Anaheim Ducks: Time to Target One of the Big Fish?

Rick Nash- Free Agent

Rick Nash is currently sitting as a free-agent and while his future is not exactly known, it’s been a name linked to the Ducks for as long as I can remember due to his similar play style to Ryan Getzlaf and the fact that Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Nash made a pretty great line in their stint during the 2010 Olympics. Nash at 34 is no spring chicken by any stretch, but getting a forward who has chemistry with two key forwards on the team, and not costing an asset to acquire might be a low risk/high reward move that Bob Murray may be looking to make.

The Cost

Nash is a free agent and he’s not even certain to come back and play this season as retirement has been in the cards. But if he did come back it wouldn’t come at the expense of an asset to a team acquiring him. It would cost a contract, and giving his uncertainty coming into this season as is, would most likely be a 1-year deal. Probably around a relatively low-cost deal. I would think somewhere in the ball-park of 2 million if the Ducks were to sign him.

This does fit Murray’s transaction history of years past, he’s consistently looking for players who are on the tail end of their careers in hopes of getting the last little bit of mileage out of them (Rene Bourque, Sheldon Souray, Dany Heatley, Chris Kelly)

Sam Bennett- Calgary Flames

Another name long-linked to the Anaheim Ducks, the 22-year-old Sam Bennett, selected 4th overall by the Calgary Flames has not exactly lived up to expectations for the team. Putting up, to this point a career-high, 36 points in his rookie season, since then he’s tallied 26 points in back to back seasons. Bennett is currently in a contract year, seeing him paid 1.95 million dollars, he’s been lackluster to this point in the season as well, posting 3 points in 12 games, not exactly promising from a player who’s supposed to be hungry for a new contract. For whatever reason though, the Ducks have been linked to Bennett for the last 2 seasons and it’s not a stretch to think that Bennett’s time in Calgary might be nearing its end. Anaheim could be a perfect new start for the young forward.

The Cost

Unlike Nash, Bennett is currently under contract for the Flames. If the Flames were looking to cut ties with Bennett before they have to re-sign him, they’d likely have to take a lackluster return. For the return comparison, I’m going to look at two other perceived busts from recent years.

Nail Yakupov, the monumental bust taken 1st overall by the Edmonton Oilers. After 1 promising, and 3 lackluster years with the team, the Oilers cut ties and traded the talented forward to St. Louis for a 3rd round pick and a low-end prospect in Zach Pochiro.

Griffin Reinhart, another bust from that 2012 draft, taken 3 selections after Yakupov by the New York Islanders. Reinhart only played one professional season for the Islanders, (as well as 2 seasons back in juniors) playing 8 NHL games and 59 AHL games before being traded at the 2015 Draft for a mid 1st round selection by the Edmonton Oilers.

So for argument sake, I’m going to split the difference and say Murray would likely have to part with a 2nd rounder and maybe a prospect due to being in the same division.

It’s entirely possible that the trade would be for less, or if Bennett puts together a string of good games and the Flames take advantage of rising stock it’s more. But if the speculation is true that Anaheim has their eye on him I think it’s entirely possible that Anaheim pulls the trigger on him if they feel he would help the team and they can acquire him for a fair price.

Anders Bjork- Boston Bruins 

Anders Bjork, the 22-year-old American left winger was briefly mentioned last season as a name that Bob Murray was high on, unlike the others so far this one seems to be from a singular source and given the Ducks lack depth on the right side, acquiring a left winger doesn’t seem as high priority as in seasons past. Bjork, however, is a talented player and one that I would not be opposed to acquiring were the price right. Bjork hasn’t been too noticeable on the score-sheet this season, only posting two points through 10 games this season. He is still on his entry-level deal and will be through the end of next season which is beneficial to the cap-space lacking Ducks.

