With the NHL Trade Freeze coming next weekend, the Anaheim Ducks have made another trade. They are sending defenseman Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues this time.
The terms of the deal are as follows:
Anaheim receives a 2027 2nd-round pick and minor league defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka. St. Louis gets Fowler and a 2027 4th-round pick in return. Also, Anaheim agrees to retain 38.5% of his cap hit.
Fowler has a year left on his deal at $6.5 million. Since the start of the season, there was speculation that Fowler would be on the move. Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek would trade out assets with value to get the team younger and continue the rebuild.
Trade speculation grew after the Ducks acquired Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers. Though the Rangers tried to get Fowler in the trade, the cap hit of $6.5 million was an issue. However, adding a veteran defenseman of Trouba’s caliber made Fowler more expandable.
Fowler is a puck-moving defenseman who has struggled this season with Anaheim. The 12th overall pick from the 2010 NHL Draft has recently been asked to be the number one defenseman in Anaheim. He was sheltered early in his career but has the capability to be a top-four defenseman in the NHL.
Cam Fowler, acquired by STL, is a puck-moving defenceman. Has played way too many minutes in ANA and has been brutal defensively so far this season (has struggled defending the rush especially) but has one of the most accurate stretch passes in the game. No physicality. #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/X9uP9LoBBd
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 14, 2024
St. Louis continues to revamp their team on the fly under general manager Doug Armstrong. With Torey Krug out for the season, the Blues found one of their replacements when they signed Philip Broberg to an offer sheet in the summer. Armstrong also signed Dylan Holloway to an offer sheet as well.
The Blues have found a resurgence under new head coach Jim Montgomery. He replaced Drew Bannister. Armstrong believes his team has the ability to make the playoffs. Thus he continues his aggressiveness by acquiring Fowler from Anaheim.
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