Assuming Anaheim stays the course, bottoms out this year, and gets the franchise's first 1OA pick, with which we select Connor Bedard and reunite him with his old pals Mason McTavish and Olen Zellweger.
It's real obvious this year that Anaheim's defense SUCKS. We can't separate anyone from the puck, we can't clear the crease out, we can't do, well, much of anything out back. Playing with half a blue line full of PTO guys will do that to you I guess, and an over staffing on offensively focused D who are not the greatest in their own zones.
Now, lets address the trades.
Vancouver: This was chatted about yesterday, Vancouver wants to clear some cap and needs a center, which Anaheim has an over abundance of young, cost controlled guys. The meat of the deal is Lundestrom for Garland, but as shown in the roster, that really only works if we ship out one of our middle six wingers. Thankfully, Vancouver also wants to ship out Myers, so we swap him and Silfverberg.
Vancouver gets 3.9 mil in cap space and a 3C, Anaheim upgrades Silfverberg and gets a RHD.
Colorado: The hockey gods have laid waste to your roster, which was already hurting for a 2C with Kadri gone. Henrique would be a good fit with the team, while not the fastest skater on the Ice he should be able to keep up, and he is the best faceoff guy we have, consistently winning around 55% a season. The 1st round pick asking price is high, but you get Rico cost retained for an additional season, your 23 2nd back so you have a pick before the 4th round, lottery protection on the pick, and a mature RHD prospect who should fit your system of blinding speed.
Philadelphia: The team started off strong, but it doesn't look like Torts is going to be able to right the ship. Injuries keep piling up and the core is aging. Philadelphia traded for a 40-50 point guy in Ristolainen, and he has not been able to recreate that in his new home. Risto will not get the return he did originally, and a first feels like its an overpay from Anaheim's perspective for the player that Risto is right now, but there is the potential to rebound, and his deal fits the team and timeline well.
Myers is there to cover for Zellweger on third pairing and is a 1 year stop gap to give Helleson another year of seasoning in the AHL.
Ristolainen fills a top 4 defensive RHD spot on team for the next 4 seasons, the main benefit of this trade over a FA signing is term. We could try and get a Dumba, Mayfield, or Severson in FA, but we may have to sign them to 5+ years in order to attract them, and may have to go for north of 6 mil AAV, taking a heavier cap hit into their mid 30s. Risto's deal likely has less dog years that we have to suffer through at the end.
Top line: Zegras moves to the wing. He's just not good at faceoffs, he doesn't have the size/strength to cover an opposing center in his own zone, or be a net front presence in the other end, I think he will be better utilized to the team as a winger, freeing up a bit of defensive responsibility and allowing him to do his ridiculous stuff out on the ice. Strome takes 1C duty for the time being, and Terry maintains 1RW
2nd line: Garland is going to have to play on the left, as we are over saturated on RW with Bedard, other than that, McTavish at center, Bedard at RW, at least until Bedard is ready for to move to C, at which case Garland can move to RW, and McTavish to LW.
3rd line: Comtois-BOG-Vatrano, I think this line could be sneakily good, lots of hits, lot of opportunistic scoring capability. If this line can break the puck free on a forecheck, they have a good chance of burying it in the back of the net. All depends on BOG's faceoff prowess, as he is the only natural center on the line.
4th line: Jones-Gawdin-Leason. Gawdin and BOG maybe swappable here, as Gawdin isn't huge but the guy has a motor that won't quit and he can fly on the ice. Otherwise, its a young, large checking line.
1st pairing: Fowler-Ristolainen. Risto clears the crease and crushes people, Fowler poke checks and outlet passes. The defensive aspects being covered by Risto allows Fowler to break back out a bit on offense, since he is no longer overworked.
2nd pairing: Vaakainen/Benoit-Drysdale. Offensive D swaps to the right side, Vaaks or Benoit cover the defensive aspects
3rd pairing: Zellweger-Meyers, self explanatory.
PP1: Zegras and Drysdale get to buddy up on the back end to quarter back it, Vatrano-Strome-Terry down low
PP2: Canada world cup reunion tour, plus Comtois and Garland
Rico goes cup chasing with Colorado and fills the 2C spot. Andersson is a more developed RHD who can skate like the wind, should be a good pairing for Colorado's system
3.
