Prospect Notes: Drysdale, CHL Agreement, Nappier
The Anaheim Ducks will have the future on the ice tonight when they take on the Arizona Coyotes. Jamie Drysdale is expected to make his NHL debut, in the lineup along with fellow top prospect Trevor Zegras, who will be in his 11th. The 18-year-old Drysdale has dominated the AHL so far this season, scoring ten points in 14 games. The young defenseman was the sixth overall selection in the 2020 draft and has almost limitless offensive upside.
The Ducks, who have lost four straight and scored just 67 goals in 30 games this season have nothing to lose by testing Drysdale at the NHL level, though a few games down the road they’ll have a decision to make. The team has already elected to burn the first season of Zegras three-year entry-level contract when they could have theoretically had it slide forward, keeping him in the minor leagues all season. The same would happen for Drysdale if he plays in more than seven NHL contests this season. With the OHL still hopeful that a season could begin in April, Drysdale wouldn’t be able to return to the AHL if his junior team is in session. If he shows he can compete at the highest level right away, it might not matter.
- That CHL agreement, which states that players drafted out of the WHL, OHL, or QMJHL cannot play in the AHL while the junior league is in session until they are 20 years old, will actually expire once again at the end of this season. Frank Seravalli of TSN reports today that there is a growing appetite for some sort of an exception to be included in the renegotiated deal for players like Drysdale, who have shown an obvious ability to perform at the minor professional level. Seth Jarvis and Connor Zary have already been sent back to the WHL after it started, despite strong showings in the AHL.
- That agreement won’t matter for the players named today to the 2021 Biosteel All-American Game, a showcase for the top draft-eligible players in the USNTDP and USHL. The group includes Luke Hughes, the younger brother of Quinn Hughes and Jack Hughes, and many other picks that will end up going off the board relatively early in July. The game takes place in Plymouth, Michigan on April 7.
- The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed undrafted Ohio State University goaltender Tommy Nappier to an unusual three-year AHL contract that will kick in right away. Nappier, 22, posted a .906 save percentage this season but had been almost unbeatable in years past. His college career ends with a .925 in 82 appearances and his professional one is just getting started.
Snapshots: Rakell, Karmanos, Prep Hockey Conference
The Anaheim Ducks aren’t opposed to trading star forward Rickard Rakell, but at their current asking price they might not find any takers. The 27-year-old winger, who has another year on his contract at a $3.8MM AAV, is undoubtedly worth a nice return. Rakell has recorded 19 points through 30 games so far this season, scoring at the same 50+ point pace as he has the past two years amidst some difficult seasons for Anaheim, and has also shown the potential for far more production when the Ducks were in better shape. With more talent around him, the slick, two-way forward could be a highly valuable piece for a contender. However, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the current ask by the Ducks is a young, experienced NHL player and a first-round pick. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes that the Calgary Flames inquired on Rakell, but balked at that price. He believes that it may be too rich for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blood as well. In what is expected to be a buyer’s market, the Ducks may need to lower their ask if they are intent on moving Rakell. However, with another year on his contract and plenty of value left to contribute to Anaheim, the Ducks do not have to make a move if they want to hold out for a more suitable offer.
- The Buffalo Sabres made a major move today, firing head coach Ralph Krueger and beginning the search for a permanent replacement. However, their next personnel addition may be in the front office rather than behind the bench. GM Kevyn Adams told the media today that he is also searching for an Assistant GM. Friedman reports that one name previously linked to the vacancy is former Pittsburgh AGM Jason Karmanos. In fact, the Sabres have received permission from the Penguins to speak to Karmanos, who was fired this off-season with term remaining on his contract. Karmanos, who was once highly touted as a possible future GM himself, has close ties with Adams and is the likely frontrunner to join the front office.
