New Anaheim Ducks GM Pat Verbeek had himself quite a first trade deadline. The Ducks have fallen out of the playoff race in the last few weeks, which may have made some decisions a little easier. However, Verbeek did something his predecessor didn’t have the stomach for. And he made sure to get value for players he would not be able to re-sign. With that we here at PoaF are here to hand out grades for the new GMs first go at the annual deadline.
Brad Senecal
Grade: B+
What a refreshing time to be a Ducks fan. After years of watching Bob Murray sit on his hands year after year at the trade deadline, we got to watch Pat Verbeek step into the chair and immediately show everybody the direction this team is heading in. The mentality of ‘I can’t lose these players for nothing’ was very much needed and delivered on the recoupment of assets. Josh Manson, Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm, and to a lesser extent Nic Deslauriers have played significant parts during one of the brightest timeframes in Ducks history. However seeing as they have recently been part of the darkest time in the team’s history, clearly it was time to move on.
I am a fan of both Drew Helleson and Urho Vaakananinen joining the team as both seem to have strong defensive make ups and becoming Ducks may be the best moves for their young careers, Helleson for an opportunity, and Vaakananinen for a change of scenery. With bright youngsters such as Jamie Drysdale and Owen Zellwegger looking to carve out important roles moving forward, look for the two new d-men to be seen as complementary pieces for the Ducks in the future.
Calle Clang is also an intriguing goaltender prospect who has put up solid numbers in the SHL, Sweden’s top professional league, and will likely get the opportunity to display his work at the rescheduled World Junior Hockey Championships in August as the potential number two to Jesper Wallstedt. We have mentioned on this site before about a potential trade of John Gibson, if that were to happen it is a great move to add another blue chip goalie prospect to the farm.
As far as the veteran acquisitions I really wonder if things may have been different had these trades been made sooner than the deadline. Zac Aston-Reece and Dominik Simon have been solid depth contributors to the Pittsburgh Penguins over the past number of years and are potentially players that playoff teams would be happy to add as depth for a Cup run, especially with both being UFAs at the end of the year. With their free agent statuses neither moves the needle for the Ducks.
The main capture for the team was obviously the haul in draft picks. I have continued to state that the drafts over the next two years are looking to be very deep and very strong, so adding a first, 5 seconds, and a third to the draft stock brings in a lot of potential to find a blue chip prospect who could become an important piece to the teams puzzle. Also keep an eye out for potential trades in the future as well as Pat Verbeek has a cupboard full of assets and will be looking to prove he was the right hire for the job.