ANA
2023 3rd round pick (TOR)
Additional Details:
Toronto is a stand in, but Kulikov would be a great addition for physical defense.
TOR
2023 Kulikov trade
4.
ANA
2024 1st round pick (EDM)
Additional Details:
EDM is stand in team, could be another competitor, but most rumors point to the Oilers.
EDM
Klingberg trade with 50% retention, January 2023
5.
ANA
2023 5th round pick (FLA)
2024 3rd round pick (FLA)
Additional Details:
Florida clears 1.4 mil in cap room and gets a 3rd right shot D for a playoff run.
This trade is just kind of a throw away assumption.
Not sold on Lundestrom, but I think he could be a player, I think you might have to throw in another pick to make it work for the canucks but it isnt too far off
Props on the Colorado trade. I could definitely see the Avs making a deal like that at the deadline.
Thanks, I wanted to make sure there was enough value to pry out the 23 1st. My own camp may think it's an overpay on our side and want a lower pick going back, but the reality is pick value from 2nd-7th isn't that much, but 1st rounders are.
Not sold on Lundestrom, but I think he could be a player, I think you might have to throw in another pick to make it work for the canucks but it isnt too far off
I'm not truly sold on Garland either, this was more to show what the deal spoken about yesterday could look like on our roster. It's a marriage of convenience trade and saves you guys just shy of 4 mill next year, and turns a winger into a young 3C.
I don’t think Anaheim does that. I think Henrique fully retained could catch a 1st one for one. No point of giving up Andersson or the 2nd.
It's possible, I could drop the 2nd, but I think Andersson is an interesting option for Colorado being RHD and a swift skater, he could fit their system well. I'm not seeing a fit for him on the Ducks going forward as we seem to be loading up on size and physicality for our D. I wanted to make sure the value is there to secure the 23 1st instead of the 24.
I'm not truly sold on Garland either, this was more to show what the deal spoken about yesterday could look like on our roster. It's a marriage of convenience trade and saves you guys just shy of 4 mill next year, and turns a winger into a young 3C.
You have raised a valid point, i think that Garland has shown more though and if this deal was done after July 1 it would be helping you guys and ownership as myers would only cost 1m in cash and would take up 6m against the cap and then could be retained and flipped at the TDL, it would be nice if a guy like ian moore was thrown into the trade or just a pick
We saw Zegras on the Wing, and he's far better at C. Yes, he's not good at face-offs (at the moment) but this is the case for a lot of young Centers and you don't just move them to Wing permanently because of that. And yes, Zegras isn't the tallest / heaviest but I fail to see why that should exclude him from Center duties. Hughes, McDavid, MacKinnon, Aho, Larkin, Point; all of these aren't the tallest and/or strongest and yet they're among the best Cs in the game. Don't agree on that one. (If the Ducks got lucky and drafted Bedard, I do think this scenario gets more likely though. But not for the reasons mentioned above and I'm confident that they would try McTavish on Bedard's Wing first.)
Trades look good to me.
Comtois deal looks like a bit much, haven't been to impressed with him. But with the cap hopefully going up regularly in the coming years, I'd be fine with that contract.
I like this deal, I do think it might be too much in favour of the avs, If they tossed a small asset with their 1st it will balance out the deal, or lessen the value of the 2nd
Good work
That Dcore is just as bad as this years if not worse when you add in the fact that Risto has 4 more years and cost a 1st to get.
Henrique is extremely undervalued on here because he was scapegoated by an awful GM a couple seasons ago. Yes his cap hit is a bit high but 50% retained and he gets a quality return himself without having to add sweeteners to upgrade it.
I was part of the Garland-Lundestrom discussion last night and like I said there, it’s logical but I still think Garland and Myers should be at the bottom of the list of players looked at to acquire. The ducks need to add a high end fwd and a high end D not just stopgaps or “cap dumps”. There will be quite a few guys ahead of them and if they have to settle for both it will be disappointing.
