Joined: Nov. 2018
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Ducks signed Vatrano because we dont have a shooter like him on the team if Jacob Perreault isnt ready to make the NHL jump
We signed Strome to bring in some leadership and help build a culture that fits the mold of what Verbeek wants to build in ANA
We signed Klingberg for multiple reasons. We can get a 1st+ for him at the deadline, He is arguably one of the best offensive mentors we could have gotten for Drysdale, and he helps our PP, and we had to get to the cap floor, and Verbeek said he preferred to do that through FA as opposed to trades
Even with these signings we are still firmly in a rebuild, and the Ducks operate off an internal budget, and ownership probably isnt going to spend much, if any more money right now
even if we acquired Dumolin (or any similar Dman) we still arent a playoff team, theres no point in ANA paying anything for Dumo and Verbeek has said he doesnt want to take on cap through trades
Heres a quote from just before we signed Klingberg
“There’s a couple free-agent defensemen that are out there still,” Verbeek said. “Some of them are asking too much term. I’m looking for more shorter-term defensemen at this point. There’s possible trade scenarios. But I’m willing to kind of look at the free agency market before I go to the trade market.”