- A number of top developmental programs have decided to finally join together in an official capacity. Friedman notes in his latest “31 Thoughts” that many of the prep schools most familiar to hockey fans have come together and formed the Prep Hockey Conference, which will play in its inaugural season next year. They include Culver Academy (Indiana), Mount St. Charles (Rhode Island), Northwood (New York), Shattuck-St. Mary’s (Minnesota), South Kent School (Connecticut), and St. Andrew’s College (Ontario), a group that has contributed to the development of countless NHL stars. The school have long scheduled games against one each other and participated in tournaments together, but now will legitimize their partnership with the formation of the conference. While the geographical differences will force the league to be split into East and West divisions, all the teams will get together at least once during the regular season and will participate in a single-location postseason. The Prep Hockey Conference will immediately rival the New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) and the Minnesota public high school ranks as the top non-junior leagues in all of development hockey.
Anaheim Listening To Offers For Troy Terry
The Anaheim Ducks are in the unenviable position this season of having to not only evaluate which core players to keep or trade, but also which young player to keep or trade. The Ducks’ have built a deep, talented pipeline over the last several years, but continue to get inconsistent and underwhelming effort from many of their top young pros. While there are plenty of younger roster players and prospects that Anaheim is excited about, but also too many that have yet to pan out. So , as the team trudges through another poor season, not only are they fielding offers for veterans like Rickard Rakell, Adam Henrique, and Josh Manson, but they also face pressure to shop players like Danton Heinen, Sonny Milano, Max Jones, Jacob Larsson and more before their value disappears completely.
The latest addition to the latter list appears to be forward Troy Terry. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he is hearing the Ducks are evaluating whether or not it is time to move on from the 23-year-old forward. Friedman notes that there is some belief around the league that Terry could benefit from a change of scenery. Anaheim is currently listening to those offers, though not necessarily shopping Terry.
A fifth-round draft pick of the Ducks in 2015, Terry flew under the radar as a member of the U.S. National Team Development Program. However, he quickly rose to prominence at the college level with Denver University. Not only did Terry produce back-to-back seasons of 45+ points in his sophomore and juniors years at Denver, but his play earned him a spot with Team USA at the 2017 World Juniors and 2018 Winter Olympics – and Terry was a point-per-game player in both tournaments. After leaving college early to sign with Anaheim, Terry entered the pros with high expectations. Four years later, Terry is still trying to meet those expectations. While the talented winger has dominated in the AHL with 57 points in 55 games, it has been a different story in the NHL, where he has just 12 goals and 35 points in 103 games. With seven points through 22 games so far this year, Terry is matching his 26-point full-season pace from last year. However, as a frequent scratch by the Ducks, even that isn’t a realistic benchmark for the young scorer. Even at his best, Terry is also a complete non-factor in the physical and defensive aspects of the game, making it difficult to slot him in the lineup when he isn’t scoring at a top-six level.
For any team interested in landing Terry, there has to be a plan to put him in positions that take advantage of his offensive ability while limiting his defensive liability. Terry may very well need a change of scenery, but he is not going to work out as a fourth-line player or facing difficult defensive match-ups no matter where he goes. This makes him a difficult player to place. Terry certainly has ample offensive upside, hence Anaheim’s hesitation to move him, but there is a reason that he has not produced or earned a greater role with the Ducks despite seemingly ample opportunity. Terry’s potential availability will be an interesting case to keep an eye on in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline.
Seattle Kraken Among Teams Restricted In College Free Agency
The college free agent market has yet to really kick into high gear. Some NCAA teams have already finished their seasons, some of the names attached to those teams are now available, and some have even signed minor league deal. Yet, to date there has not been an NHL signing by a college free agent just yet.
That will all change soon, though. As conference tournaments continue through this weekend and next week, many more seasons will come to an end shortly. For those programs who aren’t a realistic candidate for at-large bid, ranked at least in the top-20 nationally, the next loss will be the final one of the season. This will continue until next Sunday – “Selection Sunday” – when the 16-team field for the NCAA Tournament will be revealed. Any fringe teams holding out hope will learn their fates and those on the outside looking in will join the teams that have already been eliminated in saying goodbye to the 2020-21 season. A week later, all but four of the tourney teams will also be done. By the end of the month, at the latest, college free agency will be in full swing and after the Frozen Four concludes and a National Champion is named on April 10, it is safe to assume that the free agent market will have been picked clean within days. Although college free agency has not yet made its mark this year, by this time next month the majority of the NCAA player rush could be over.
