Anaheim Ducks Round Table: Breaking Down the 2021 Trade Deadline
The 2021 Trade Deadline was an exciting one for a lot of teams. Taylor Hall was dealt to the Boston Bruins, Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings got a killer package deal for Anthony Mantha, and the Columbus Blue Jackets shipped out Nick Foligno and David Savard. However, things were a little quieter for the Anaheim Ducks.
Despite rumors that Bob Murray was actively shopping several of his big-name players, including captain Ryan Getzlaf, it was a little bit of a letdown when Bargain Bob’s actions didn’t line up with the plan fans thought he had in place. In the end, other teams just weren’t willing to pay the ransom Murray was asking for guys like Rickard Rakell and Josh Manson.
However, Murray was still able to pull off a few moves that, in the end, improved his team slightly. Does this give us a better idea of what direction the team is headed? Absolutely not. In fact, for some of us, we have been left more puzzled than before.
Now that we’ve had time to process, it’s time for our staff to break down their thoughts on the Anaheim Ducks Trade Deadlines moves and the moves the Ducks didn’t make. We don’t necessarily see eye to eye on what was (or wasn’t) done, but that’s the beautiful thing about opinions. They can be different, but each opinion is still valid.
Overall, what do you think of the Anaheim Ducks’ moves leading into the trade deadline? Give it a grade.
Ben Thomasian: (B-) First, I think what the Anaheim Ducks did do was at least worthy of some praise. They opened up space on their blue line and accrued a draft asset by moving on from their free-agent signing Ben Hutton.
They acquired a “reclamation project” and got a little younger on their blue line by moving another one of their free-agent signings (Jani Hakanpaa) along with a late-round draft selection. They also moved a very late draft selection alongside a prospect that didn’t appear to have a great future in Anaheim for a bona fide NHL player in Alexander Volkov.
They’re each small and incremental improvements, however, they’re improvements nonetheless. It wasn’t a big splashy trade deadline like the Buffalo Sabres may have had, but the Anaheim Ducks turned some nearly not-relevant draft capital and some recently acquired free agent signings into two young players. Turning small investments into solid returns might be boring, but it’s one of the stronger ways to accumulate wealth.
Brad Senecal: (D-) While getting a younger defenseman who has a first-round pedigree for a guy you took a flyer on could be beneficial down the road, this is reflective of what the team did not do.
Garrett Brown: (C) The definition of average. I can’t complain too much— god knows the Anaheim Ducks fan base has been guilty of that for many moons now. However, it leaves much to be desired. The current position that the Ducks are in screams “rebuild” almost as loudly as the Buffalo Sabres franchise has been doing so for a decade.
And with many valuable assets at his disposal, Murray decided to play it quiet. That strategy works when you have a good team, he’s just out of his comfort zone now. On the flip side, it would’ve been sad to see a franchise cornerstone like Getzlaf shipped away, or even someone like Rickard Rakell or Adam Henrique.
Adam Tenenbaum: (B-) The Anaheim Ducks trade deadline was underwhelming in the sense they didn’t move their high-priced pieces to speed up the rebuild. However the moves they did make on the surface seem like good moves.
Ciara Durant: (C) I really like the additions that Bob Murray made. While it doesn’t really give us any idea what direction the Anaheim Ducks organization is taking during the rebuild, it was still a change nonetheless. Not to mention, Murray turned Jani Hakanpaa, who wasn’t even playing in the NHL two years ago, into a former Top 10 draft pick, is pretty impressive. Sure, Fleury has struggled in Carolina, but he’s also been buried under an incredibly talented blueline.
However, it’s hard to look past the fact that Murray didn’t move out any of the players he was rumored to be shopping. While I have my own opinions on that, I have to take into consideration that this has upset a lot of the fans, and justifiably so. It wasn’t an overwhelming trade deadline, maybe average at best. Murray could have done more but chose not to. Why? I don’t quite know, but hopefully, he will give the fans more insight into the direction he plans on taking this team.
Final Grade: C
What Do You Think of the Volkov Trade?
Ben Thomasian: At face value, it’s hard to dislike this trade. As mentioned above, the Anaheim Ducks turned a minor draft asset with a very small chance of becoming an NHL player along with a prospect that they didn’t see contributing to their team into a young NHL player from a strong franchise.
