Anaheim Ducks: Buy, Try, Sigh, or Cry — Trade Deadline Edition
Rumors are a dime a dozen in the NHL, and with the trade deadline on the horizon, there’s quite a buzz surrounding the Anaheim Ducks.
Welcome back to another edition of “Buy, Try, Sigh or Cry.” Today, we’re going to take a look at some of the rumors surrounding the Anaheim Ducks prior to the trade deadline on February 25th (Next Monday). The team is somehow in an even more peculiar spot than they were during the last edition of “Buy, Try, Sigh, or Cry” (mid-season edition.)
There is now even more uncertainty and question marks surrounding this team. It makes for a lot of rumors, and a lot of speculation, but how many of these rumors have anything merit to them? How many of them will help out the team in the long run? How many are going to make us long for the days of inactivity?
Well, lucky for all of you, we’re going to break these rumors down. Before we do get started, let’s go ahead and do a quick recap of each rating. Each rumor will be broken down into one of four ratings: buy, try, sigh, or cry.
Buy: A rumor that is entirely plausible. It is something that is positive for the team and is a good thing.
Try: This would be something that is not likely to happen but would have a positive impact on the team if it did. It is also something Bob Murray should try to make happen.
Sigh: A situation that would most likely negatively influence the team, but is not exactly likely to happen.
Cry: This would be something that is entirely plausible and is not good for the team. We can probably expect it to happen, but we all wish it wouldn’t.
Rumor 1: Silfverberg Extended?
The first rumor up to the plate is the speculation that the Ducks will extend Jakob Silfverberg. Silfverberg is a 28-year-old Swedish winger for the Anaheim Ducks; he’s been part of the team for the past 6 years and he’s been a joy to watch over that time.
He is a true two-way forward who is extremely responsible in his own end, but has a laser of a shot, that most guys could only dream of having. However, due to his role being more tailored to a shutdown position, his offensive numbers have never jumped off of the page, usually hovering around 35-40 points, respectable, but not game-changing.
Silfverberg finds himself in a contract year and is currently leading the Ducks in goals. Although, that is not a huge accomplishment considering only four players on the team have 10 or more goals. Only Silf has more than 12, leading the team with 14. So, will Jakob earn himself a shiny new contract with the Anaheim Ducks?
Rumor Rating: Cry
By all accounts, Bob Murray wants to keep Silfverberg. He’s one of the very few players that GMHCBM has publicly endorsed over recent months, and every insider seems to think that re-signing Jakob is priority number one for the Ducks. Including this quote from the most recent
“31 Thoughts” article by extremely reliable Elliott Friedman:
“When it comes to Jakob Silfverberg, it sounds like the final hurdle is term more than dollars.” -Elliott Friedman
As much as I like Silfverberg, signing him to an extension would be a big mistake, unless Adam Henrique is traded. The biggest problem the Ducks face right now is they do not have expendable assets who will bring a return of anything meaningful. The three biggest cap hits all have no-movement clauses and are in their mid-30’s. The remaining forwards are either of no substantial value or are seen as part of the future.
Silfverberg is at the point in his career where he will be looking for his biggest pay-day both in terms of dollars and term. Don’t get me wrong, Silfverberg deserves every bit of the bump in salary he’s going to get, but the Ducks, who already have $27 million per season invested in forwards over the age of 30. They also have another $5.8 million starting next year invested in Adam Henrique, who will be 30-years-old. Anaheim cannot afford to pay another $5+ million for a forward entering the latter stages of their career.
Regardless, it seems like Murray is intent on making this happen. It’s not often that Murray sets his mind to re-signing someone, that it doesn’t get done, which is part of the reason we’re in this predicament in the first place. I predict a 5-year deal north of $5.5 million, and the Ducks will quickly come to regret it.
Rumor 2: Eakins the Heir Apparent Behind the Bench
The second rumor will more than likely come to fruition following the season of “Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, General Manager, and Interim Head Coach” Bob Murray’s tenure behind the bench. The result of him firing Randy Carlyle will probably be the promotion of Dallas Eakins during the off-season. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Ducks find their next head coach to be someone who’s currently in the system.
Eakins has been the head coach of the San Diego Gulls for the past 4 seasons, and he’s been fairly impressive in his stint as an AHL head coach. In his 7 seasons as a head coach in the AHL, 4 years in Toronto, and the past 3 seasons in San Diego, Eakins has been to the playoffs 4 times, making it to at least the second round each time.