This poses a problem for the NHL’s newest team, the Seattle Kraken. As Darren Brown writes for Sound of Hockey, the Kraken have yet to make their final expansion payment to the league and as such still lack official standing. This means that they cannot yet sign any free agents to contracts for next season. When the Vegas Golden Knights entered the league, they made their inaugural signing, undrafted junior free agent Reid Duke, on March 6. Already beyond that date this year, Seattle is behind on their payment schedule compared to Vegas and it will impact their ability to add prospects. It is believed that the Kraken are on track to make their final payment next month, presumably before the April 12 trade deadline, but by that time it may be too late to cash in on college free agency. If at all possible, Seattle would be best-served to make their final payment as soon as possible.
The delayed trade deadline date could cause some difficulty with college free agent decisions for a number of other teams, too. Normally, the deadline falls two weeks earlier than it will this season and much of the college free agent frenzy takes place after that date. Following the deadline, teams know for sure where they sit in terms of roster limits for the season, which has taken on even more importance in recent years as a key negotiating tactic for young free agents has been the opportunity to sign right away and burn a year off of their entry-level contract. For the Anaheim Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington Capitals, all of whom currently have 49 of their maximum 50 contract slots filled, they won’t have that assurance when the market begins to heat up this year. While the Ducks, a seller, have more certainty that they can move a current contract or two to make room for any college free agent signings, the Flyers and Capitals are expected to be buyers and risk leverage in deal-making above all else if they hit the 50-contract maximum by signing a college free agent and sellers know that they must shed a contract to add one at the deadline. The Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues, all at 48 contracts, will also have to be careful with the college free agent market if they plan to add multiple pieces at the deadline. This could all make for an intriguing period of NCAA additions, with some of the usual top suitors potentially playing it safe while teams with more flexibility and opportunity swoop in.
Teams Calling On Rickard Rakell
The Anaheim Ducks have recently pulled themselves out of the offensive chasm they started the year in and now have toed slightly ahead of both the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings in terms of goals per game. One of the main reasons for that climb is Rickard Rakell, who has managed 12 points in his last seven games including four multi-point efforts. The two-time 30-goal scorer has found a little bit of his old juice and is now tied with Max Comtois for the Ducks’ points lead.
With success comes admirers though, and Rakell is generating his fair share of them. Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that several teams have been calling Ducks GM Bob Murray about his top-six winger and the front office executive isn’t hanging up. Rakell is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2021-22 season and carries a cap hit of just $3.8MM. If he can get back to scoring 30 goals, that would suddenly turn into one of the best bargains in the whole league, and given his age of just 27 there’s no reason to think it couldn’t happen in the right situation.
He now sits third on TSN’s Trade Bait board, just behind Mattias Ekholm of the Nashville Predators and David Savard of the Columbus Blue Jackets. That means he’s the highest-ranked forward on the list and perhaps one that will generate the most interest as the deadline approaches. Seravalli reports that the asking price for Rakell is “high” according to two different general managers around the league.
Importantly, Rakell does not have any trade protection in his current contract and can be dealt anywhere without his approval. For the Ducks, that’s something of a luxury, given many of their other trade candidates have partial no-move clauses. Adam Henrique, Jakob Silfverberg, Cam Fowler, Josh Manson, and Kevin Shattenkirk can all block trades to a number of teams, meaning a full tear down would be difficult to accomplish in-season. Ryan Getzlaf has a full no-move clause, though it seems as though there was never any real desire to trade the captain anyway.
