Confirmed Signing with Link: [ANA] Antoine Vermette (2 years $1.75M AAV)

[vavera4ka]

Is Thompson hurt to start the year?

out till March...ish

 

[darkwingduck]

Is Thompson hurt to start the year?

Torn achilles, out to at least trade deadline.

 

[JaegerDice]

That's more than I would have been comfortable paying him (and for longer term), so not too upset the Blackhawks missed out on him.

Hope he does well in Anaheim. By all accounts a great guy.

 

[KPower]

The dumpster divers of Anaheim.

 

[mytduxfan*]

Counter argument, if you don't want Despres, why would Las Vegas want him? At least half the existing teams are going to be looking for a deal, whether to protect a player or to get them to take on their trash for a hefty price. They can't take the expensive option for every team.

I think Manson is going to have a great year, and at his price tag is probably as good as gone if he isn't protected. Even if GMBM gets Bieksa to waive his NMC, he only has so many protection slots.

Assuming Fowler is moved, Manson will be protected in the expansion draft. Lindholm, Vatanen, Manson. Bieksa will waive his NTC or he'll be bought out. Manson's cap hit alone makes him a highly-valued asset. He's going nowhere. Lindholm certainly isn't being moved, that's already been confirmed. We all thought that Vatanen would be moved over Fowler, but, given his recent contract, that doesn't look to be happening either. So that leaves Fowler being moved and us going to be the draft with Lindholm, Vatanen and Manson all protected, leaving Despres, Stoner, and Bieksa available.

I think Despres will bounce back this year. Those concussions took their toll on him. Were they to pick him at the draft, I'd suspect he'll be one of the better pieces in LV next year.

I agree about the first two parts, but the third one... I don't. Detroit is not the team to trade with, if you need to open up cap space. A team like Boston would make a ton of sense in my eyes. Same situation, more cap flexibility.

Rakell was always going to get bridged, but I feel like they could have gotten away with a long term deal with Lindholm. I guess the non-existent forward depth made that impossible anyway.

BOS is a good shout, but DET has totally stacked itself with forwards. Meanwhile, their depth at D is pretty weak. Fowler is a Michigan native. Holland is a fan of guys local to the area. Fowler would be a perfect fit in their system. It's just my thinking on the situation, but I could be wrong. Didn't think this Vermette rumour was true, so who knows? Maybe you're right about Fowler ending up in BOS. I just can't think of a good return for ANA.

 

[mytduxfan*]

Does this push Rakell into a top 6 winger position?

Hopefully, he makes for a better W then a C IMO.

 

[Hawksfan2828]

Good signing by the Ducks. You can't go wrong with Vermette at 1.75.

 

[Opak]

Does this push Rakell into a top 6 winger position?

Most likely, yes.

Is Thompson hurt to start the year?

Thompson is out for months, Murray doesn't expect him to return before the trade deadline.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Ducks incoming with the best chance of highest fo% possible

 

[ForSpareParts*]

I've always liked Vermette. Great deal for ANA.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Decent deal. I'm guessing he was pushing for a 2 year deal over a 1 year one.

 

[Heraldic]

Depending on how badly he actually fell off last year, this is a solid contract in a vacuum. I'm not sure is it actually a good contract given Ducks salary/cap situation. At the moment it seems that they're not only exceeding their internal budget, but they are also getting close to the actual cap.

Person or persons need to be moved, and it doesn't bode well for BM contract negotiation wise. Might easily see another case of nickleddy.

 

[mytduxfan*]

Depending on how badly he actually fell off last year, this is a solid contract in a vacuum. I'm not sure is it actually a good contract given Ducks salary/cap situation. At the moment it seems that they're not only exceeding their internal budget, but they are also getting close to the actual cap.

Person or persons need to be moved, and it doesn't bode well for BM contract negotiation wise. Might easily see another case of nickleddy.

Errrrr... no we won't.

 

[Maukkis]

BOS is a good shout, but DET has totally stacked itself with forwards. Meanwhile, their depth at D is pretty weak. Fowler is a Michigan native. Holland is a fan of guys local to the area. Fowler would be a perfect fit in their system. It's just my thinking on the situation, but I could be wrong. Didn't think this Vermette rumour was true, so who knows? Maybe you're right about Fowler ending up in BOS. I just can't think of a good return for ANA.

