Anaheim Ducks Round Table: Evaluating their moves at the trade deadline
By Redan Lopez
Thoughts from Hill Lopez
In terms of the moves, the Anaheim Ducks made before the trade deadline, I believe they got slightly worse.
They signed Chris Kelly to a one year deal, who was team Canada’s Captain in the Olympics and won the bronze medal. Kelly has played for two other organizations in the Senators and the Bruins.
During that time, Kelly did not score over 40 points in any of the seasons. He did incur a high level of penalty minutes during the time, topping out at 76 during his early tenure with the Ottawa Senators. Kelly’s performance from the Olympics may have warranted the Ducks to sign him, but they are more than likely signing him for his veteran leadership, than his production on the ice.
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Additionally, the Ducks traded forward Chris Wagner for forward Jason Chimera from the New York Islanders. When I saw this trade, I was not in favor for it for a couple of reasons.
Wagner was among the league leader in hits, and was a physical presence on the 4th line for the Ducks. He would bring some youthful speed and an energy to the team whenever he stepped on the ice. He also chipped in some points (6 goals and 9 assists). Wagner also played in all 64 games for the Ducks before he was traded.
On the other hand, Chimera is a proven veteran as he is only a season removed from a 20 goal season. However, he clearly lacks speed as he is now 38 years old and is aging toward the twilight of his career. He has only 2 goals and 9 assists this year, which was less production than Wagner.
Chimera also had been a healthy scratch in a couple games leading up to the trade.
GM Bob Murray signed some veterans in Kelly and Chimera, hoping that they will provide a spark to a Ducks team that has clearly been lacking consistent play of late. However, in my opinion it will be hard for those vets to contribute.
The NHL is clearly evolving with more emphasis on players with speed, and signing two aging veterans in the twilight of their career is not the answer for this Ducks squad.