Anaheim Ducks May Mailbag: Priorities, Free Agents, and WWE
It’s the fourth Friday of the month, which means it’s time for the monthly Anaheim Ducks mailbag. You ask the questions and our Pucks of a Feather staff answers them.
Question 1) What should (Bob) Murray’s biggest priority be this summer?
Chris Bushell – Murray’s biggest priority needs to be locking up Montour and Kase and then at least having discussions with Henrique, Silf, and Gibson. The Ducks need to reload internally. With the cap increasing, and Murray’s track record overall for making good deals he should be able to get all of them signed.
Ed Stein – The number one priority for Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray is to get John Gibson’s signature on a long-term contract extension. The other restricted free-agents and walk year contracts may be good players, but Gibson is the future of this franchise. The Ducks go only as far as he can take them.
Jacob Robles – Resigning Henrique in my opinion. I really hope he comes back. Seems like he likes it here with us and sees potentially winning a cup with us.
Greg Johnson – The number one priority has to be signing their best player, John Gibson. I know the Ducks don’t like to pay their goalies. This one is different though. Murray should have a deal in hand and ready to announce July 1.
Blake Navarro – Well obviously signing Montour and Kase are huge. Two players that could be Ducks for a long time to come. I feel like that is the main point this offseason.
Ciara Durant – Aside from getting a contract extension for some of our key players, Murray really needs to focus on filling the giant hole we are about to have in our defense. With Bieksa and Beauchemin headed out the door, this is the perfect opportunity for Murray to bring in another seasoned veteran defenseman. We don’t want to start next season with a vulnerable defense.
Question 2) Do you believe the Ducks are headed towards a rebuild?
Ed Stein – Murray doesn’t need to tear his team down to the studs right now. With the right additions to a talented roster, Anaheim is a contender. Even if he wanted to rebuild, he can’t. The Ducks are handcuffed by financial restraints. They have multi-year, big money contracts signed with Cory Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Ryan Kesler.
Jacob Robles – I don’t believe so. I think that we have enough young talent coming in that gets to play with the vets, that they’ll be pretty well off when it comes time for the vets to retire.
Greg Johnson – I don’t believe the Ducks can afford to rebuild. It’s a luxury that teams in hockey hotbeds like Edmonton and Toronto have. Non-traditional hockey markets have to sell tickets every year. The Ducks will be reloading year after year. When Getzlaf and Perry are done with their massive deals, we may see a complete retooling. But for now, the peripheral parts will interchange at Murray’s pleasure.
Blake Navarro – The Ducks have never had an actual rebuild before. Just reloading period. The Ducks are definitely in a reload. Need to get the young players up and get some experience.
Ciara Durant – No. I believe we have a lot of very talented young and able-bodied players who can fill in many of the gaps the Ducks have right now. Alongside our seasoned veterans, I foresee a pretty successful 2018-19 season. That is, however, dependent on Carlyle’s willingness to utilize our young players and move towards speed.
Chris Bushell – I don’t believe the Ducks are headed towards a “rebuild.” They need to get younger and faster which they can do on the fly with the veteran core still leading the way. It’s a transition, not a rebuilding.
Question 3) What unrestricted free should the Ducks go after?
Jacob Robles – I’m not really in the loop of who are UFA’s at the moment but with Carolina going into for sale mode I think BM should be making some calls over there.
Greg Johnson – The Ducks don’t play in the high-end free agent market. If you’re thinking John Tavares is going to be making post-practice tee times in Orange County, you’re kidding yourself.
That said, the Ducks need speed. No one is faster than Michael Grabner. His cap hit was $1.65 million last season. Imagine him receiving home run bombs from Getzlaf all season long. He might set the record for short-handed goals in a season.
Blake Navarro – I think the Ducks need help on defense. Cam Fowler needs the Defense partner he deserves. Maybe they can take a run at someone like a John Carlson from Washington.