My hope for next season is they add a top 6 fwd and have 3 pairs of fwds with the third guy on the line rotating based on fit and play, ie Z and Terry, McT and the new guy, Strome and Vatrano and then Comtois, Henrique (say they keep him), Regenda/Jones/Perreault/Tracey/whoever moving around the line up.
I don’t think Anaheim does that. I think Henrique fully retained could catch a 1st one for one. No point of giving up Andersson or the 2nd.
It's just bad timing. 33 y/o Rico shouldn't get a 1st straight up. Rico is a low rank on the list of available 30+ year olds and '23 1st are extremely valuable. The 2nd is needed because A.A is getting phased out internally on a(no offense) bad team and is not likely to make the Avs. He could be claimed off waivers starting next season and then we're back to an overpayment on a mid 30 year old.
It's possible, I could drop the 2nd, but I think Andersson is an interesting option for Colorado being RHD and a swift skater, he could fit their system well. I'm not seeing a fit for him on the Ducks going forward as we seem to be loading up on size and physicality for our D. I wanted to make sure the value is there to secure the 23 1st instead of the 24.
That Dcore is just as bad as this years if not worse when you add in the fact that Risto has 4 more years and cost a 1st to get.
Henrique is extremely undervalued on here because he was scapegoated by an awful GM a couple seasons ago. Yes his cap hit is a bit high but 50% retained and he gets a quality return himself without having to add sweeteners to upgrade it.
I was part of the Garland-Lundestrom discussion last night and like I said there, it’s logical but I still think Garland and Myers should be at the bottom of the list of players looked at to acquire. The ducks need to add a high end fwd and a high end D not just stopgaps or “cap dumps”. There will be quite a few guys ahead of them and if they have to settle for both it will be disappointing.
My hope for next season is they add a top 6 fwd and have 3 pairs of fwds with the third guy on the line rotating based on fit and play, ie Z and Terry, McT and the new guy, Strome and Vatrano and then Comtois, Henrique (say they keep him), Regenda/Jones/Perreault/Tracey/whoever moving around the line up.
Yeah, even the Colorado guys on here point out it's an overpay, the discussion is drop the 2nd.
I largely agree with you about Garland, I don't think he's the answer, we really need a physical 1LW for Zegras Terry, but doing the garland trade allows us to move out Silfverberg and get a stopgap with Meyers. Garland maybe moves a year or two later when he has less term and other teams may be looking for someone like him.
I strongly disagree that this D core is as bad as our current one. Meyers and Risto may be overpaid for what they produce, but they're improvements on what we're skating right now.
Meyers is only a one year stop gap, it just given Helleson or Moore time to be ready to take the 3rd pairing spot.
I think Risto is the kind of guy we need. Size, grit, and physicality. Who else are we going to be able to get? Dumba is going to cost 1 mil more and be on the books for at least one additional season, of not two, I don't want to be paying a physical D until he's 34-35. Mayfield isn't a top pairing guy, Severson doesn't bring the physicality like Risto does, and it's a late first that we get from the Klingberg deal.
If we want Gibson to rebound, and Dostal to not get killed, we need to reinforce the net front presence next season. Flipping the assets we get from the Klingberg sale into 4 years of that is a worthwhile investment, especially since any defenseman taken with that pick wouldn't be ready until the ~2028 season.
Yeah, even the Colorado guys on here point out it's an overpay, the discussion is drop the 2nd.
I largely agree with you about Garland, I don't think he's the answer, we really need a physical 1LW for Zegras Terry, but doing the garland trade allows us to move out Silfverberg and get a stopgap with Meyers. Garland maybe moves a year or two later when he has less term and other teams may be looking for someone like him.
I strongly disagree that this D core is as bad as our current one. Meyers and Risto may be overpaid for what they produce, but they're improvements on what we're skating right now.
Meyers is only a one year stop gap, it just given Helleson or Moore time to be ready to take the 3rd pairing spot.