The Cost

This one seems less likely given I haven’t heard his name listed recently as being shopped, nor have I heard anything since June linking him to Anaheim but as Ducks, fans should know, Murray holds his cards close to his chest, and I like Bjork so let’s give it a go. Bjork is a young winger, he’s had success just about everywhere he’s gone, and while he hasn’t made the jump seamlessly on the score-sheet to the NHL he’s got a lot of hockey left in him. The problem with speculating on a player like that is they don’t get traded often as the centerpiece of the trade, making their value hard to gauge. I see two possibilities for a trade like this. 1: A hockey trade, such as a prospect that Boston is high on in a 1 for 1 with potential for a mid-round pick or low-end prospect as filler. Or 2: Part of a bigger trade for someone like Jakob Silfverberg, similar in theory to the Bobby Ryan trade that sent Silfverberg to the Ducks in the first place (albeit on a lesser scale)

Jacob Trouba- Winnipeg Jets

The next 4 guys are bigger names, as such, they’re likely less to happen as unless it’s a perfect storm Murray doesn’t make those moves overly often. But regardless they are players who would fill a role that the Ducks are lacking, and will help them now and in the future. I will also preface this by saying this is a target that’s quite unlikely to happen.

Jacob Trouba is a great defenseman and he would slot into our top 4 quite well. He’s only 24 years old and has the same amount of NHL experience as the player taken 3 slots ahead of him by the Ducks Hampus Lindholm. The issue with someone like Trouba is he’s played hardball regarding his contracts. He’s held out, he’s asked for a trade and he’s seemingly done everything he can to maximize the amount of money he will get by taking less term in hopes of controlling his destiny a bit more than most who sign long term. I do not fault him for that at all, get paid while the money’s there! The reason however I don’t see this one being overly viable is Trouba is already getting paid 5.5 million and will likely be looking for a decent sized raise following this season.

I do not see the Ducks offering him more money than Lindholm or Fowler. Lindholm already makes less than him and is by most accounts the superior defenseman. It’s not likely the Ducks would pay him what he feels he’s worth, especially when they’ve already got almost 16 million tied up in 3 defensemen.

The Cost

However in the unlikely event that the Ducks do feel like opening their wallets and paying Trouba what would it cost to get him? He’s a high end defenseman, and the Jets are a Stanley Cup contender, prospects and picks are not likely high on their wish list. So for starters, the Ducks would have to part with either Josh Manson or Brandon Montour, I have a feeling the Ducks would look to move Montour here. He’s signed to a shorter contract than Manson and the fact Manson is a player who plays a style of game that the Ducks do not have much of in their system. In addition to Montour you’re probably looking at a roster player like a Nick Ritchie and a draft pick in the 2nd or 3rd round range. A steep price but what Winnipeg will likely be looking for. Plus I’m not going to lie, the idea of a Hampus Lindholm-Josh Manson, Cam Fowler-Jacob Trouba top 4 does make me salivate a bit

Justin Faulk- Carolina Hurricanes

Another right handed defenseman, another defenseman who’s been reportedly available for quite some time. Justin Faulk is 26 years old and has spent his entire NHL career with the Carolina Hurricanes. He’s part of the Hurricanes team assembled by the old regime and the new regime has made it quite clear they’re trying to go in another direction. Faulk seems to be the last big hangup to them making that a reality. Faulk is unquestionably a top 4 defenseman, and he’s spent a good majority of his career as a top pairing guy with Carolina. He’s certainly a player who plays a game that compliments some of the Ducks defensemen, particularly I think he and Fowler would make a good pairing. Faulk is signed for 1 season after the current season at a very manageable 4.8 million

The Cost

Personally, I think Faulk will come in at a cheaper cost than Trouba, he’s older, he’s not quite as dynamic as Trouba and he’s not on a team that looks at Anaheim as a threat currently seeing as they are in different divisions. I think Montour is a good starting point again, Montour is the odd man out for the Ducks in my opinion. He doesn’t compliment Fowler or Lindholm overly well and it seems like a waste to have him on the 3rd pairing, especially at the cost of his contract. In addition to Montour, I think a 2nd round pick and someone like Kevin Roy should get the deal done.

