Expert Panel: Did the Ducks No-Trade Out of The Playoff Hunt?
By Ed Stein
They Didn’t Help Themselves
For lack of a better term, Murray had an uninspiring deadline with a pair of minor deals. The first move was the acquisition of free agent Chris Kelly, most recently of the Canadian Olympic team. A 38-year-old, 13-year NHL veteran, who no team wanted to sign this summer. A trade was the second move. In an exchange of fourth line players, the Ducks received Jason Chimera from the Islanders in exchange for Chris Wagner. Chimera is another aging veteran (37), who was scoreless in his past 20 games.
Anaheim’s big trade happened on November 30, 2017. That was the day Adam Henrique came to the Ducks in exchange for Sami Vatanen. Only a third of the way through the season, Anaheim was banged up and in danger of falling out of post-season contention. The addition of Henrique plus the return of injured players, Anaheim climbed into the Pacific Division top three.
Not Worth It
When Murray said he wasn’t up for trading away assets to improve the team, he meant business. Early injuries put this team in a hole, that they fought hard to get out of. A legit offensive weapon wouldn’t have just made this a playoff team, but a serious cup contender because the talent is there.
The issue isn’t that the Ducks no-traded themselves out of the playoffs. What happened is that the teams they are battling it out with for the playoffs traded themselves into the race. San Jose added Evander Kane, while the Kings brought in Dion Phaneuf, Nate Thompson, and Tobias Reider, in addition to Jeff Carter’s return from a long injury hiatus. If all things among the contenders were equal on February 26, they weren’t on February 27 and Anaheim could be the odd team out.