Almost four years ago, the Anaheim Ducks traded goaltender Frederik Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In return, the Ducks received a first-round pick in 2016, which was used to draft Sam Steel, and a second-round pick in 2017, which was used to select Max Comtois. The deal was a necessary one for the Ducks to make, as at that point, Andersen was in need of a new contract and Anaheim was going with John Gibson as the team’s long-term starter. Gibson was four years younger and the Ducks certainly made the right decision.
That said, Andersen went on to become Toronto’s starting goalie and was on pace to hit the 60-game mark for the fourth-straight season with the Leafs this year. He’s been a huge part of the team’s success and prior to this season, he was consistently posting at least a .917 save percentage every year for the Leafs. Yet despite Andersen becoming such a key player in Toronto, you can still say the Ducks did well in the trade.
Sam Steel is already a top-nine center at 22 years old and looks as though he’s on his way to becoming a permanent member of Anaheim’s top-six. He’s going to be a key player for many years and with the Ducks now forced to bring in some new talent, it’s a good thing Steel is part of the process.
The same can be said about Max Comtois. Comtois is likely to join the Ducks full-time next year and has already shown that he’s capable of being an effective player at the professional level. A year younger than Steel, he’ll also be a big part of Anaheim’s future.
This seems to be one of the few big NHL trades where both teams really did win. Toronto got their starting goaltender and Anaheim got a head start in building towards the future, with two promising young forwards.
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