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Speculation: 2025 Trade/Free Agency Thread

Firequacker said:
Every team defensive metric this season is worse than last season, most markedly worse. The lone exception is GA/60, the only one affected by goaltending. The roster is not that different, and we were told repeatedly that this season would be better since they had a year of familiarity with Cronin and his system. They still look clueless the vast majority of the time. So what good habits and defense is the hard-ass actually teaching?

If there were any hint of improvement in anything but the goalies, then yeah, he'd have a good argument to get credit for building a foundation if things take off under the next guy. But the evidence points to total failure at the very things he's meant to be focusing on, so... nope! Rest easy blaming him.
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Yeah if we were playing Kings-style hockey that was effective defensively but boring offensively it would be one thing.

But the only thing similar to the Kings this team has is that I hate watching it with a passion.
 
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Rasp said:
I get the sense that we are nearing the stage where we trade some young guys for proven talent. The D crunch that is going to happen soon will push someone out and if the F doesnt start to click then I can see Verbeek making changes.

Cronin needs to go too but he ticked the box this season so I expect him back next season.
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I would just caution everyone that a lot (maybe most) of the D prospects are not going to pan out as currently advertised. And I don't think they are worth what you think they are worth to other teams. There may not be a trade market for many of them unless they are add-ons in a bigger deal.
 
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Firequacker said:
Every team defensive metric this season is worse than last season, most markedly worse. The lone exception is GA/60, the only one affected by goaltending. The roster is not that different, and we were told repeatedly that this season would be better since they had a year of familiarity with Cronin and his system. They still look clueless the vast majority of the time. So what good habits and defense is the hard-ass actually teaching?

If there were any hint of improvement in anything but the goalies, then yeah, he'd have a good argument to get credit for building a foundation if things take off under the next guy. But the evidence points to total failure at the very things he's meant to be focusing on, so... nope! Rest easy blaming him.
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I'm trying to lay a groundwork for me not being INSANELY disappointed when Cronin is retained here!
 
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ohcomeonref said:
I'm trying to lay a groundwork for me not being INSANELY disappointed when Cronin is retained here!
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Okay, in that case maybe he's actually building a very important foundation for the next guy simply by the laws of physics. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, so every year of Cronin promises a year of future Ducks excellence. :nod:
 
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ohcomeonref said:
I'm trying to lay a groundwork for me not being INSANELY disappointed when Cronin is retained here!
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Verbeek already laid out the groundwork. If we only had better PP and PK units, then we would be more competitive and closer to the playoff chase. Then Verbeek can point to LaCombe blossoming under Cronin (although, don't remember that Verbeek said LaCombe now looks like how he played in his senior year in college) and Dostal becoming a star-studded #1 goalie.
 
tomd said:
I would just caution everyone that a lot (maybe most) of the D prospects are not going to pan out as currently advertised. And I don't think they are worth what you think they are worth to other teams. There may not be a trade market for many of them unless they are add-ons in a bigger deal.
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I agree with this 100%. People are constantly talking about only giving up some young guy(s) for an upgrade. Well, ask yourself, why would a team trade a mid 20s fully developed proven scorer for a less than proven D (or a ruined Z)? Pat wasn't a genius for getting Gauthier. He was just in the right place at the right time when manna from heaven fell into his lap.

There's nothing wrong with hoping for lightning to strike twice in Anaheim, but don't count on it.
 
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Dr Johnny Fever said:
I agree with this 100%. People are constantly talking about only giving up some young guy(s) for an upgrade. Well, ask yourself, why would a team trade a mid 20s fully developed proven scorer for a less than proven D (or a ruined Z)? Pat wasn't a genius for getting Gauthier. He was just in the right place at the right time when manna from heaven fell into his lap.

There's nothing wrong with hoping for lightning to strike twice in Anaheim, but don't count on it.
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I dunno how Murray did it, but he traded D Vatanen and a 2018 3rd round pick for Rico, Blandisi, and a 2019 conditional 3rd round pick (if signed before 2019 draft, 2020 3rd rd pick if signed after 2019 draft, and no loss of pick if Rico doesn't sign an extension). (Source) Rico was 27 years old at the time of the trade.
 
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Hockey Duckie said:
I dunno how Murray did it, but he traded D Vatanen and a 2018 3rd round pick for Rico, Blandisi, and a 2019 conditional 3rd round pick (if signed before 2019 draft, 2020 3rd rd pick if signed after 2019 draft, and no loss of pick if Rico doesn't sign an extension). (Source) Rico was 27 years old at the time of the trade.
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Of course, VAtanen was 26 and a 5-year vet at the time of that trade.
 
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Depending on how bad his injury is and how far they want to tear the team down, I wonder if we could pry McAvoy from the Bruins. He is exactly what this team needs IMO, even more than a top 6 winger.

It would be a hefty price, though. Have to imagine Mintyukov+
 
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zegrassyknoll said:
Depending on how bad his injury is and how far they want to tear the team down, I wonder if we could pry McAvoy from the Bruins. He is exactly what this team needs IMO, even more than a top 6 winger.

