Bob Murray Wants the Anaheim Ducks to be a Playoff Contender

Is it the End of the Road for one of our Ducklings?

Nonetheless, given the acquisition of the veteran and that the Anaheim Ducks are currently in excess of the salary cap ceiling, is it plausible that we’ve seen the last of some of the once highly hyped ducklings?

Maxime Comtois for a long time was considered a lottery pick until he slipped into the second round due to injuries. Nonetheless, fans were high on his upside. He is, however, a relatively weak skater and unfortunately, that is a trait that doesn’t seem to fit the Ducks player acquisition thesis in recent times.

Newcomer, Sam Colangelo may be the only “poor” skater acquired since Comtois himself, and he theoretically plays a similar game, though on the opposite wing. Thus, can we at least consider that Comtois may no longer be required in the future?

Lundestrom was always destined to be a middle-six defensive forward at best, but his youth may be problematic in terms of consistency on those defensive assignments. It would appear that Murray would prefer the consistency of a veteran (Grant) over the variation seen in younger players.

Given Grant is signed for the next three seasons, is that more or less the end of the road for Lundestrom? It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s trade bait, but is he attractive enough to Seattle to be dazzled by his bright shiny first-round draft status in a one years time?

It’s tough to imagine what Murray might be thinking. However, one doesn’t often pay a combined $6 million for two bottom 6 pivots and sit your highly touted youths on the bench. It’s also worth noting that the Ducks are currently sitting over the cap ceiling with some players still to sign (eg a backup netminder). Given that, it would appear that some movement is forthcoming, just what that will look like is uncertain.