Volkov came to the Ducks with some positive spin from his AHL coaches, and while he perhaps hasn’t carried that into the NHL, he has scored goals at a prolific rate in his 6 games for the Ducks. Make no mistake about it, Volkov does have some deficiencies in his game that allowed the Tampa Bay team to move on from him, and those troubles have followed him to the Ducks.
Over his 6 game Ducks career, only Jamie Drysdale has a lower on-ice expected goals for percentage at 5-on-5 hockey. Similarly, Volkov ranks poorly across Corsi-For percentage, shots-for percentage, scoring-chances-for percentage, and so forth.
Perhaps that undersells some of the things Volkov does do well and it’s certainly a point to make that the Ducks as a group look poor. Thus, it’s difficult to judge any one particular player. With that said, the Anaheim Ducks did turn nothing into something and that’s laudable. I think from that perspective along, this trade has to be considered a win. That Volkov has shot the lights out with his 37.5% shooting at 5-on-5 hockey is just the cherry on top.
Brad Senecal: Bringing in Volkov was a nice transaction to get a player who is going to be a contributor for the big club as Antoine Morand did not have much of a role in the organization. As fun as it would have been to see Morand play beside his long-time buddy Max Comtois, instead, the Anaheim Ducks got an interesting young player.
A Russian who has been scouted as a goal scorer he seemed that he would be a fit with a team full of ‘developing playmaking’ forwards. While he scored in his first game, he did not record another point until his two-goal performance against the Sharks. While the hope was that he may become the second coming of Carter Verhagee, he will have to keep proving he is more than just a guy.
Garrett Brown: I like the Volkov trade. Nothing to scoff at though. Morand doesn’t project to be a difference-maker, albeit neither does Volkov. I like that Volkov played in the Cup-clinching game last year though, there’s something to be said for experience (even one game of it). After watching a few games, I am more confident about the trade. He appears to be an upgrade on certain players that have gotten regular playing time with the Ducks, and he hasn’t had much trouble putting the puck in the net.
Adam Tenenbaum: The Volkov move won’t move the needle much in terms of a rebuild but given the price paid to get him and his relative age, the move can be seen as a positive one. He has the potential to be another solid young piece as the Anaheim Ducks shift to a younger faster and more skilled team.
Ciara Durant: I don’t hate the Volkov trade, but I don’t love it either. Where he fits in as far as a rebuild goes, I have no idea. But, he is young and his contract doesn’t break the bank. I don’t think he was given a fair shot in Tampa, which makes sense considering they are a stacked Cap caliber team. So, I am hopeful that more opportunities with the Ducks will allow him to showcase his talent. It was nice to see Murray step out of his comfort zone and trade for a Russian player too.
From everything I’ve read about Volkov, he’s never been projected to be anything more than a bottom-six guy. He played with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL, but he’s struggled at the NHL level. Granted, as mentioned before, he wasn’t given much of an opportunity in Tampa and he’s already getting much more than his 9:32 ATOI that he was given by the Bolts.
We all know Murray loves a good reclamation project, and while Volkov has been known to be a very streaky player, he’s already scored 3 goals in 6 games with the Ducks. While that doesn’t scream “savior”, Volkov could become a decent offensive threat to the Ducks’ bottom six, which is an improvement already.
As much as I personally loved Morand, and wanted to see him have the opportunity to play alongside his best friend, Max Comtois, Murray was able to turn an AHL player who didn’t look like he was going to make the big club anytime soon into a player who can make an impact for the Anaheim Ducks right now, and that is a win.
What are your thoughts on the Trade Deadline trades (Hutton, Fleury)?
Ben Thomasian: Hutton wasn’t a strong player for the Anaheim Ducks and was in fact, one of their worst players along the blue line, despite being Drysdale’s partner in his stellar debut game. They turned that into a later-round draft puck. It’s not a great return, but it’s something for a player who actively made the Ducks worse when he was on the ice. Opening up that roster spot allows for one of their younger players (Josh Mahura, Jacob Larsson, or Brendan Guhle) to step back into the lineup.
As an aside, moving the player for a draft pick, bring the Ducks back to the 50 contract limit, which they were exceeding due to LTIR. It’s not a massive move, but I think so far, as minor moves go, that it was an effective one. They essentially turned a couple of months of cash payments to a free agent into a draft pick. That’s a small, yet positive step in the right direction.
