Ducks also get a 4th round pick in the deal and that is a nice pick to acquire for Maroon once you consider how much his production has dropped off this season.
More from Ducks News
- Who could the Anaheim Ducks consider presenting offer sheets to?
- Is Pierre-Luc Dubois on the cards for the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks?
- Making the case for the Anaheim Ducks to trade with the Edmonton Oilers
- Anaheim Ducks might benefit tremendously by trading John Gibson
- How close are the Anaheim Ducks to becoming contenders again?
For the Oilers, they know they have the young fast talented players that will be stars in this league, Peter Chiarelli must now begin to build around the McDavids, Hall’s and Draisaitl’s. Maroon can play on a second or third line and provide a physical net front presence and who knows, maybe he becomes Connor McDavid’s bodyguard.
Not a bad piece to acquire if your Edmonton, but the Ducks walk away with money in their pocket and a nice mid round pick to ease the pain of losing the McGinn pick.
Statistically Speaking
According to Sportlogiq, Maroon ranks last amongst Ducks forwards in possession driving plays per 20 minutes this season. He generates just over 1 scoring chance per 20 minutes at even strength which is also worst amongst Ducks forwards.
Maroon has seen his production drop off this season. He has generated 4.7 scoring chances per 60 at 5 v 5 this season compared to 10 individual scoring chances per 60 last season. The past few seasons he’s been a guy the analytics community likes from a possession numbers standpoint, but his corsi% has dropped 2.6% from last season.
Does that all tie into the fact that Maroon is playing with Getzlaf significantly less this season? Maybe.
When Maroon and Getzlaf have played together this season, their corsi% is around 55%. When Getzlaf is away from Maroon his corsi% jumps to over 55% while Maroon’s corsi% away from Getzlaf drops significantly to under 50%.
Number to know
0.11
Maroon’s 5 v 5 goals per 60 this season, the lowest goal production rate of his career thus far. Two seasons ago his 5 v 5 goals per 60 was 0.93, that number dropped by 0.43 last season when his goals per 60 was 0.50. He has once again seen a regression in goal scoring as his goals per 60 has dropped by 0.39 this season as he has produced 0.11 goals per 60 at 5 v 5 through 56 games.
Bob Murray might have sold his Maroon stock just in time, a 4th round pick is a great get especially to replace the pick sent to Buffalo in the McGinn deal.
Contract and business side of the deal
Again, this deal is all about money. The Ducks do retain some salary but clearing $1.5 million and acquiring a 4th round pick to go along with some AHL defensive depth is the smart move no matter how you look at it.
Maroon was likely going to be moved at some point, keeping him at $2 million and $2.1 million the next two seasons just didn’t seem logical with the younger guys needing contract extensions.
Gernat is an RFA this summer and the Ducks could keep him around on an AHL contract if they wish to do so.
Trade grade and final thoughts
Grade = A-
You clear $1.5 million, get a 4th round pick and get depth on defense in the AHL, I hate to sound like a broken record but when all you’re giving up is Pat Maroon, you have to make this deal.
I mentioned Maroon’s drop off in production and his reliance on Getzlaf, if Maroon’s best days are behind him then it makes complete sense for the Ducks to make this move. If Maroon’s production continues to drop then the Ducks sold at the right time. If he puts up 30 points regularly in Edmonton then the Ducks lose a decent power forward. At the end of the day you still make this deal every time from a financial standpoint.
This is one of those underrated deadline deals that really pays off in the offseason when you have the extra draft pick and the extra cash.
Next: Final thoughts and deadline day grade
Final Thoughts and Deadline Day Grade
When Bob Murray somehow convinced Jim Rutherford to swap Simon Despres for Ben Lovejoy at last seasons deadline, I was impressed. I’m again impressed after this years deadline.
Murray acquired a young forward with upside who he has a chance to re-sign in Pirri and all it cost was a gamble of a 6th round pick. Murray then moves a declining Pat Maroon while clearing $1.5 million in salary and he acquires a fourth round pick in the process.
Then Murray goes and gets a good rental winger who will play a big role in the playoffs in McGinn, who is an upgrade from Maroon. The price on McGinn was not too steep and Murray knows he has the time and assets to replace a 2017 second round pick if it comes to that.
Every move just made sense.
Murray knows his team can defend and win close games, but goals don’t come quite as easy in the playoffs and bringing in Pirri and McGinn will make the Ducks an incredibly tough out in the playoffs.
The Ducks are a much better team after the deadline and they did not dig into the future and pay a steep price to make that happen, unlike Dallas who threw in all their chips to acquire an overrated defensemen, Kris Russell.
Next: Rickard Rakell's Career Progression, How He's Done It
The Ducks have just as good a chance as anyone to come out of the west this year and these deadline moves should keep the NHL’s hottest team rolling along.
Anaheim Ducks Trade Deadline Grade
Grade = A-
Bob Murray and the Ducks are once again winners on deadline day.
Statistics via war-on-ice.com corsica.hockey sportlogiq