The other 3 years he did not make the playoffs but hovered around a .500 record. His tenure as an NHL head coach is less noteworthy, posting a “yikes” inducing 36-63-14 record in a season and a half behind the bench in Edmonton (But to be fair… It is Edmonton, so does it really fall on him?)
Rumor Rating: Buy
This one gets a low “Buy” from me; I think it’s going to happen, but the best reaction I can muster for the possibility of it happening is “meh?” I think Eakins deserves another shot in the NHL. He’s done a good job in San Diego, but I’m not certain he’s exactly a game-changing coach. My reasoning for this is relatively simple.
The teams he coaches don’t seem to reach another level with him behind the bench. What I mean by this is if you look at the records of the teams he coaches, the win percentage is relatively unchanged from the first season he takes over in comparison to the coach who preceded him, and it’s relatively unchanged by the coach who succeeds him.
For instance, Eakins was hired by the Marlies to coach for the 2009-10 season. The previous season (2008-09) the Marlies were 39-29-5-7 for a .563 point percentage. The first season Eakins was coaching the Marlies managed a 33-35-6-6 record for a .488 Point Percentage, the second worse season by the Marlies from 2005 until the present.
He stepped it up the following season and got them to a .531, which is still not any better than the previous coach in his last season. The next two years he was a .632, which is definitely solid. So, what about after he left?
Well, the first season after he left the Marlies had an identical point percentage to his last season at the helm (.632) but the kicker, the 2013-14 Marlies actually won more games than they did during Eakins last season at the helm. The year after that they dipped slightly to .586, still respectable and better than half of Eakins records. After that, they posted an incredible .750.
So what about in the NHL? Well, that paints an even uglier picture. In his season and a half at the helm in Edmonton, the Oilers dipped from .451 and .469 seasons the two years before Eakins got there to .409 in his first season. His second season where he was only there for half a season, they posted a .306 point percentage. Which would have been the worst point percentage in the history of the franchise if he was not fired and replaced by Craig MacTavish and Todd Nelson who improved it slightly to a .378.
Simply put, Eakins deserves a second chance, I’m just not sold that it’s going to pan out the way Ducks fans want. Nothing about Eakins coaching resume says he has a history of making his teams better, more-so he just keeps the status quo or, worst case, makes them worse. Nevertheless, it seems almost an inevitability at this point that Eakins is next in line, even if I’d rather see others in that role. Sheldon Keefe, Rickard Grönberg, and Kevin Dineen are my top 3.
Rumor 3: Fowler a Fowl No Longer?
When things go sideways you start to see names mentioned in trade rumors that would be inconceivable at other points. Cam Fowler‘s name is one of those currently. There’s been a lot of speculation that the Ducks and Bob Murray are not impressed with Fowler’s development from a leadership standpoint.
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 once-expected successor to Ryan Getzlaf has been mentioned in trade rumors more than at any point since the 2016 Entry Draft when it was widely expected that Cam Fowler was being shopped due to his next contract being a bit richer than the Ducks were willing to pay. Ultimately, Fowler was re-signed and is currently in the first year of an 8 year deal with a cap hit of $6.5 million. With the Ducks looking to potentially “re-tool” will Fowler be a casualty?
Rumor Rating: Try… For Now
This is something that I don’t foresee happening in the next 7 days, but it is something that would not shock me at all if it happened before puck drop on opening day next season. As Elliott Friedman put it, the Ducks need “major surgery” and that means cutting around some of the good to excise the bad.
I think one of Fowler, Josh Manson, or Brandon Montour will be moved before next season, and Fowler would garner the biggest return. That, paired with Murray reportedly not being happy with how Fowler’s coming along as a captain candidate, I think Fowler could be the one most likely to be moved. Just not this soon. It will likely happen in the off-season, possibly around the draft. Who could the defenseman be dealt to? Montreal? Buffalo? The Islanders?
dark. Next. 5 Reasons Ducks Fans Can Look Forward to the Off-season
That’s it for part 1. I have a few other rumors for a part 2. Are there any rumors you’d like to see discussed? Make sure to reply to this article or find me on Twitter @NoJolt and I will discuss them in the next article.