Loui Eriksson To The Anaheim Ducks?
By Jeff Henning
Boston Bruins Are Reportedly Shopping Loui Eriksson
Ever since the calendar swapped 2015 for 2016, the Anaheim Ducks have been on an incredible tear. After winning just one of their first nine games, many pondered what was happening in Anaheim. Slowly the Ducks have drug themselves out of the cellar of the Pacific Division and into a playoff spot.
It won’t hurt going 8-2 in your last ten games to pull within just one point of rival San Jose for second place in the division. While their turnaround has been impressive, unless Duck’s GM Bob Murray makes a move to improve the offense, this effort will have been all for naught. Entering play today the Ducks have scored a league low 119 goals.
Live Feed
Vegas Hockey Knight
If the Ducks are going to make a deep run into Spring, they are going to need offensive firepower. Although, if the Ducks have one luxury it’s their stockpile of valuable assets that they could move, if they should choose to do so. One of those young players could be impending RFA Sami Vatanen or Hampus Lindholm.
The Ducks will have some cap to manage coming up next season and it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to keep everyone in their deep pool of young defenseman. One team that may have interest in either of those blue-liners, would be the Boston Bruins. A team desperately seeking a puck moving defenseman that also has the assets necessary to make a deal like this come to fruition.
If the Bruins were serious about acquiring either of those two young, quality defensemen, they will need to part with something of value on their roster. Preferably an experienced winger who can bring offensive production, a net front presence, and solid penalty killing. I’m, of course, talking about Bruin’s winger Loui Eriksson.
The 30 year old winger was the key forward the Dallas Stars sent to the Bruins in the Tyler Seguin and could be the key piece for the Ducks if they look to move one of their young d-men. with 16 goals and 40 points through 53 games played this season, Eriksson could provide the Ducks with another reliable scoring option, something they should covet more than any other team in the league.
The only true hiccup here is in terms of Eriksson’s impending free agency. This season will be Eriksson’s last in which his cap hit is 4.25 million. Would the Ducks want to move an impending RFA in exchange for a player who will be an impending UFA? It’s hard to guesstimate where Eriksson’s next contract will land but it’s almost guaranteed to be more than the 4.2 he accounts for now. If the Bruins sweetened the pot by adding a high draft selection would that give the Anaheim front office the incentive to make the deal happen?
If the Ducks were interested in resigning Eriksson, they could certainly move Kevin Bieksa and his contract elsewhere. The 34-year old Bieksa currently holds a cap hit of 4.6 million. I would imagine that Bob Murray would much rather spend money on a player like Eriksson who is still in the prime of his career than use it on an aging veteran defenseman like Bieksa. With so many questions and ‘ifs’ involved with this individual trade proposal, it may deter the Ducks and Bruins from being realistic trade partners. An unfortunate truth for both parties due to the fact that both teams have players of value and assets to get a deal done.