Rakell then could represent the team’s most valuable trade chip, at least for this deadline. If Murray can use this opportunity to add young talent to surround Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale in the coming years, it certainly seems prudent.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Ducks Notes: Eakins, Getzlaf, Heinen, Tracey
The Anaheim Ducks are off to another poor start this season, currently sitting in last place in the West Division with the fourth-worst record in the NHL. They aren’t trending in the right direction either; at 1-6-3, no team in the league has been as bad as the Ducks over their past ten games. Although head coach Dallas Eakins is only in his second season with Anaheim, there is still growing scrutiny of his failures so far and speculation as to his job security. After all, Eakins was brought in to lead the rebuild in Anaheim due to his past success with young players, yet many of the young Ducks continue to fall short of expectations. Eakins’ conservative style has also stymied the team’s offensive potential, as they sit second-to-last in the NHL in scoring with just 2.16 goals per game this season.
However, in the eyes of his general manager there is no need for Eakins to worry about his job just yet. Speaking with the media, Ducks GM Bob Murray gave a firm vote of confidence to his head coach. “I’ve got total confidence in Dallas,” Murray said. “I think he’s doing a pretty good job right now with everything that’s going on. I have no issues whatsoever. I have no problem with Dallas.” Despite this emphatic note of support, Murray did state later in the press conference that he expected the team to better this season. So if the blame does not lie with Eakins, could it fall on Murray? Many believe that the veteran GM could also be in danger of losing his job. If that is the case, Eakins’ own job security may only be as good as that of the man who hired him. Something has to change in Anaheim and ownership may soon step in and make changes.
- As for one major change that Ducks fans are hoping to avoid, Murray shared some news that they will find comforting. With rumors floating around that long-time captain Ryan Getzlaf could be traded, Murray made no qualms about his thoughts on that matter. “I’m tired of hearing this… how his name is out there,” Murray said, “the only way Ryan Getzlaf would go anywhere is if he came to me and said, ‘Bob, can you try and trade me to a contender?’ As an impending free agent who would be a desirable rental even at his advanced age, there is certainly value in moving Getzlaf. However, the career Duck has earned the right to decide his own future. According to Murray, the two sides will wait to see how Getzlaf feels both physically and mentally about continuing his career and doing so in Anaheim, but he calls the relationship “wonderful” and is open to an extension if Getzlaf is.
- One player who seems likely to be traded or, if not, unlikely to return next season is Danton Heinen. Still only in his first season with the Ducks, Heinen’s name did not emerge as a trade candidate until a string of healthy scratches and then a very public negotiation between the Ducks and Vancouver Canucks that included he and Jake Virtanen. In over a week since that hypothetical deal went viral, Heinen has been scratched in three of the Ducks five games. In the two games he has played, Heinen has been held without a point or even a shot on goal, is a -2, and has seen a notable drop-off in ice time. Heinen simply does not seem to be a fit in Anaheim and as an impending free agent will see his time with the team come to an end soon, one way or another. If there is interest in acquiring the winger, who recorded 47 points as a rookie with the Boston Bruins just three years ago, then he will surely be traded. If not, he will walk this summer and have to look for a fresh start elsewhere.
- A young player who the Ducks will not rush into their rebuild this year is Brayden Tracey. The 2019 first-rounder is under contract and has already played a dozen AHL games this season, but his time in the pros won’t go any further in 2020-21. The San Diego Gulls have announced that Tracey has been reassigned to his junior club, the WHL’s Victoria Royals, to play out the rest of the season. With the Ducks having been criticized for bringing too many of their current top prospects to the NHL before they were ready, they will let Tracey continue to develop against his own peers instead. The 19-year-old forward has shown great skill at the junior level, but was held scoreless in the minors and will be grateful to re-discover his scoring touch back in the WHL.
Trade Deadline Primer: Anaheim Ducks
Although we’re not even two months into the season, the trade deadline is just over a month away. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make? We begin our look around the league with the Anaheim Ducks.
It has not been a fun season for Anaheim, to put it lightly. While they are still in the middle of transitioning to a younger roster, there was some hope that they’d be able to hang around the playoff race with the re-aligned divisions for this season. That hasn’t happened. Instead, the struggles from the last few seasons continue to plague them, highlighted by a complete inability to score as they are averaging just over two goals per game this season. That has put extra pressure on the goaltending and the results haven’t been there which has them squarely in the basement in the West Division.