Well, I guess Detroit needs him even more, but they are literally crushed against the cap. If the purpose of moving Fowler is to clear space for Lindholm and Rakell, you would need some ELC talent back, as draft picks and minor league guys don't do jack for a contending team. Boston has wiggle room and a tendency to give up their youth. I could see something involving Spooner, as he's on a very cheap deal and is capable of producing well. There would need to be an add on top of him, but at least Boston has a nice selection of prospects to choose from. Not naming anyone in particular to keep this thread from being derailed, but you get the idea.

 

[izzy]

eh not horrible

 

[KaseMeOutside]

he had 38 points last year, seems like a good option as your no.3 center and moving rakell back to wing where he belongs

 

[Heraldic]

Well, I guess Detroit needs him even more, but they are literally crushed against the cap.

Exactly. Ducks have to take back way less salary/cap, and one of the most potential team to make a trade for Fowler is cap trapped itself as well.

And the amount of teams who would trade quality top-6 player cheaper than Fowler are likely slim to none.

 

[Duck Off]

But can they fit both of them in for ~$6m?

I think someone else gets moved.

There's no question someone gets moved. The Ducks don't even have enough forwards to ice an NHL team at the moment. There's more moves to come. No chance in hell Rakell or Lindholm leave though.

Is Thompson hurt to start the year?

Yes. He'll be back around the deadline.

Depending on how badly he actually fell off last year, this is a solid contract in a vacuum. I'm not sure is it actually a good contract given Ducks salary/cap situation. At the moment it seems that they're not only exceeding their internal budget, but they are also getting close to the actual cap.

Person or persons need to be moved, and it doesn't bode well for BM contract negotiation wise. Might easily see another case of nickleddy.

This pretty much mirrors my thoughts. The contract is a bit higher than I had hoped if it was for 2 years. I was hoping it'd be like 1.25-1.875 on a 2 year deal. Not bad though. He's pretty much a Thompson replacement IMO. Thompson is out most of this year, and he's a FA next year. Plus gives another forward we can expose. I like the pickup, but am a bit worried on the budget situation.

 

[LeafalCrusader]

Don't follow the team that much. I see the Ducks still have Rakell and Lindholm to sign. Will they have enough cap room to keep everyone?

 

[HanSolo]

Would be more excited with this if it was Boudreau behind the bench. He had a knack for reversing the fortunes of guys whose games had seemingly fallen off. Seemed like Carlyle would always have the opposite effect and make them worse.

 

[Curufinwe]

There's no question someone gets moved. The Ducks don't even have enough forwards to ice an NHL team at the moment. There's more moves to come. No chance in hell Rakell or Lindholm leave though.

Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[pbgoalie]

Good signing, not only is Vermette a solid center but moving Rakell to the wing full time will see the best out of Rakell too.

+1
Was going to post this as well.

Makes the team better having Rakell on the wing.

Now the challenge is moving one (or two) of the defense that
are clogging the roster!

 

[mytduxfan*]

Well, I guess Detroit needs him even more, but they are literally crushed against the cap. If the purpose of moving Fowler is to clear space for Lindholm and Rakell, you would need some ELC talent back, as draft picks and minor league guys don't do jack for a contending team. Boston has wiggle room and a tendency to give up their youth. I could see something involving Spooner, as he's on a very cheap deal and is capable of producing well. There would need to be an add on top of him, but at least Boston has a nice selection of prospects to choose from. Not naming anyone in particular to keep this thread from being derailed, but you get the idea.

Yeah, I don't think Spooner is a good enough return for Fowler personally, but maybe that's just me.

DET is squeezed against the cap right now, but Franzen will be on LTIR once the season starts. It's also likely that Vitale will be too. Then if you consider that a number of the guys currently on roster will probably be placed in the minors i.e. Pulk, Jurco, Ott/Miller, you've freed up ~2-3M in cap space. That makes a deal like:

Fowler <----> Tatar+ very possible, at least from a financial standpoint. DET still end up maxing out the cap, but it leaves them with strong depth both a forward and D. Meanwhile, ANA dumps a little salary and brings in a player to fill out their forward depth.

 

[mytduxfan*]

Exactly. Ducks have to take back way less salary/cap, and one of the most potential team to make a trade for Fowler is cap trapped itself as well.

And the amount of teams who would trade quality top-6 player cheaper than Fowler are likely slim to none.

You don't move players like Fowler to dump salary. If Fowler is moved, it'll be to address a need. Someone else has gotta go, likely one of Stoner or Bieksa. Either that or ANA has loosened up on the internal budget this year.

 

[Toronto makebeleifs]

Smart move imo. More depth- especially better than average depth, never hurts in the long run. Anh capitalizing on their window, should be a really tough team to play against once again this yr.