Now, for the Haydn Fleury trade. Another one of Murray’s reclamation projects, Fleury has somewhat been buried in a strong Carolina blue line. Though, in part, that is due to him not taking the bull by the proverbial horns and forcing his way up the depth chart.
Overall, he has had sheltered starts, starting ~58% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Comparatively, only Andy Welinski and Josh Mahura have been as sheltered on the Ducks blue line. Given the Ducks blue line structure that may be somewhat concerning.
By that, I mean that if the Anaheim Ducks want to turbocharge one of their defensive players to take advantage of a high volume of offensive zone starts, that player will likely be their homegrown Jamie Drysdale. While Drysdale has slowed down tremendously over the past seven or eight games, there’s no doubt the Ducks will want him to be leading the charge in an offensive capacity.
It’s also worth noting that amongst the Carolina blueliners, Fleury has the worst of the expected-goals-for and is merely middle of the range for expected-goals-against. Given how frequently he starts his shifts in the offensive zone, it does not appear that he’s really utilizing those minutes. Some may find that concerning given that traditional aging curves suggest that players will begin to decline from approximately age 24 and beyond.
Conversely, defensive WAR (wins above replacement) remains largely static for defensive players throughout their 20’s. While Fleury has the highest on-ice goals against amongst his Carolina blueline peers, he is amongst their best at preventing scoring chances (of the regular and the high danger variety). This provides some hope for an Anaheim Ducks team that may wish to pair their two former top-10 draft selections together.
Fleury could provide a defensive presence while Drysdale provides the offense. With that in mind, it may also worth considering that Fleury looks to be in line for some serious regression based on his current season’s PDO. He has the lowest on-ice shooting percentage (by nearly half the next worst player) and save percentage of any of his Carolina peers. In fact of all the defensemen to play at least 100 5-on-5 minutes this season, Fleury holds the 11th lowest on-ice shooting percentage and 28th lowest PDO.
All that is to say that Fleury is probably worth a shot and likely has some “improvement” left in him should the pendulum of luck begin to swing his way. However, it’s also almost as equally likely that Fleury may frustrate fans if he cannot capitalize on his offensive zone forays. Nonetheless, the opportunity is available for Fleury to craft a defensively orientated game around the fleeter of foot offensive types the Anaheim Ducks already have in the hand.
On the flip side, Jani Hakanpaa formed one of the stronger Anaheim Ducks defensive pairings. While I certainly don’t believe that his individual skill set was as worthy of the praise the Ducks broadcast crew piled upon him each and every night, his pairing alongside Cam Fowler was perhaps the most effective the Ducks had. A 5-on-5 Corsi-for percentage of 51.87, expected goals percentage of 50.23% from 46.11% of offensive starts doesn’t appear to be much at face value but amongst the horrifying blue line numbers, stands out in a positive light.
While Fleury is certainly worth a gamble, he has some shoes to fill in a defensively soft blue line unit. One other thing to consider, and this may be pure fantasy, is that Fleury is a fairly large human being. The Ducks are likely to be drafting relatively high in this season’s entry draft. A draft in which Owen Power and Simon Edvinsson, two very large humans in their own rights, will be in the Ducks draft pick range.
Acquiring Fleury may create redundancy of that player type and thus may have taken the focus away from these larger players, allowing the Anaheim Ducks to acquire one of the forwards who are likely to be in the same draft pick range. It’s no certainty, but something that fans can consider leading up to draft day. Particularly given William Eklund is playing in the Swedish league and we all know how much Bob Murray loves that.
Brad Senecal: Hutton was a guy that it was easy to see get traded, very similar to when they moved Michael Del Zotto back in 2019 for a depth pick. Fleury will be intriguing to watch as he is still only 24 and was a former first-rounder. While the underlying numbers haven’t been great, playing behind guys like Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, Jaccob Slavin, among others, you are not going to be put in the best situations.
Garrett Brown: Net losses are two defensemen, while the gains are one D-man in return and late-round picks. While the Ducks season should be entirely focused on development, I like these trades for one reason only: Drysdale’s responsibility will grow. I think he will handle it relatively well.
One can only hope that is the case; I don’t want to see him go back to juniors. Hutton is a replacement-level defender who never really felt like he had a place on the blueline. While Fleury isn’t a savior, he has a higher ceiling than Hakanpaa could dream of. The trade also makes the Ducks younger which is a step in the right direction. Might I say that this is the best thing Hakanpaa has done for the Anaheim Ducks all year?
