Anaheim Ducks: 2020 Trade Deadline in Retrospect

Ondrej Kase for David Backes, Axel Andersson, and Jacob Perreault

In the Anaheim Ducks first trade of the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline, Bob Murry traded Ondrej Kase to the Boston Bruins for David Backes, Axel Andersson, and a 2020 first-round draft pick. The first-round pick would turn into Jacob Perreault, selected 27th overall at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Ducks.

At the time, Ondrej Kase was one of the Ducks’ most exciting offensive producers on the ice. He had 23 points with the club at the time of his trade. Unfortunatley, his injury history with concussions was starting to become a real concern.

Kase played only two games for the Boston Bruins in the 2020-21 season before succumbing to injury once again. According to the Bruins, there is absolutely zero timetable for his return, which does not bode well for the 25-year-old forward, or the team that traded their first-round pick for him.

In order to move Kase for a first-round draft pick, however, the Anaheim Ducks had to be willing to take on David Backes’ contract. The veteran forward had fallen out of favor with the Boston Bruins and was hoping that he would be given a second chance in Anaheim. Since his trade, he has only played 16 games with the club, spending a majority of the season on their taxi squad.

While Backes knew he would likely be nothing more than a part-time player for the Anaheim Ducks this season, the numbers show that if the Ducks would have given him more of a chance, he could have improved their bottom six. Maybe not drastically, but for this team, the smallest improvement is still improvement nonetheless.

As far as Axel Andersson goes, I am a little indifferent. He has been playing over in Sweden this season, posting 11 points in 51 games with Södertälje SK in the HockeyAllsvenskan. He has recently been assigned to the San Diego Gulls, but won’t join them until his quarantine period is over. It will be a lot easier to track his development and learn more about who he is as a player now that he is in San Diego.

The big-ticket of this trade, however, was the 2020 first-round pick, which turned into Jacob Perreault. This pick was a little off the board for the Anaheim Ducks, who usually select the safer two-way players. Perreault definitely has holes in his defensive game, but that kid can score. It has been a long time since the Ducks have had a prospect who has been praised as a pure sniper that can score from anywhere.

If his development trends in the right direction and he can work on rounding out the rest of his game, he is going to be a dangerous asset to the Anaheim Ducks for years to come. He could potentially become a key piece for the team when they finish their rebuild.

Final Grade: C

Nick Ritchie for Danton Heinen

Fan’s rejoiced at the news that Bob Murray had finally pulled the trigger and sent Nick Ritchie packing. Me, on the other hand, this trade absolutely broke my heart. The former 10th overall selection had not panned out the way we had hoped and his discipline issues were becoming a problem in the eyes of the fans. Quite frankly, it was costing his team too.

Since being traded to Boston however, the 25-year-old power forward has been thriving, and I am here for it. In 34 games he has 20 points, including 10 goals (4th on the team.), and is having quite possibly the best season of his career. His 19 PIM is a big change from his 97 PIM just the season prior. The physical, gritty, mean, and brutal style of hockey the Boston Bruins have been known for suits Ritchie’s personal style far better than Anaheim ever did.

Danton Heinen, on the other hand, has not seemed to find his niche with the Anaheim Ducks. It is to no fault of his own, but for whatever reason, the team has been quick to write him off. It was rumored earlier in the season that he was a part of a trade deal with the Vancouver Canucks for Jake Virtanen. The deal fell through last minute, but since then, Heinen has found himself mismanaged by the Ducks organization.

He has consistently proven that he can be an asset to the Anaheim Ducks lineup, yet he has only appeared in 26 games. In the other 11 games this season, he found himself on the healthy scratch list. Nevertheless, he has the same amount of points as lineup regulars like Max Jones, Isac Lundestrom, and Derek Grant. These point totals were achieved in fewer games but with better underlying stats.

Final Grade: D

Devin Shore for Sonny Milano

The trade that brought in Sonny Milano was one of the more intriguing trades Bob Murray has made in recent years. Milano was once thought to be an NHL superstar on the rise and the future of the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, the former 16th overall draft pick never really found his footing with CBJ and was pushed to the wayside.

Nevertheless, we all know how much Bob Murray loves his reclamation projects and Anaheim seemed like a good place for Milano to realize his full potential with the rebuilding team. With the Blue Jackets gearing up for the playoffs again, adding Devin Shore to their roster added some depth and defensive responsibility to their bottom-six, also filling a void in the absence of Alexander Wennberg.

Unfortunatley, neither player would appear in more than a few games for their new clubs before the NHL shutdown. When the league returned to play, Shore appeared in only 2 playoff games for the Columbus Blue Jackets despite the team making it past the Qualifying round and into Round 1 of the Stanely Cup Finals.

