The Anaheim Ducks made two trades yesterday, with the more major of the two being the acquisition of defenseman Haydn Fleury from the Carolina Hurricanes, in exchange for Jani Hakanpaa and a sixth-round pick in 2022. While the Ducks were rumoured to be sellers, Hakanpaa’s name wasn’t one that was coming up much, which is why it was a bit surprising to see him as one of two players dealt.
I imagine this is a deal that will lead to different reactions from different people because there are a lot of ways to look at the trade.
On one hand, Hakanpaa is in his first NHL season at 29 years old and will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. Fleury is 24 years old, has a higher offensive ceiling (even if his stats this season don’t show it) and still has another year on his deal, before becoming a restricted free agent in 2022.
If heading into the year, someone had said that Anaheim would flip Hakanpaa for Fleury at the deadline, I think Ducks fans would be extremely happy about that. But jump forward to now and I don’t think it’s all that clear who won the deal.
Hakanpaa emerged as a very reliable defender and played a style of game that was fairly unique to Anaheim’s blue line, especially when Josh Manson was out with an injury. He was generally very effective in the Ducks’ zone and added physicality. Honestly, I was hoping the Ducks would keep him around and move Josh Manson instead.
On the other hand, Haydn Fleury is an interesting player to get in return. He’s not as reliable in his own end but I do think that he's getting better defensively the more he plays and also isn't a liability. Additionally, he’s quite a bit younger than Hakanpaa and does have more offensive upside. Fleury could still potentially develop into a top-four defender, though it becomes less likely as he continues to get older. In a way, I find the acquisition of Fleury to be somewhat similar to the deal for Sonny Milano. The Ducks are getting a fairly young player with potential but still aren’t really sure what he’s going to be for them.
Something else to consider, however, is how Fleury factors into the lineup. The Ducks already have Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm on the left side in their top-four group, which doesn’t really leave room for Fleury to be able to climb his way up the depth chart. It also means that Josh Mahura, who I see as a really solid prospect for the Ducks, is going to continue to have trouble finding playing time in the NHL, if no major changes are made to the defense group before next season. Will the Ducks look to move Hampus Lindholm in the offseason? Fleury can play on the right side as well but that’s crowded with Jamie Drysdale, Josh Manson and Kevin Shattenkirk.
I don’t think there’s a clear way to feel about this deal. While the Ducks did acquire a younger defenseman with a higher ceiling, they’re giving up a known asset who became a solid member of the defense group in order to do so.
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