Anaheim Ducks Trade Sami Vatanen To New Jersey Devils
The Anaheim Ducks have swung a massive trade with the New Jersey Devils, dealing Sami Vatanen and a conditional third-round draft pick for Adam Henrique, Joseph Blandisi and a 2018 third-round pick. The deal immediately addresses the Ducks’ need at center, while Vatanen adds a huge piece to the Devils’ blueline. There is no salary retained by either side.
The conditions on the pick are as follows:
- If Anaheim signs Henrique to an extension prior to the 2019 draft, Anaheim will transfer their 2019 third-round pick.
- If Anaheim signs Henrique to an extension after the 2019 draft, Anaheim will transfer their 2020 third-round pick.
- If Anaheim does not sign Henrique to an extension before he becomes a free agent on July 1, 2019, no pick will be transferred.
This deal comes as an unexpected end to a long-standing expectation that Vatanen would eventually be moved out of Anaheim, as the Ducks are flush with defenders and had a hole up front. With injuries to Ryan Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf the center depth was tested this season, and was a clear spot for upgrade. Henrique is a versatile forward who can play both center and wing, giving the Ducks options once everyone is healthy.
The 27-year old forward is signed through next season at a $4MM cap hit, but is actually owed $5MM this season and $5.5MM in 2018-19. His relatively back-loaded contract allows the Ducks to acquire Blandisi as well without adding any cap to their books, as Vatanen carried a $4.875MM hit through 2019-20.
Interestingly, Vatanen’s partial no-trade clause was set to kick in next summer but as CapFriendly points out the Devils now actually have the option to void it. While teams generally try to honor the contract details given out by former employers, it could be in New Jersey’s best interest to get rid of that clause. Vatanen is an extremely valuable trade piece (as seen today) and could be flipped if the Devils aren’t competing quite as quickly as the early season has shown.
The 26-year old Vatanen will immediately fill a role with the Devils as a primary puck-mover, something he’s excelled at over his career. Along with Damon Severson, the team’s right-side now looks formidable as they try to return to the playoffs just a year after winning the draft lottery and picking first overall.
In Anaheim, Vatanen was an expendable piece because of the immediate impact Brandon Montour has made and the depth of their defensive pipeline. Though Shea Theodore was sacrificed in the expansion process, the Ducks still have Jaccob Larsson and Josh Mahura among other young prospects, not to mention Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm already leading the team.
Blandisi, 23, is not to be overlooked in the deal. Another potential center for the Ducks, the sixth-round pick has turned into quite the offensive player over the last few years. He exploded as an over-aged junior player in 2014-15 by scoring 52 goals and 112 points for the Barrie Colts, and has carried that skill over to the professional ranks. In 68 NHL games over the last two seasons he has 26 points, though he had been stuck in the minors this year.
Amazingly, the Devils were able to part with two talented forwards because of the emergence of other options up front. Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt have both made immediate impacts, allowing the team to move on from some of their old guard. With Taylor Hall once again playing to his superstar status, the team has more than enough firepower up front even without Henrique.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Price, Girard, Kane, Devils
Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price has been out with a “minor” lower-body injury since Montreal’s Nov. 2 game against the Minnesota Wild. Two weeks later, Price hasn’t returned to the lineup. Last Tuesday, it was announced that he would sit out two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) as his injury wasn’t healing as suspected. Then he proceeded to sit out of practice Thursday, Friday and Saturday and the team didn’t practice Sunday. That led Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan to suggest that things don’t seem to be adding up in Montreal.
The scribe writes that this no longer seems like a “minor” injury at all and questions whether it ever was. When Cowan asked Canadiens’ coach Claude Julien about whether there was an update on Price’s condition, his response was, “No.”
No one has said what the specific injury is that Price has sustained and the goalie insists that it has nothing to do with the right knee injury in November two years ago that was also held secret for a large chunk of the season. Cowan suggests the lack of information the team has given out can only lead to speculation, suggesting that maybe the team might be looking to trade Price before his eight year, $84MM extension kicks in next year.