In free agency, the Blue Jackets would not issue Shore a qualifying offer. He would go on to sign with the Edmonton Oilers and has posted 6 points, including two goals, for his new team in 24 games this season.

Sonny Milano impressed in his debut with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring two goals in his first game. He would go on to add 5 points in 9 games before the NHL shutdown. He proved he had potential, even earning a new contract over the summer, but there are areas he needs to show improvement, particularly his transition play.

Fans had high hopes for the 24-year-old going into the 2020-21 season. However, there has been a big problem. Milano has been unable to stay healthy this season, appearing in just 6 games with the Anaheim Ducks (with 0 points.) He played in the opening to games, found himself injured, had a conditioning stint in San Diego, and returned for four games before he found himself back on IR. It is speculated that he could be out for the rest of the season.

Final Grade: C-

Daniel Sprong for Christian Djoos

Fail… I’m telling you right now, this trade is getting an F! There are no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. At the time, this trade seemed great, but hindsight is always 20/20 and that’s why we’re looking at these trades over a year later.

Daniel Sprong was acquired by the Anaheim Ducks from the Pittsburgh Penguins in December of 2018 in exchange for Marcus Pettersson. You, the fans, even voted him as the best acquisition of the 2018-19 season. He was fast, intuitive, had a dangerous shot, and posted almost 20 points in his 47 games campaign with the Ducks in 2018-19.

However, going into the 2019-20 season, Sprong suddenly became the odd man out and found himself spending a majority of his season in the AHL, something he had hoped to avoid when moving to Anaheim. He worked closely with Gulls head coach Kevin Dineen to round out his game in hopes of making the leap to the big league. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t play more than 8 games with the Ducks.

In order to improve their blueline, the Ducks would send Daniel Sprong to Washington in exchange for Swedish defenseman, Christian Djoos. Djoos really seemed to fit in as a bottom pairing defenseman for the Anaheim Ducks. He was small but showed real potential. Over the offseason, the Ducks offered him a one-year extension, and he even took a pay cut to stay with the Ducks.

However, in order to be Cap compliant at the start of the 2020-21 season, the Anaheim Ducks had to shuffle the deck and move some money around. So, they opted to keep a cheaper contract up with the big club and put Christian Djoos on waivers. And who swooped in and stole him from right under our noses? Well, none other than the Detroit Red Wings.

This was another case of asset management gone wrong on Bob Murray’s part. To add insult to injury, Daniel Sprong has been playing well with the Washington Capitals this year. He has 12 points in 26 games, including 7 goals, which would have him tied for third on the current Ducks team with the likes of Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, and Troy Terry.

Big yikes for Bob Murray and another failing grade. That was the end of the Marcus Pettersson trade tree and things did not go the way we planned.

Final Grade: F

Derek Grant for Kyle Criscuolo and Thimo Nickl

Bob Murray capitalized on Derek Grant’s career season (14g and 6a in 49 games), trading him to the Philadelphia Flyers for assets. He made this trade with the knowledge that he had every intention of bringing Grant back in free agency. Kyle Criscuolo was more of an AHL move, but Murray was able to secure the Anaheim Ducks a 4th round pick, as he had traded theirs away earlier in the season for Nicolas Deslauriers.

In this trade, the Anaheim Ducks received the higher of Philadelphia’s two 4th round draft picks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, either their pick they acquired from Nashville or their own. The Ducks would end up with the 104th overall selection in the 4th round, selecting Austrian defenseman, Thimo Nickl who played for the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

More from Pucks of a Feather

• 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?

In our draft grades following the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, our staff gave the Nickl pick an overall grade of B-. He is the first Austrian drafted in Anaheim Ducks history and looks to be a well-rounded two-way defenseman. He has adapted well to North American hockey since making the transition across the pond.

He is good at reading plays, smart on his feet, has a powerful shot, and is somewhat of a special teams expert. There are some deficiencies in his game and he does tend to overcomplicate things for himself which can lead to costly mistakes. However, with proper development and a confidence boost, he will add some much-needed depth to the Anaheim Ducks roster in the future.

And, just as was predicted, after his playoff campaign with the Philadelphia Flyers, the Anaheim Ducks resigned Derek Grant, inking him to a 3-year deal worth $4.5M (AAV $1.5M). Grant has posted 8 points for the Ducks in 31 games this season and his underlying stats have been dismal. Nevertheless, Dallas Eakins and the Anaheim Ducks love him.

Final Grade: B-

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