William Nylander- Toronto Maple Leafs

The high skill William Nylander currently sits without a contract, he reportedly is asking for somewhere between 6.5-7+ million a year which seems like an overpayment. The Canadian born Nylander (Although his father is Swedish, which probably makes him more appealing to Swedenheim) is just 22 years old and has back to back 61 point seasons. For reference, he’d be the Ducks second leading scorer each of the past two seasons behind Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell in chronological order. For a 22 year old that is pretty insane. Nylander is the style of player Anaheim wants, but is currently lacking.

So why isn’t he already a Duck? Well, the contract is a big reason. Nylander has a lot of points, and is very highly skilled, but he has played on a team with two elite players feeding him the puck in Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. It shouldn’t be looked too hard at that Toronto doesn’t want to pay him what he wants, given that they have Matthews, John Tavares and Marner all who will all likely be signed to significant contracts by next season. But is Nylander worth the money he wants? It’s hard to say, he’s been good, really good, but it’s yet to be seen if he can be THE guy on a team and he wants money that would make him at the very least the second guy on the team.

The Cost

Nylander will not be cheap, contract wise or in terms of assets. Toronto badly needs defense, and defense that helps them now, for a reasonable cap hit. So Josh Manson seems like the most likely case here. Montour plays a similar game to Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner, Toronto doesn’t have a shutdown guy, and have relied on plugging in guys who don’t exactly fit that role to try and fill that role. Again I would prefer Montour but I think Manson will be the sticking point for Toronto, they would also probably want a higher end prospect (Max Jones? Sam Steel?) and a 1st or 2nd round pick. VERY Steep price, but 60 point 22 year olds don’t become available often.

Mark Stone- Ottawa Senators

Finally, lets close things out with the guy that I would be looking to if I was Murray. Mark Stone is a 26 year old right winger, he plays a responsible 2 way game and can play up and down the lineup (Although he thrives most the further up he is). He was over a point per game last season despite being on one of the most dysfunctional teams in the league, and has put up 60+ points 3 of the last 4 years. Stone is the type of player that Bob Murray covets and he seems able to adapt to playing with just about anyone.

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So what’s the downside? Well, he’s a rental at this juncture, and he’s currently signed at a cap hit of 7.35 million, it’s not a stretch to say he would want a raise next season and long term at that, (Although it’s unknown if he went to arbitration because he was being short-changed by Melnyk/Dorian or he didn’t want to sign long term in Ottawa due to the implosion of the team. He’s going to cost a lot regardless and it’s hard to see the Ducks able to fit a player like that under the cap until the contract of Corey Perry is off the books.

The Cost

Unlike Nylander, Stone isn’t playing on a team who is only missing one piece, Ottawa needs 1 of everything and 2 (or 8) of some things. They’re also in cap-purgatory due to the bad contracts of several of their players. The benefit of teams like that is, sometimes quantity can trump quality. For starters you’d probably be looking at Jakob Silfverberg going the other way, he’s a great player and plays a smaller, yet similar game to Stone, he was originally drafted by Ottawa and they valued him highly. You’d also probably be looking at trading someone like Max Jones, or Troy Terry and a lower tier prospect. Ottawa also wants a 1st round pick in this upcoming draft so the Ducks may be able to substitute Jones or Terry for a 1st and instead of a lower tier prospect add in a defensive prospect like Andy Welinski or Marcus Pettersson.

Overall there is a lot of players who are reportedly available for the right price. At this point in the season teams are still evaluating what they have and what they need, but as November begins, and we get closer to December followed by the New Year, we see trade talks and moves pick up. Murray does most of his moves around that time and it’s not out of the question that the Ducks could push hard for one of the above players if they feel it will help them make a push to the playoffs, or help them long term. It’s going to be an interesting couple of months as this team continues to find their footing and identity and we see what the future holds.