- Mike Chambers of the Denver Post tweets that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard is in the lineup against the Detroit Red Wings, meaning that he officially has entered into Year 1 of his entry-level deal. He played five games for the Nashville Predators, and after being dealt to Colorado in the Matt Duchene trade, has played five games for the Avalanche. He would have had to be returned to his junior team before he played in his 10th game had the team wanted to avoid burning the first year of his entry-level deal.
- The Athletic’s Craig Custance (subscription required) did a Q&A on Buffalo Sabres winger Evander Kane and the forward was quick to say that he is well aware of the trade speculation that surrounds him and rather than block it out, he just chooses to focus on his on-ice play. “It’s not going to do you any good or help your case or your team. For me, I just embrace it. I enjoy it. It’s something that you have to be aware of,” Kane said.
- Andrew Gross of The Record writes that the New Jersey Devils have shaken up their lines in practice today, which are expected to go into effect in their game Monday against Minnesota Wild. There will be several changes, but Pavel Zacha, who was a healthy scratch for four of the last five games, is expected to move into the top six, while Adam Henrique is expected to move down to the fourth line.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: New Jersey Devils
Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
New Jersey Devils
Current Cap Hit: $57,037,501 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Nico Hischier (Three years remaining, $925K)
D Will Butcher (Two years remaining, $925K)
D Michael Kapla (One year remaining, $925K)
F Pavel Zacha (Two years remaining, $894K)
Potential Bonuses
Hischier: $2.85MM
Butcher: $2.85MM
Zacha: $850K
Total: $6.55MM
It turned into a solid summer for the Devils as they won the draft lottery and used that first-overall pick to select Hischier, a talented Swiss center, who put up 38 goals and 86 points in 57 games for the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. He is expected to break camp with the team and have an immediate impact. With recent injuries, Hischier could take over as the second-line center and start his career in a great position. The hope is he will help lead this team to the playoffs sooner rather than later.
Butcher has been a more recent signing sensation as the Devils also won the offseason bidding for the Hobey Baker Award winner after he became a free agent several weeks ago. Butcher picked the Devils with the hopes of getting immediate playing time, since no one is truly sure if he is an NHL impact player. The 22-year-old blueliner put up outstanding numbers as a junior and senior at the University of Denver, but chose not to sign with the team that drafted him, the Colorado Avalanche. With the Devils biggest weakness being their defense, the team is thrilled to bring him on board.
Zacha, the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft, finished his first full season in New Jersey, playing in 70 games, while putting up eight goals and 16 assists for the year. While those numbers look disappointing, he didn’t play a lot of minutes last year (14:18) and didn’t play with much talent next to him, although he looked good playing alongside Taylor Hall at points during the season. He should take that next step this year. Kapla, like Butcher arrives to join the team’s defense from college. He played four years for the University of Massachusetts – Lowell and signed a two year deal immediately after ending his senior year. That first year consisted of five games. Already on year two of his deal, Kapla must prove he is an NHL defenseman this year.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Ryane Clowe ($4.85MM, UFA)
D John Moore ($1.67MM, UFA)
D Dalton Prout ($1.575MM, UFA)
F Drew Stafford ($800K, UFA)
F Stefan Noesen ($660K, RFA)
The group is not filled with impact players, so the Devils have little to worry about in the short term. They will likely rejoice once’s Clowe’s contract comes off the books. The veteran signed a five-year deal back in 2013 and only played two years, before being forced to retire due to concussion issues. Moore is an offensive defenseman (22 points in 63 games last year), but is totally inept on the defensive end. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the team went in a different direction on defense next year.
Prout, who the team picked up at the trade deadline for veteran Kyle Quincey, only played 14 games for the Devils and it might take all season to determine whether or not he has value. Stafford, who just signed recently to a one-year deal, could easily be a bargaining chip at the trade deadline. After putting up 21 goals two seasons ago while with the Winnipeg Jets, his value dropped as he scored just eight goals between the Jets and the Boston Bruins last season. The Devils, however, are counting on a bounce-back season, which could eventually net them some more young talent. Noesen, who signed a one-year, two-way contract will try to make the roster this year after scoring six goals in 32 games for New Jersey last season.