Adam Tenenbaum: The Hutton trade is a slam dunk. While a 5th rounder isn’t crazy, getting a pick that high or at all for a guy signed late in training camp on a PTO is great asset management. Fleury on the other hand is a wait and see. While I doubt the Ducks will regret trading Hakanpaa, the jury will be out in terms of any positive impact Fleury will make on this roster. The potential is there, or will he just become another Christian Djoos where the Ducks lose him less than a year later. Only time will tell.
Ciara Durant: The Anaheim Ducks turning Ben Hutton into a 5th round pick, while it’s a late-round pick that may not make a difference down the road, is still something. This also opens up the door for the Ducks to get one of their younger guys on the ice. I think Josh Mahura deserves it more than the others, but when it comes to the Ducks, I never get what I want, so I digress.
I also love the Fleury trade. I know there were a lot of people upset about it, but I think he’s going to be a decent addition to the team. Fleury was very well-loved by fans in Carolina and I have promised them we’d take good care of him, and I intend to keep that promise so this is a no-slander zone.
Fleury will get a much better opportunity here in Anaheim to showcase his skills, much like Volkov. However, I think he will be a beneficial piece to the Anaheim Ducks blueline. It seems like the Ducks might try to play him alongside Kevin Shattenkirk to start, which could be a good pairing down the line.
There are still areas of his game he needs to work on, I think he is a huge improvement to the Ducks blueline. While it will be interesting to see where he fits in once Hampus Lindholm returns, he is exactly the kind of player Murray has been talking about bringing in. Plus, I think it’s overlooked that Murray turned a player who wasn’t even in the NHL two years ago into a previous top 10 pick. Straw into gold? We shall see.
What are your thoughts on the trades the Ducks Didn’t Make (Getzlaf, Manson, Rakell)?
Ben Thomasian: These probably need to be broken down into their own sections as well, but I would say overall, I can’t really complain about what didn’t happen. For one, we have no idea what trades were offered. I would have been happy with something like the Jakub Vrana trade, but extremely unhappy with the Taylor Hall trade. Yes, a 2nd round pick has some value, but in an uncertain year perhaps that value may be unrealized.
For instance, travel was curtailed, so perhaps even the Anaheim Ducks vaunted scouting department didn’t have the surety to conclusive state they could find some gems in that round. Conversely in a widely recognized weak draft, perhaps they could say with certainty that there wasn’t anyone they could find that would provide value equal to what they were giving up. There are a lot of moving parts.
With regards to Ryan Getzlaf, I’m very happy to say that I simply don’t want to see him in a different uniform. I hate that Corey Perry is elsewhere and I truly don’t want to see that with Getzlaf. I would understand it if the return was strong enough, and it appears Murray set that return to be somewhat equivalent of a 1st round draft pick. In my opinion, fair enough.
I’ve seen plenty of comments stating that Murray should have taken far less in order to build an asset base, yet once again bouncing back to the uncertainty of the draft this season, I would rather have Ryan Getzlaf play every single game of his career for the Ducks than worry about the ~15% (~13.7% – 17.2%) chance a second or third-round pick has of making the NHL in a normal draft season. This season of course being anything but normal. I am 100% happy the Anaheim Ducks didn’t trade Ryan Getzlaf.
As for Rickard Rakell and Josh Manson, I have no real feelings at all. I don’t particularly imagine that either player is going to lose a tremendous amount of value between now and draft day. Nor do I imagine that they can’t trade them next deadline. What the difference in value is, we’ll never know, however, there were rumors that Bob Murray wanted 1st round picks or young players/prospects.
That neither player was traded suggests that those offers weren’t forthcoming. We saw that Hall received only a 2nd round pick, and while their circumstances are different, it is not a return I would be overly comfortable with.
I would also suggest that very few trades mimicked what the Ducks have to offer. The Maple Leafs picked up a defensive forward, the Penguins picked up a third line pivot, Washington picked up a power forward, all of the defensive players moved were depth pieces such as the ones the Ducks did trade away. None of those trades were for players similar to Rakell or Manson. Perhaps the most similar one was Boston moving on Hall, and that was eerily similar to Ryan Kesler forcing his way to Anaheim all those years ago.
Perhaps the Ducks could have forced trades, however, that seems far closer to the process the Buffalo Sabres would do than perhaps a more patient well-run team may work with. Consider that after a historically poor season and the third poor season in a row, the Colorado Avalanche despite many considering them sellers (and their fans starting a petition to remove their GM) did not trade Matt Duchene.
