Ducks patient as market shifts

What we saw earlier was very much a buyer's market as teams traded veteran players at bargain prices in fear of the Golden Knights. Term of contract, prospects and draft picks were the currency of choice for teams looking to get something rather than nothing for quality players. The Ducks, entering the expansion draft period with very little worth protecting, actively took advantage and improved their team in many key areas discussed in a previous article.

With the rosters now once again frozen while the expansion draft gets under way, it's time for the Ducks to prepare for the next stage of the off-season. Expecting  to see the market shift into more of a seller's market, where teams who to some extent depleted their rosters will look to get some of that firepower back in the fold. If that happens, look for the asking prices to rise again to more normal levels.

For the Ducks this phase of the trade market is expected to be much less busy as the club's roster to a large extent is already set. A few players may be up for grabs though as the club might look to shed some big contracts leading up to the free agency window opening.

Brooks Orpik, the club's bruising captain, was left exposed in the Expansion draft but is expected to remain with the club. One of the league's premier stay-at-home defensemen, Orpik is still very effective in shutting down opposing star players (just ask Alex Ovechkin and the Vancouver Canucks), but his cap hit of $6.25 million and the arrival of younger and cheaper options like Kevan Miller and Mark Borowiecki could render Orpik expendable in Anaheim.

Mike Smith, the club's veteran backup goaltender, is clearly good enough to be a starter for a lot of teams. At $6 million he doesn't come cheap, but his credentials in the crease are unquestionable. The club however is rather high on the idea of carrying three goalies for insurance and may decide to hold onto Smith. At least until after the season has started when other GMs will have no choice but to face just how badly they need to upgrade their goaltending. Once desperate need for goaltending becomes the reality in which GMs live, the price they are willing to pay for a true #1 tends to go up.

Teddy Purcell, an enigmatic winger coming off an unfortunate season, carries a $4 million dollar contract which, were he playing up to par with his usual self, would have been considered almost reasonable. Last year however, that just simply wasn't the case. As a result, Purcell has been surrounded with rumours of a buyout for a few weeks now. But as with Smith, the club may choose to delay a decision until Purcell shows up for training camp. If he shows up looking like the NHL version of Purcell, his trade value will go through the roof (relative to where it currently sits).

Those three players take up $16.25 million dollars of cap space, which is a lot for a backup goalie, a #4 defenseman and a forward who may or may not even make the team out of camp. That may have worked on a no-hope club like the 2016-17 Ducks (especially since Orpik was the undisputed #1 defenseman and Purcell a top 6 forward), but it wont fly in 2018.

Some attention will also need to be paid to the Quad City Mallards who are on course to lose most of the players who took them all the way to game 7 of the Calder Cup finals. Captain Ryan Craig retired, numerous players will go to free agency, others wont have their contracts renewed, some have been traded and others will be bought out. Rest assured though, this organization has every intention of going back to the Calder Cup finals next summer.

The Ducks would also like to thank Biz Nasty for his many years of loyal service to fans of tough hockey everywhere. We wish him well in retirement.