Ciara Durant – Carlson is basically the holy grail of defensemen right now. If the Ducks could acquire him, that would be huge. However, as good as he would look in a Ducks sweater, he would be an incredibly expensive acquisition. Plus, I’m sure every other team has their eye on him. If only the Ducks could pull a few extra million dollars out of the hat.
Chris Bushell – I don’t believe the Ducks need to go after any UFAs. Carlson out of Washington is a UFA and I’d love him as part of the Ducks blue line but he will demand a huge payday. The Ducks don’t have the cap space to take him on and they don’t need him if they take care of their own.
Ed Stein – Of the players slated to become Unrestricted Free Agents right now, John Taveras. He’s a rare talent that doesn’t come around very often. By unloading Jakob Silfverberg (3.75M) and a now unnecessary Adam Henrique ($4M), the Ducks have enough cap space. I don’t think he makes it to July without a contract. Whoever trades for his rights (hopefully the Ducks) will sign him.
More realistic options are on the blueline. The well-traveled Ian Cole or NYI’s Thomas Hickey (anyone who can go +20 with the Islanders goalies gets my attention) are my top two. They are lower cost players that can help the team.
Question 4) Who is the Ducks next superstar?
Greg Johnson – Sam Steel. Rakell is already there. Steel is going to tear through the league in a couple of years.
Blake Navarro – I’m a real big fan of Max Jones. The guy has huge potential. I think his style of play can be effective in this lineup right now. Should get a real good look at camp next season.
Ciara Durant – I’d say Rickard Rakell, but I think he’s already reached Ducks “superstar” status. I think Sam Steel could definitely get there though. Especially with his recent performance in the Memorial Cup.
Chris Bushell – Next Ducks superstar is Richard Rakell. He needs to find that next level and take over in the playoffs (a la Getzlaf) but he’s a major reason the Ducks stayed afloat and made the playoffs this season.
Ed Stein – John Gibson should be “the next big thing” among NHL goalies. He is an unrecognized star in the making. Had the NHL sent players to the last Winter Olympics, fans would have seen a changing of the guard on Team USA from Jonathan Quick to Gibson.
He’s only 25, so the league has time to invest some marketing dollars on him. Gibson and Auston Matthews are going to lead USA hockey into the future, NBC and the NHL must recognize that and promote them. No disrespect to Carey Price and Connor McDavid intended. There is money to made on American born players.
Jacob Robles – The Man of Steel, Sam Steel!
Question 5) Which Ducks player would make the best WWE Superstar?
Chris Bushell – Not sure if he’d be a Superstar but I would love to see Cogliano jump off the top ropes and pile drive someone. He can hold his own, I mean he is IronMan after all.
Ed Stein – Driving around yesterday, I gave this question considerable thought. Probably too much thought. It has to be Ryan Kesler. His web show, “Between Two Zambonies” could become the next “Piper’s Pit.”
More from Pucks of a Feather
- 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?
Kesler is also the perfect heel (bad guy), ask fans in any other NHL city. His dynamic would be similar to current WWE Superstar Kevin Owens. Owens is booed everywhere in the world except his home country of Canada. Kesler would be similar, but he’d get his cheers in SoCal.
Jacob Robles – That’s an easy one, Kevin Bieksa. He’d be a great heel character.
Greg Johnson – Josh Manson. The man has veins protruding from his neck on a regular basis. He doesn’t suffer being disrespected at all, and he’ll straight up drop you if it comes to that. Does anyone remember when Manson kneed an upright Mike Fisher in the face when he jumped over the pile to swat a puck out of the slot in the 2017 Conference Finals? Yeah, Manson is your man.
Blake Navarro – Not a big wrestling fan, since the biggest client at the company I work for is WWE. But Superman Punch, Kevin Bieksa is my pick.
Ciara Durant – I’ve only watched WWE once, so I’m the last person that should be answering this question. However, I think Andrew Cogliano could definitely hold his own.
Next: 3 lessons the Ducks can learn from Vegas
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