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With the trade deadline now only about two weeks away, the Anaheim Ducks have a lot of decisions to make and not a ton of time to make them.
Four key members of their roster, in Ryan Getzlaf, Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson and Rickard Rakell are all set to become free agents this summer. Anaheim will have to make the decision to either sign them, trade them, or keep them through the deadline unsigned.
With Getzlaf, we’ve seen the team is comfortable holding onto him and re-signing him in the offseason, despite his free agent status. After a bounce back year though, with Getzlaf scoring at a pace of 54 points per 82 games rather than the 29 points per 82 he averaged last year, re-signing him before the deadline does seem to be more important now. Considering Anaheim only re-signed him on the first day of free agency last offseason, you can bet Getzlaf was probably at least considering hearing other offers. As to what happens with Getzlaf this time around, it’s hard to make much of a guess.
Hampus Lindholm is the most important pending free agent, based on his role and age. He’s averaged the second-most minutes of any defenseman on the team this season, while facing a high quality of competition. At just 28 years old, he’s due for a long-term extension, which wouldn’t carry a fear of decline until much later in the deal. That said, the extension isn’t likely to come cheap and it comes down to what management feels Lindholm’s value is compared to the asking price. If they can’t work out a deal, moving Lindholm rather than risking losing him for nothing needs to be heavily considered.
When it comes to Josh Manson, the ideal option is to trade him, in my opinion. He’s now 30 years old and has been somewhat injury-prone over the last few years. Given the Ducks’ transition to a younger core, locking in Manson into what would likely be in the range of a four-year deal doesn’t make a ton of sense. The Ducks probably waited too long to make this trade but even now, it’s still probably the better play, though his current injury could complicate things.
Rickard Rakell is another player who the Ducks simply waited too long to move. The key part of Rakell’s value has been how well he can produce offensively for such a low cap hit, at under $4 million per year. However, his production has slipped down to a pace of only about 45 points per 82 over the last two years and with him now on an expiring contract, that excess contract value is pretty much gone. He could be kept around but the Ducks weren’t overly affected by Rakell’s early-season absence and he’ll be 29 years old by the time a new contract kicks in. Anaheim missed a great chance to capitalize on Rakell’s value but regardless, he remains a trade candidate once again.
There are certainly other names who could be shopped, like fellow pending UFA Nicolas Deslauriers and the likes of Kevin Shattenkirk and Adam Henrique, but the clock is ticking for the four key UFAs. The Ducks can’t afford to let them leave without getting a return and it would be a massive and potentially disastrous gamble to let the deadline pass, without each player being attached to either a new contract or a trade.
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