It would be a hefty price, though. Have to imagine Mintyukov+
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I would still do that
 
zegrassyknoll said:
Depending on how bad his injury is and how far they want to tear the team down, I wonder if we could pry McAvoy from the Bruins. He is exactly what this team needs IMO, even more than a top 6 winger.

It would be a hefty price, though. Have to imagine Mintyukov+
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Boston hasn't done a rebuild since...Bobby Orr. They retool. McAvoy is going nowhere. Sorry.
 
tomd said:
I would just caution everyone that a lot (maybe most) of the D prospects are not going to pan out as currently advertised. And I don't think they are worth what you think they are worth to other teams. There may not be a trade market for many of them unless they are add-ons in a bigger deal.
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This is a very important point. Right now We don't have enough young top 4 D to fill out our own top 4. We have one, Lacombe. Trading any of these young guys now I think is a mistake. The smarter move would be to wait until our top 4 is filled out with young talent before we think about trading any one of them.
 
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91Fedorov said:
This is a very important point. Right now We don't have enough young top 4 D to fill out our own top 4. We have one, Lacombe. Trading any of these young guys now I think is a mistake. The smarter move would be to wait until our top 4 is filled out with young talent before we think about trading any one of them.
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Remember last season how the majority wanted LaCombe traded because they all thought he was just LD fodder for Minty and Zell? Maybe we should continue to wait and develop our youth and depth first. The better the depth, then the better the trade capital in the future. We are only in year 3 of the Verbeek reset rebuild.
 
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91Fedorov said:
This is a very important point. Right now We don't have enough young top 4 D to fill out our own top 4. We have one, Lacombe. Trading any of these young guys now I think is a mistake. The smarter move would be to wait until our top 4 is filled out with young talent before we think about trading any one of them.
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Agreed, with the exception of trading a young D as part of a package for a proven NHL D.
 
Hockey Duckie said:
I dunno how Murray did it, but he traded D Vatanen and a 2018 3rd round pick for Rico, Blandisi, and a 2019 conditional 3rd round pick (if signed before 2019 draft, 2020 3rd rd pick if signed after 2019 draft, and no loss of pick if Rico doesn't sign an extension). (Source) Rico was 27 years old at the time of the trade.
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BM, (the gift that keeps on giving) was also the guy who drafted Drysdale, then was a scout in Philly when we made the Gauthier trade. Word was that BM gave Jamie a glowing scouting report to help seal the deal.

What we really need to do is see where BM is working now and figure out how to do deal with somebody he drafted for us. 😂
 
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shach1 said:
SORRY FOR THE CAPS. I JUST TYPE QUICKER WITH IT ON. SAINT LOUIS GOT HOLLOWAY FOR A 3RD ON AN OFFER SHEET. WHY COULDN'T WE HAVE BEATEN THAT? VERBEEK NEEDS TO START WEAPONIZING CAP SPACE!
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That deal was perfect by St. Louis and required flawless execution. It would be nice if Verbeek could pull off something like that, but he's not at Armstrong's level. Here's what it needed:
  1. In order to work, it required both Holloway and Broberg to get signed to offer sheets. If only one of them had, Edmonton could have matched on one and probably worked on something short-term with the other after making some ancillary moves.
  2. Holloway and Broberg actually had to sign the deals, meaning they had to want to go to that organization. I can see St. Louis as being more appealing than Anaheim at this time.
  3. Broberg's contract required the Ducks to have their own 2nd round pick, which they didn't.
  4. The deals had to be signed simultaneously, forcing Edmonton into a short window of time to make their call on both.
It was a master class by Armstrong. I'd like Verbeek to be better at using cap room as well, but he's tried a few times and it hasn't gone well (the Dadanov failure and the Klingberg disaster come to mind). He also might be hamstrung by a budget.
 
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shach1 said:
SORRY FOR THE CAPS. I JUST TYPE QUICKER WITH IT ON. SAINT LOUIS GOT HOLLOWAY FOR A 3RD ON AN OFFER SHEET. WHY COULDN'T WE HAVE BEATEN THAT? VERBEEK NEEDS TO START WEAPONIZING CAP SPACE!
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With the cap going up, relatively few teams will be in the position Edmonton was last year. If a team wants to keep a player they will have the cap to do so. Unless, of course, the offer sheet is ridiculously out of whack.
 
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Boo Boo said:
We gotta lock up our next core first though otherwise whatever we team we offersheet will try to poach Mctavish or something right back from us
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Verbeek has his hands full the next 2 offseasons. He's got to not only keep the core together BUT build. We are done rebuilding after this offseason. done.

Summer 2025 decisions
  • Dostal - RFA
  • McTavish - RFA
  • Colangelo - RFA
  • Nesterenko - RFA
  • Hellesen - RFA
  • Need a f***ing top 6 F please overspend for a PPG + player
Summer 2026 decisions
  • Zegras - UFA
  • Cutter - RFA
  • Leo - RFA
  • Trouba - UFA
  • Gudas - UFA
  • LaCombe - RFA
  • Minty - RFA
  • Zelly - RFA
 
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