As predicted, all heck is breaking out ahead of tomorrow's draft. Ek believes deals are done and the NHL is waiting to announce them at the draft. So what will the Ducks do?
The consensus is the Ducks need to add a second line center and a top four defenseman to take the next step: Stanley Cup Champions. Various reports have the Ducks willing to part with the 10th overall pick as well as other assets to get the player they want.
The top center options available are Ryan Kesler, Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza and Paul Stastny. Kesler and Thornton are under contract to other teams in the division. As much as I would like to see either one of them lace up his skates for the Ducks, I find it highly unlikely that either one of them gets traded to the Ducks. That takes us to Spezza and Stastny.
The mercurial Spezza seems like he might fit the bill. The Ducks likely could send Ottawa an acceptable package, but I think its a bad idea. Why trade for a $7M per year player that is scheduled to be an Unrestricted Free Agent next season. Even if he signs an extension, he won't play for much less and would probably want a contract that that would make him hard to move.
Stastny, on the other hand is a free agent and wouldn't cost the Ducks any players. The St. Louis native is only 28 years old and has scored at a .85 ppg clip during his career. He made $6.6M last season with the Avalanche and the way the current market sets up, he could be had for 5 years, $35M. The problem the Ducks face in signing Stastny is that A) the Avalanche still want him and B) The hometown Blues also want him. All things near equal, his best bet to win a championship is in Anaheim.
Signing Stastny as a free agent means the Ducks could put together a package of players and picks to land a top quality defenseman. Like many of you, I'm just not sure that Cam Fowler is star in the making. Maybe he is, but looking objectively, would a cup champion have a player like Fowler as their number one defenseman. The best blueliners on Ek's tracker are Dustin Byfuglin and Dion Phaneuf. Two exceptional players that would play top pair minutes with the Ducks, but both come with their share of baggage. Either on of them would be an upgrade to the defense corps. Overall, the trade market is a bit thin.
The Draft The buildup to this year's draft is one of the most fluid I can remember. If the Ducks keep the tenth pick, it's a tossup on who they select. Not necessarily because the Ducks don't know what they want to do with the pick, but rather what deals happen ahead of them. Ducks GM Bob Murray recently said that he thinks he will get a quality player at ten, but there is a drop off after that. I've read over a dozen mock drafts and the experts are generally undecided on who the Ducks select. The three names that come up the most are Haydn Fleury (D-Red Deer), William Nylander (RW-Sweeden) and Kasperi Kapanen (RW-Finland).
The Ducks have a draft party scheduled tomorrow at The Tilted Kilt in Orange, starting at 4pm.
I'll be popping in with any updates I have tomorrow, so don't forget to touch base.
Ed