Anaheim Ducks Could Take Advantage of the Arizona Coyotes Draft Woes
The Arizona Coyotes draft woes could open the door for Anaheim Ducks General Manager, Bob Murray to pull off a smart trade.
The National Hockey League has finally brought down the hammer on the Arizona Coyotes for their draft breach of putting junior prospects through physical workouts prior to the draft. They brought down the hammer, HARD. Specifically, the Coyotes will be losing their 2nd round draft selection this season, as well as their 1st round selection in 2021.
Compounding the Coyotes draft woes is the Taylor Hall trade. Should the Coyotes extend Hall in the desert, they will be giving up their 2021 2nd round pick to the New Jersey Devils. If they decide to let Hall go, then they’ll be giving their 2021 3rd round pick away.
For those counting at home, this means that the Coyotes will have only one draft selection in the first three rounds of both the 2020 and 2021 drafts combined. With the flat cap, the Coyotes are also only projected to have ~$1.5 million in salary-cap space prior to extending Hall.
I am not a smart man. However… however… it seems to me that a not particularly good team, with no chance of securing high-end youth and who may lose one of their best players for naught, may just be in the strike zone for a savvy General Manager to take advantage of. Maybe that GM is the Anaheim Ducks, Bob Murray?
Jacob Chychrun Should be on the Anaheim Ducks Radar
Initially, the question should be asked what the Ducks could possibly want to pick from the Coyotes? The following question would be what do they want to give up to get it? In this instance, I believe the Anaheim Ducks should use some leverage to acquire something they don’t have a lot of. That is a young top-4 defenceman. Jacob Chychrun should be on the Ducks radar.
Merely 22-years-of-age, Chychrun is an oft-injured two-way defenceman, who plays with a physical edge and skates with elegance and grace. Currently scoring at 0.34 point per game pace, the 6’2 defenceman is relatively adept at controlling and directing the flow of play. At least to the extent that some pundits have called for him to run the Coyotes power play instead of his higher-profile puck-moving teammate, Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
While the Anaheim Ducks do have some younger defensemen on the roster, many of them have not shown themselves to be regular NHL players. Jacob Larsson, Brendan Guhle, and Josh Mahura have all faltered at some stage, while Josh Manson and Cam Fowler are getting older. Acquiring Chychrun to play alongside Hampus Lindholm, could provide the Ducks defense with a solid 1-2 punch on the back end for years to come.
The Coyotes, of course, would not want to part with a young top 4 defenceman, and thus the Anaheim Ducks would have to barter with them in order to pry the young prize away. However, they have the means to do so.
What Should The Ducks Give Up To Acquire A Top-4 Defenceman?
The start of any trade between these two teams will have to start with a 1st-round draft selection. The Ducks have managed to buy their way into the Boston Bruins selection at the back end of the draft. While the selection will be one of the last selections in this season’s draft, it will also still be possible to pick up a quality young player. In essence, the only reason the Anaheim Ducks would give it up at this stage of their rebuild is to acquire another young asset, which they do here.
Adding to the 1st-round selection the Ducks should consider a 2nd-round selection in the 2021 draft. Doing so will add value to the trade, as it’s very difficult to acquire top-4 defencemen, and it could be presumed that the Coyotes will want to replace one of the draft picks they will have to give up to the Devils.
In essence, moving Chychrun for draft selections would help the Coyotes save money, and allow them to extend Hall who is still only 28-years-old. The Ducks 2nd-round pick would replace the outgoing 2nd-round pick required to extend Hall.
Further, the Anaheim Ducks can sweeten the pot by including either one of the young defencemen mentioned above or one of their many middle-6 wings. For instance, Sonny Milano is perceived to be a high upside player who is still only 24-years-old.
While a 1st round pick, a 2nd round pick, and a 24-year-old (perceived to be) high-upside forward, may seem to be a good haul for an oft-injured defenceman, there is some protection built-in for the Anaheim Ducks as well.
Firstly, the Ducks are unlikely to get such a clear top-4 defenceman with the Boston draft selection, and it is almost certainly the type of player they would be trying to target in this portion of the draft. Thus, the Ducks can say that they took on salary and moved a young player (the initial trade with Boston) in order to acquire a big piece of their rebuild.
Moving one of the middle-6 wings also cuts down on what Seattle may be able to select in next summer’s expansion draft. At present, the Ducks are likely to have nine forwards they would like to protect, with only seven protection slots to give. Limiting the forwards available to Seattle will railroad them into taking one of the Ducks defencemen.
Opening Up Future Trades
Acquiring Chychrun suddenly means that the Ducks will not have enough protection slots to protect all of their desired defensive players. One of Cam Fowler, Josh Manson, Hampus Lindholm, or Chychrun himself would be considered “surplus to needs.”
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If we assume that the younger Lindholm would be protected – and he should if the Ducks timeline to contention is to be considered – then the choice remains between Manson and Fowler. Most teams in the league would seemingly covet Manson’s physical play and would likely consider paying a premium to do so.
Toronto recently bought their way into a 1st round selection in this year’s draft after being found out in the playoffs once again. A great deal of their trouble came from a lack of a physical presence on the ice, and in particular on the back end. The same can be said of the Edmonton Oilers. While the Ducks would not like to play against Manson four or five times each season, it is a clear position of need for the Oilers and the Ducks again, could perhaps push their price a little.
A 2022 1st-round selection might be a worthwhile price, not necessarily as a draft selection the Ducks would choose to use themselves, but as one they may try to use to leverage their way higher up in that draft when it comes to pass. There would certainly be other suitors should the Ducks decide to shop the 29-year-old Manson.
Taken together, using their draft capital to leverage the Arizona Coyotes could have a profound impact on the Ducks’ ability to plan their team structure moving forward. A top-4 including Fowler, Lindholm, and Chychrun, is in its own right, a relatively strong one.
The draft picks or prospects that could be acquired by trading Manson would provide the rebuilding Ducks with future capital to build their team while limiting the damage Seattle could do to them at the expansion draft. Like many things, there are moving parts to consider, however it seems as though the Coyotes are ripe for the picking.
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