Not for Anaheim. This is pretty much what they've been looking for. I can't believe Pitt traded him for Lovejoy. Ben's been good in Anaheim but he has nowhere near the upside that Despres has. I'm still pleasantly baffled.
- duxcup07

This is a great trade long-term for the Ducks but it is odd for a 1st place team to "go long" in a deadline deal.

We traded a young defenseman for a 31 yrd old retread who will never amount to more than a 5-7 guy. We got softer. We got older. Salaries and term are almost a wash.

Perhaps BL is a bit more steady that Despres but...still....WTF?

I am speechless.
- 87_71_11_29

Now the Ducks land Wisneiwski... hmmmmmm.

Not sure how he's doing this year but he was Fowler's partner on their top pairing all year long last season when the ducks coasted through the regular season.
- rangerdanger94

Good to hear. I had lost track of him but knew he was a regular in Ana lineup.

Personally, I don't mind the feeling of this trade. Despres still as the 1st round aura about him which is why everyone is mystified by this trade (as I am too, a little).

But I like Lovejoy handling the puck on the offensive blueline or retrieving it under pressure from our own end in a game 7 better than Despres.

Short term even. Long term probably a win by Ana. but TBD

Is Despres a major d-bag, locker room cancer, or something worse? We have to be missing something here.

At least Disco didn't get the kid traded!

I'm holding out hope there is more to this. It hasn't been reported on the pens site. The Cole trade was updated immediately after it was done. Please be more to this!

I'm holding out hope there is more to this. It hasn't been reported on the pens site. The Cole trade was updated immediately after it was done. Please be more to this!
- Thorny87

They might be to busy firing Rutherford

They might be to busy firing Rutherford
- lloyd095

Haha. He's late to his presser. Might be getting sh_t kicked

where do you all think despres slots into the ducks top 6?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rS6mZUo3fg

where do you all think despres slots into the ducks top 6?
- SteveJ123

5th

Don't know anything about Despres, but Lovejoy is a much better player than he was a few years ago. He is an excellent teammate and makes the locker room a better environment. Only problem is those are things that don't necessarily win you any games.

I have never seen a defender with the label of "good mobility" get burned around the edge as many times as him. He just couldn't compete with the speed of some of the players in last year's playoffs. Depending on what his role is, he might be fine. But playing with Fowler against a teams #1 or #2 line exposed a lot of weaknesses in his game.

5th
- BINGO!

what spot was he on for pitt? 5/6th as well?

I've had him as my last D man in my fantasy league cause hits are worth a decent amount and he was one of the higher hit totals for my leagues Free agents.

They might be to busy firing Rutherford
- lloyd095

I hope so, what a horrendous trade

payback for fleecing JR into getting Pouliot in the Staal deal the world has a way of working itself out.

payback for fleecing JR into getting Pouliot in the Staal deal the world has a way of working itself out.
- Springsteen

Populist is going to be a stud but not making me feel better.