Record
6-12-5, 8th in West Division
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
No base cap room, $5.47MM in full-season space using LTIR, 0/3 retention slots used, 50/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2021: ANA 1st, ANA 2nd, ANA 3rd, ANA 4th, ANA 5th, EDM 5th, ANA 6th
2022: ANA 1st, ANA 2nd, ANA 3rd, ANA 4th, ANA 5th, ANA 6th, ANA 7th*
*- This pick technically belongs to Edmonton until the end of the season as part of a 2020 trade involving defenseman Joel Persson. The Oilers get to keep the pick if Persson plays in 25 NHL games this season but with Persson in the SHL and not on an NHL contract, that won’t happen. However, the pick remains encumbered for now and while the Ducks will get it back, it cannot be dealt at this time.
Trade Chips
Danton Heinen’s name came up in recent discussions with Vancouver in a deal that ultimately didn’t make it to the finish line for financial reasons, a particular caveat that is basically going to be the focal point of every trade that does or doesn’t get made over the next five-plus weeks. The change of scenery last year from Boston was supposed to spark him offensively but that hasn’t happened as he has just six goals and four assists in 27 games with Anaheim including last season, making him a candidate for another change of scenery. The 25-year-old is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights and is owed a $2.775MM qualifying offer (just below his $2.8MM AAV) and at this point, he looks like a non-tender candidate. Whether it’s moving him for another player making similar money or, frankly, for anything of value, Heinen is someone that should be on the move.
Ryan Getzlaf highlights their list of pending unrestricted free agents but it’s hard to see him moving. First, making the money work due to his $8.25MM AAV would be tricky and the veteran doesn’t seem to have much interest in leaving at this point. Ben Hutton ($950K) could be someone to watch for though. He has just one assist in 17 games this season but is logging more than 18 minutes a night on the back end and could be an affordable addition for a playoff-bound team that’s looking to add some injury insurance. If he’s able to return by the deadline, Carter Rowney ($1.133MM) could be a fourth line upgrade for a team as well.
One wildcard in this market has to be Rickard Rakell. A few years ago, the 27-year-old looked like he was on a steal of a deal with an AAV of just $3.789MM. However, his production has tailed off sharply since his 2017-18 69-point campaign and has dipped even farther this year with just three goals in 23 games. They wouldn’t be moving him from a position of strength by any stretch but it’s now fair to wonder if he’s in the long-term plans. With one year left on his contract, his value probably isn’t going to be much higher in the summer and we saw with the failed Heinen trade that GM Bob Murray is open to a player-for-player swap. Rakell is the type of player that several teams are likely to kick the tires on.
Others to Watch For: F David Backes ($4.5MM, UFA), D Jani Hakanpaa ($750K, UFA)
Team Needs
1) Offensive upgrades – Anaheim has a total of two players that have at least five goals this season and one of them (Isac Lundestrom) barely got there after getting a hat trick on Monday. Even though they’re in a rebuild/transition stage, they need some veteran offensive production and if they move players like Heinen or Rakell, it will probably be for veterans making similar money and not futures.
2) Unsigned assets – If the Ducks want to get a longer look at top prospects Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, it means they’ll be activating the first year of their contracts, giving them no flexibility with regards to the 50-contract limit. The college free agent market figures to be more intriguing this year with players getting a shot at playing for six weeks or so compared to the handful of games that they typically get. It’s a good year for Anaheim to shop in that market but they need to have some available contract slots to be able to do so. Moving signed players like Hutton or Hakanpaa for a pick or unsigned prospect would certainly help in that regard.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brendan Guhle Clears Waivers
March 5: Perhaps surprisingly, Guhle has cleared waivers and has been assigned to the minor leagues. The 23-year-old will remain in the Ducks organization and have a chance to get his game back on track following his recent injury.
March 4: The Anaheim Ducks have placed a surprising name on waivers today, as Brendan Guhle is available to the rest of the league according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The 23-year-old defenseman must be healthy enough to return from his recent stint on long-term injured reserve, meaning to place him on the taxi squad or send him to the minor leagues, he’ll need to clear waivers.