I think Risto is the kind of guy we need. Size, grit, and physicality. Who else are we going to be able to get? Dumba is going to cost 1 mil more and be on the books for at least one additional season, of not two, I don't want to be paying a physical D until he's 34-35. Mayfield isn't a top pairing guy, Severson doesn't bring the physicality like Risto does, and it's a late first that we get from the Klingberg deal.
If we want Gibson to rebound, and Dostal to not get killed, we need to reinforce the net front presence next season. Flipping the assets we get from the Klingberg sale into 4 years of that is a worthwhile investment, especially since any defenseman taken with that pick wouldn't be ready until the ~2028 season.
If the ducks get pick 1 then Bedard becomes the top 6 fwd to pair with McT so Garland would fit. You’d have Z and Terry playing top line minutes as a pair and then based on who’s playing better McT and Bedard pair vs Strome and Vatrano pair would be lines 2 and 3. I’d keep Henrique so he, Comtois and Garland are the LWs that rotate thru the lines. That’s a pretty good top 9 and could be great depending on how Bedard transitions to the NHL right away.
Risto and Myers are both 3rd pair guys that’s why they’re so over paid. If you wanna take Myers to play 3RD for a season I would have no problem with that but Risto at 5M for 4 seasons to being played too much and then eventually on the 3rd pair where he belongs is too much money.
There’s guys like Jensen and TVR that are very good defensively that could slot in for a year or 2 at decent cap hits at 2RD.
If the fwd group works out like stated above then you could use Perreault or Gaucher and picks outside of ‘23 1st to get a long term top pair RD. And then some like the guys mentioned above to play 3RD and won’t have to take on Risto or Myers.
If the ducks get pick 1 then Bedard becomes the top 6 fwd to pair with McT so Garland would fit. You’d have Z and Terry playing top line minutes as a pair and then based on who’s playing better McT and Bedard pair vs Strome and Vatrano pair would be lines 2 and 3. I’d keep Henrique so he, Comtois and Garland are the LWs that rotate thru the lines. That’s a pretty good top 9 and could be great depending on how Bedard transitions to the NHL right away.
Risto and Myers are both 3rd pair guys that’s why they’re so over paid. If you wanna take Myers to play 3RD for a season I would have no problem with that but Risto at 5M for 4 seasons to being played too much and then eventually on the 3rd pair where he belongs is too much money.
There’s guys like Jensen and TVR that are very good defensively that could slot in for a year or 2 at decent cap hits at 2RD.
If the fwd group works out like stated above then you could use Perreault or Gaucher and picks outside of ‘23 1st to get a long term top pair RD. And then some like the guys mentioned above to play 3RD and won’t have to take on Risto or Myers.
So who are three to five targets we can get for a physical RHD capable of playing top line minutes for a couple of seasons with Fowler until we bump that pair to 2nd line and Drysdale takes top billing?
So who are three to five targets we can get for a physical RHD capable of playing top line minutes for a couple of seasons with Fowler until we bump that pair to 2nd line and Drysdale takes top billing?
They don’t have to be overly physical, just good. Carlo could work. Connor Murphy. There will be someone that has some rumors around that hasn’t been talked about yet. Rasmus Anderson possibly. Maybe Cernak but doubtful. There will be options if Verbeek will pay.
They don’t have to be overly physical, just good. Carlo could work. Connor Murphy. There will be someone that has some rumors around that hasn’t been talked about yet. Rasmus Anderson possibly. Maybe Cernak but doubtful. There will be options if Verbeek will pay.
I don't see Carlo, Cernak, or Anderson, they all have term on teams who are in their competition windows, Murphy is a possibility and a good fit term wise, and we can let him regress down to second pair with Fowler over the years.
I don't see Carlo, Cernak, or Anderson, they all have term on teams who are in their competition windows, Murphy is a possibility and a good fit term wise, and we can let him regress down to second pair with Fowler over the years.
Cernak I highly doubt but that cap number is rather high. BOS has McAvoy ahead of him and Clifton can fill 2RD. CGY has 3 RHD playing in the top 4 right now. It’s possible those guys become available in the offseason.
So who are three to five targets we can get for a physical RHD capable of playing top line minutes for a couple of seasons with Fowler until we bump that pair to 2nd line and Drysdale takes top billing?
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