Anaheim Ducks: Moves Bob Murray Could Make During Offseason

The Ducks will lose somebody to Seattle in the expansion draft, who is selected and how much of an impact will this create?

Brad Senecal: This one is a tough call for me but I am going to go with Adam Henrique. While he is a very important veteran presence that Murray signed long-term and was just the captain of the Canadian World Championship team, Henrique getting put on waivers could be a sign that Rico is on his way out.

While his cap hit may not be the most attractive, getting a veteran center would have to appeal to the new franchise that will be searching for leadership on day one. By moving on from Henrique the Ducks would be freeing up $5.825M of cap space to use in free agency or take on a poor contract that teams could be willing to get out from.

With Ryan Getzlaf’s future still up in the air, it would be tough to move on from another important play down the middle, however, if Murray and Dallas Eakins wish to continue the youth movement, this would give guys like Trevor Zegras, Sam Steel, and Isac Lundestrom further opportunity. Seeing as Henrique was put on waivers early in the season, the expansion draft could help Murray if he’s dealing with buyer’s remorse.

Ben Thomasian: I think the Kraken will end up taking Josh Mahura. In the end, his offensive numbers per 60 were better than any other Ducks blueliner, and he’s relatively young at 23-years-old. If the Kraken were looking to create an up-tempo offensively orientated team, he provides the best avenue for that given his youth and potential upside.

Certainly, the Ducks will be leaving other young players on the line. Max Jones seems like a likely candidate to be exposed given his lack of scoring. Yet, from Seattle’s perspective, while Jones is a nice young player, third-liners shouldn’t be overly hard to come by and could easily be sourced from other teams.

Mahura offers a skill set that may not be as easily acquired. Thus, the Kraken go all-in on a player who moves the puck up the ice and who just might be able to quarterback their power play.

Adam Tenenbaum: I said in my article, I think they take Danton Heinen. I’m less confident in that now. I think Murray makes another deal to take someone else and stay away from Hayden Fleury but if he doesn’t, I’ll stick to my word and say, Heinen.

Ciara Durant: While I absolutely hate it, because I love the player, I think Seattle is going to lean towards taking Adam Henrique. This would be a good thing for the Anaheim Ducks, as it would open up even more cap space and get Rico’s ridiculous contract off the books. The draw for Seattle? Henrique was one of the Ducks’ top 5 point producers, top 2 goal scorers, and he has incredible leadership qualities, as we’ve seen with the Ducks and even on the international stage.

He is an extremely versatile player who can slot in down the middle or even on the wing. And I would be proud to have Adam Henrique selected by my hometown team! His presence with the Anaheim Ducks would be missed, but as Brad mentioned, this opens up room for players like BO Groulx, Sam Steel, Trevor Zegras, and Isac Lundestrom to get more opportunities with the big club, especially if Ryan Getzlaf re-signs in Anaheim.

There is always the chance Seattle opts to take Josh Mahura as well. Ben explained it best. But his contract is a lot better in terms of both term and money, and he is a lot younger than Rico. There isn’t much room for Mahura to make his big break with the Anaheim Ducks, especially with the addition of Haydn Fleury and Jamie Drysdale. Seattle might be able to afford him that opportunity.

Redan Lopez: Adam Henrique or Kevin Shattenkirk. Clearly, Shattenkirk has not worked out on his 4.9 mil/year contract and he hasn’t provided the offensive output on the back end the Ducks would have hoped. Henrique may be given up possibly so the Ducks can help Seattle reach the salary floor, but his leadership qualities also work too, as he just captained Canada to the World’s championship over Finland.