Guhle certainly isn’t a star, but it should raise a few eyebrows in front offices around the league to see him on waivers today. The 51st overall pick in 2015, he has 59 games under his belt at the NHL level and has recorded 14 points. An all-around option that has shown flashes of real NHL potential—including playing three games in the 2016-17 season as a 19-year-old for the Buffalo Sabres—he also happens to come locked up at an $800K cap hit through next season.
Just two years ago, Guhle was a big part of the return for Brandon Montour, when the latter was shipped from Anaheim to Buffalo. It seems now that the Ducks feel comfortable risking him, given the other young options in the system.
For a rebuilding team or even a contender dealing with injuries, claiming Guhle would be more than reasonable though. Jarred Tinordi and Mark Friedman have both been claimed recently and neither one is a clear upgrade (at least in certain areas) over the young Duck.
If Guhle does clear, he’ll be able to get on the ice again with the San Diego Gulls and continue to work his way back from injury. In five games on a rehab stint, he recorded zero points.
Hampus Lindholm Out Six Weeks With Fractured Wrist
If the Anaheim Ducks had any intention of trading defenseman Hampus Lindholm before this season’s deadline, that is now unlikely to happen. The team has announced that Lindholm suffered a fractured left wrist on Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights and has been placed on the injured reserve. The good news is that Lindholm is expected to make a full recovery and will return to action before the end of the regular season, barring any setbacks. The bad news is that he will not be evaluated for a possible return for approximately six weeks, at which point the trade deadline will have already expired.
Lindholm, 27, is nothing if not consistent. The Ducks defender plays at a high level year in and year out with little deviation, able to eat major minutes and provide solid defense and competent puck possession. That reliability is worth immense value and for an Anaheim team that struggles to get consistent effort out of too many of its players, it is possible that the team was not planning to part with Lindholm. Nevertheless, with a shallow and unimpressive market for rental defensemen this season, Lindholm is among a group of blue liners with one year remaining on their current contracts who have been discussed as trade targets for contenders this year.
With the Ducks struggling again this season, it seems likely that the team would have at least entertained offers for Lindholm as the deadline grew closer. After all, Anaheim currently sits in last place in the West Division and have lost eight straight games. Now they are losing their top defensemen for upwards of 20+ games in a 56-game season. The Ducks have little to play for this season and as they continue to evaluate the best way to continue their rebuild, a Lindholm trade may have come to fruition. However, a move is unlikely now due to the unknown value of a recovering Lindholm to a contender down the stretch and in the postseason. Perhaps the injury came at just the right time for the Ducks to be able to justify keeping one of the best and most reliable players.
Trade Rumors: Market, Virtanen-Heinen, NMCs, Red Wings
While the NHL Trade Deadline is exactly six weeks away and trade whispers have grown louder in recent days, a number of sources warn that it may be a mistake to expect an active trade market. The factors at play are what one might expect: the flat salary cap and clubs’ financial limitations as well as the U.S.-Canada border restrictions. Speaking on Sportsnet 960 in Calgary today, Elliotte Friedman noted that the market is much quieter than recent rumor and speculation has led everyone to believe. He cites the border issue – a mandatory 14-day quarantine for any player heading north – as limiting potential trade partners, but states that finances are an even greater inhibitor. Friedman said that many clubs are not looking to add salary and stress is being placed more on actual dollars than on cap hits. The Athletic’s Craig Custance and Eric Duhatschek take it even one step further, reporting that “few teams have permission to add salary” and noting that some non-contenders have been ordered by ownership to cut salary if at all possible. There is also the issue that many of the teams who may have the financial ability to add salary lack the cap space to do so. CapFriendly currently lists 16 teams – more than half the league – with projected cap space that amounts to less than a minimum salary and only seven teams currently in a playoff spot are among those with flexibility.
