The Anaheim Ducks could turn D prospects into offense, and two pending UFAs
Eric Stephens of The Athletic: (mailbag) Anaheim Ducks defensemen Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas are entering the final years of their contract. If the Ducks are in playoff contention, it’s unlikely that they would move either, unless either player wants to be moved. They may not really want to lose them for nothing after the season, but it’s been a while since the Ducks were in a playoff hunt.
The Ducks have a group of defensive prospects that they could look to move in a deal for an impact forward, and one that is on the younger side to grow with the team while they try to contend.
Given that the Ducks aren’t ready to contend yet, doesn’t think the Mitch Marner seriously considered them. Don’t think the Ducks were really interested in paying $14 million a season to entice Marner to come to Anaheim. They were interested, but not at that number.
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There has been some rumors that the Ducks have been interested in forward Jason Robertson and Martin Necas.
The Los Angeles Kings focused on D replacements, and Adrian Kempe could be in the $9 million range
Eric Stephens of the Athletic: (mailbag) The Los Angeles Kings have a quieter offseason than many were hoping. They lost Vladislav Gavrikov to free agency, traded Jordan Spence and replaced them with Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci. Drew Doughty is healthy, and they’ll be looking for more from Brandt Clarke.
Forward Adrian Kempe is eligible to sign an extension, and after his friendly four-year deal, he’ll be looking to cash in. Sam Reinhart re-signed in Florida for eight years at a $8.625 million cap hit. He did give up a bit to remain with the Panthers. Reinhart is not a direct comparison, given he’s a top two-way player, but a deal compared to Mitch Marner’s $12 million. Kempe isn’t in the $12 million range either. With the rising cap, could see Kempe’s deal in the $9 million range.
The Kings might have been a potential landing spot for Mitch Marner, but it was clear that he wanted to play for the Vegas Golden Knights. The lack of state tax could have been a factor, too.
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GM Ken Holland focused on defense over forwards in free agency. Aside from Corey Perry and Joel Armia, not sure who else they were looking at.
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