5. Time to Wheel and Deal
If the Ducks are going to be going all in to win the Cup in their 25th year, Bob Murray is going to have to make some moves before the trade deadline. So far, Sprong and Aberg have been revelations for the Ducks, but with the offense struggling, Murray needs to be on the phones to give the Ducks some help. With limited cap space, the Ducks can’t go for the moon and back, but there are several options they can go for and these are the ones I believe they should go after:
1. Jaden Schwartz (St. Louis)
– A young guy who can help on the wing and give the Ducks more speed along with Aberg and can give the Ducks another scoring option. Plus, he doesn’t have a trade clause and is a UFA at seasons end. An option that the Ducks could look at and could possibly trade Nick Ritchie and a prospect for him.
2. David Perron (St. Louis)
– Former Duck for a couple of years and would be a welcome addition for the Ducks. Though 30 years old, Perron has scored 25 points for the Blues. He can be a help on the wing like Schwartz. The only question is can he take some of the load off Kesler and provide that physical presence Kesler used to bring?
3. Conor Sheary (Buffalo)
– Cup champion twice over, Sheary is another winger that the Ducks need to look at. Could play either wing position and would be a bottom six forward and an option on the power-play and 3 on 3 overtime. Getting him in a trade would be a steal by Murray.
4. John Klingberg (Dallas)
– If the Ducks want to shore up the back end, Klingberg is an option to look at because he’s top 3 on his team in points and leads the team in points per game. He’s young but shows a lot of experience. He’s tall but can use his speed and with his offensive prowess, can be used as a quarterback for the power-play.
5. Aaron Ekblad (Florida)
– Another defenseman that the Ducks could look at. He’s big and can throw his body around. If he joins the Ducks, he could bring a “Bash Brother” presence along with Manson, and that could send shivers down the opposing teams’ forwards’ spines.
6. Shayne Gostisbehere (Philadelphia)
– One of Philadelphia’s young guns on the D core that I would consider giving a few prospects for. He leads the defense in points, points per game, and his style of play could fit well in Anaheim. Though he is minus fifteen in plus/minus, that could be attributed to how the Flyers have been struggling. So maybe a fresh start in the OC could give Shayne and the Ducks a jolt on a young and coming defense.
7. Aleksander Barkov (Florida)
– He’s one of the most highly-sought guys as the trade deadline looms so closely. He could be another guy who can center a line, but with Rakell coming back, would the Ducks look at him? I would consider it because you could use him to give Kesler time to rest and have him center a forward line along with Ryan Getzlaf, Rakell and either Ben Street or Brian Gibbons to center the fourth line. He could also be an asset on the power play and in OT.
8. Jake Gardiner (Toronto)
– My last target for the Ducks to go after. He’s one of the young talented defensemen for the Maple Leafs, second in points on their defense, second in points per game on their defense, this guy might warrant giving up a few of our young defensemen for him.
Though these are viable options for the Ducks to go after, the main question is who the Ducks are willing to part ways with. Me personally, on defense, Manson and Montour are untouchable for me. They have shown their value to stay on the team and be mainstays for years to come. I would be willing to part ways with Fowler, but it would have to be a deal that brings us someone who help right away like a Gardiner or a Gostisbehere.
Some of the young D-men I would use as trade bait, but I do like Josh Mahura on our team. He’s played well, even though he has struggled at times. The rest of the guys are expendable and with how we’re looking in the minor leagues, I think we could trade away someone for a quality D-men who can score and make their presence felt.
Meanwhile, on offense, a lot of people are looking to trade Ritchie to Dallas because of his brother being there, but I’m not one of them, he’s played very well this year, and hasn’t taken a lot of stupid penalties as he used to in times past. While I don’t want to get rid of anyone on the offense, if I had to choose, I would have to say Street just because he hasn’t produced a lot while he’s been here.
As far as one of the veterans to trade, I’m not trading Andrew Cogliano because his style mirrors a Travis Moen or Samuel Pahlsson, and that is hard to find these days. I would say though, a Silfverberg trade is not something I would be against since we have some young guys in the minors who are waiting in the wings to have their turn in the big leagues.