Fortunately, we may not be entirely without fireworks at the deadline. Friedman notes that major investments on players whose impact on teams will last beyond just this season or next could be seen as exceptions to the rule when it comes to adding salary. These additions can be excused as a financial commitment beyond the current financial and flat cap crises. Custance and Duhatschek also point out that for those Canadian teams with the means and desire to add, the deadline may be a little late given the possibility of lengthy quarantines, meaning trades could start up well before six weeks from now. There is hope that there will still be some transactional excitement this season and possibly even sooner rather than later.
- It sure seemed like a notable trade was about to occur this weekend. On Saturday, it was reported by a number of sources that the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks were nearing a deal that would have swapped Jake Virtanen and Danton Heinen. However, the deal never occurred and Friedman questions whether it was really as close as it was made out to be. The two sides certainly did discuss a trade and those two players in particular, and by all accounts continue to do so, but Friedman says that things got “carried away” before a firm deal was in place. The two sides are committed to balancing out the salaries in the trade and while Virtanen and Heinen do have very similar cap hits, their salaries are not even. In the final year of his contract, Heinen carries a $2.8MM AAV and near-equal amount of actual salary. Virtanen’s contract carries a $2.55MM AAV and he is owed only $1.7MM in salary this year, but he has an additional season remaining and $3.4MM in salary. That discrepancy is significant and a major hurdle and the reason why Friedman says a one-for-one swap was never a possibility. He notes that Derek Grant was discussed as a possible addition from Anaheim’s side and he could still be part of a final deal. In the first year of a three-year contract, Grant’s $1.5MM salary next year and $1.75MM in 2022-23 could help to offset Virtanen’s cost to Anaheim next year, but it doesn’t entirely cover the the difference and it is of course discounting the fact that Grant is a valuable player in his own right and not just a salary dump. There is clearly still more work to be done by the Ducks and Canucks if this heavily-rumored deal is to actually become reality. In the meantime, Friedman stated that Virtanen’s salary next season is a turn-off for most teams and could hinder Vancouver’s ability to trade him, especially if these talks with Anaheim fall apart.
- One other limiting factor for the current trade market is that a pair of notable rental candidates may not be willing to waive their No-Movement Clauses. While there could be interest in Arizona Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, especially in a lacking rental market for blue liners, don’t expect the respected veteran to be on the move. Custance and Duhatschek write that Hjalmarsson has no interest in waiving his NMC and appears content to play out the final year of his contract in Arizona. Hjalmarsson does appear to have lost a step, scoring at a career-low rate and getting penalized at a career-high rate, so perhaps it’s in the best interest of all parties if he finishes out the year and rides off into the sunset. The more surprising note from Custance and Duhatschek on a player who also may not be willing to waive their NMC for a potential trade is Taylor Hall. Signed to a one-year deal this off-season, it was expected that Hall would again be the top trade deadline target if the Buffalo Sabres were not on a postseason trajectory. Well, the Sabres are certainly not playoff-bound, but Hall doesn’t seem to mind. Custance and Duhatschek cite sources who believe that Hall, ranked at just No. 24 on The Athletic’s trade board, is happy in Buffalo and would like to stay. There is a belief that an extension may be more likely than a trade at this point, even with the Sabres’ season in shambles and the team in need of the immense trade capital he would return.
- Another year, another season in which the Detroit Red Wings will be sellers at the trade deadline. However, the team may be looking to move more than just rentals in the coming weeks (or in the off-season). A rival executive tells Custance and Duhatschek that GM Steve Yzerman is listening to all offers and wouldn’t be surprised if a young core forward such as Anthony Mantha or Tyler Bertuzzi were moved. Mantha, 26, is struggling this season and it remains unclear what his ceiling may be in the NHL as he has dealt with injury and inconsistency over the years. Bertuzzi, also 26, actually got off to a great start early this season, scoring at the best pace of his career albeit in nine games. He has since been sidelined by injury and without building on his hot start, there remain concerns that his development has flatlined in Detroit. If the Red Wings doubt that either player can be an effective part of the young core they are growing in the pipeline, they could be moved.