They held until a more opportune time and ended up profiting tremendously from that waiting period. Given the uncertainty of this upcoming draft and the perceived strength of the following one, can any of us say that trading one of the Ducks better trade chips now is the best move to maximize value?
I don’t believe that it took any particular savvy or courage for the Ducks to not make the moves that they did, however, I do believe that fans should wait for the entirety of this to play out before making assumptions on what they believe is right. Both of the Anaheim Ducks’ biggest trade chips have a season left on their deals and we yet have an expansion draft to navigate. Let’s see how the Ducks shape up at the draft next season before condemning them in their entirety.
For all the talk about how the Ducks should follow a patient rebuild and make smart moves like the Avalanche did, there sure are a lot of comments complaining that they’re not doing things fast and messy like the Sabres. Besides, many of the most vocal voices pushing for these changes are the same voices who assured us that Dallas Eakins was a fantastic coach. Are you all really sure you want to trust those voices again?
Brad Senecal: A huge missed opportunity here. If the rumor was true that Ryan Getzlaf was willing to move to the Vegas Golden Knights he would have been a fantastic addition for the Stanley Cup favorite. While he still has an $8.25 cap hit seeing all the trades with teams taking on salary, there was a clear path for the Anaheim Ducks to get a move done had the captain been interested.
Manson has dealt with injuries this year but it is well known how much of a hot commodity right shot d-men are and with another year on his deal that value is ever more present. Rakell also has another year on his deal at a very fair cap hit. These players very well could have brought in a decent haul of picks and prospects. Whether or not Bob Murray was able to get what he wanted will be unknown but if there were interested parties this could be seen as a huge missed opportunity.
Garrett Brown: This is the problem with writing about a team you love. As is the case with any sports star, fans build connections, and then it’s sad to see them go. I was distraught when Corey Perry was bought out a few offseasons ago, but as he made his way to the Stanley Cup Final on his new team, it was very easy to cheer for him. So, taking this into consideration, I now lean more towards the “How the hell didn’t we trade anybody?” side of the fandom.
Like I mentioned earlier, there were at least three or four valuable trade pieces that could’ve netted early-round picks and notable prospects. That Murray stayed quiet, speaks volumes about the disillusionment of the front office. There should be no reason that the Ducks still employ players like Manson, Rakell, or Henrique. From an emotionally invested fan’s point of view, I’ll admit there is some relief, but with each passing day, the Anaheim Ducks begin to embody the Sabres more and more closely.
Adam Tenenbaum: I would have liked to see at least one of Manson or Rakell go at the deadline if the value was there in return. It was said Murray was seeking first-round picks and/ or top prospects. I am totally fine if that was his price but at the same time, he whiffed on potentially speeding up the rebuild by not finding at least one suitor to meet his demands. Rakell and Manson both have another year left on their contract after this season, but their value will never be higher than it is now.
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Anyone acquiring them by the draft or next deadline will be taking on a rental which will reduce the cost of trying to acquire them. On the Getzlaf, no trade decision, that one I am perfectly okay with and I am sure most Ducks fans are as well. Unless the trade coming back was so significant that you cannot refuse it, I do not see any real reason to trade away our long-time captain who has only worn an Anaheim Ducks sweater for pennies on the dollar type deals.
Ciara Durant: To be quite honest, I am not really excited about this year’s draft. Sure, the Ducks will get a good player with what looks like could be a pick in the Top 5 this year, but outside of that, I’m not really impressed. So, in my mind, trading Rakell or Manson for first’s doesn’t make much sense to me. I know it would have been a big step in the rebuild process, but in my mind trading them now versus trading them next year doesn’t really make much of a difference in my mind.
Was it a missed opportunity? Sure, it’s possible. But, I don’t think the Anaheim Ducks would have gotten the return for either of them that we thought they would have. As much as I love each and every player on this team, I sometimes think we as fans, and even sometimes management, overvalues these players.
Now, what is perplexing to me is the whole Nicolas Deslauriers situation. It was reported that he was being traded to Pittsburgh but then we never heard any follow-up. I’m curious about what happened there, but also kind of glad to still have Nic on the team. As far as Getzlaf goes, I knew he wasn’t going anywhere and while it would have been great to see him win another Cup, it would have been weird seeing him do it with Vegas.
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