A fan suggests Buffalo trade for Anaheim defenseman Josh Manson.
By Finchj15
Lets start with some background on the Anaheim Ducks and their expansion draft situation. Teams can keep 7 forwards, 3 defenseman, and 1 goalie or 8 skaters (a mix of forward and defensemen) and 1 goalie. The Anaheim Ducks are a team that’s given out quite a few no-movement clauses. This clause gives the player a right to deny a trade of any kind. The only way for them to be moved is to buy their contract out or get them to waive their clause.
The Ducks currently have 4 players with no-movement clauses. These players are made up of forwards Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, and defensemen Kevin Bieksa. By rule of the expansion draft, these players have to be protected unless they agree to move. Players have these clauses for a reason, and moving to a brand new team likely to struggle for awhile is not very appealing. The Ducks would keep Perry, Getzlaf, and Kesler anyways, but I’m sure they wish they could rid themselves of Bieksa. He helps create a big expansion draft problem.
John Gibson is the obvious goalie to be protected. Perry, Getzlaf, and Kesler are for sure protected. The only other forward on the team that will 100% be protected is Rickard Rakell. Add in Bieksa, and we are at 5 skaters and 1 goalie protected, leaving us 3 protected spots to work with. Now lets look at the defense. This is a fairly easy decision as 3 defensemen stand out above the others. Those 3 are Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, and Cam Fowler. With these three added, the Ducks reach their limit of protected players. Notable forwards left unprotected are Jakob Silfverberg, Andrew Cogliano, and Antoine Vermette. Notable defensemen left unprotected are Simon Despres, and Josh Manson.This is where the Buffalo Sabres come into play. The Ducks have two quality defensemen left unprotected, and many believe they could move at least one of them. Do not forget that the Ducks also have Brandon Montour, Shea Theodore, Marcus Pettersson, and Jacob Larsson, 4 young defensemen who are exempt. With the Sabres, it could be argued that Rasmus Ristolainen and Jake McCabe are the only defensemen that are NHL ready and part of the long term plan. Buffalo needs to pick up the phone and make a call to Anaheim and concentrate talks on Josh Manson.
Manson is not a defensemen who is gonna score a ton of points and make really flashy plays. He is the defensemen that will play defense first. He is very reliable in his own end, and is able to play a rough and gritty game when needed. Josh Manson would most likely slide right into Buffalo’s second defensive pairing with McCabe. He would be the good right handed defensemen behind Ristolainen, something everyone wishes Zach Bogosian would be. Lets not bring that up. Instead, we’ll move to what the Sabres may have to offer up to the Ducks.
First off, it is important to recognize that the Ducks do not have room to protect another player. Because of this, they may be looking specifically at players who are exempt from the expansion draft, as well as draft picks. With their extreme defensive depth, it is pretty obvious they would be concentrated on forwards. This would leave out the names that Sabres fans most often throw around, like Evander Kane, Zemgus Girgensons, and Tyler Ennis (Anaheim most likely would not have interest in Ennis). Exempt players that the Ducks could be interested in are Alexander Nylander, Hudson Fasching, Nicholas Baptiste, Justin Bailey, and Eric Cornel. However, I would expect the Sabres to have zero interest in trading Nylander. They most likely would want to hold onto Bailey as he has started to find a rhythm in the NHL and has a lot of speed, something they need. That leaves Fasching, Baptiste, and Cornel. Neither player is enough to get Manson. However, pair them with a draft pick and we’d be getting close to a deal. (Editor’sNote – Hudson Fasching currently is in the AHL with the Rochester Americans.)
I do not believe the Sabres should include their first round pick unless it helps get them an absolute star. If I’m GMTM, I call the Ducks and propose:
Hudson Fasching and a 2nd Round Pick (2017 or 2018) FOR Josh Manson
While this may not be a done deal, it is certainly a great start to the discussion. Fasching is a young and big power forward who would fit the style of play in the western conference and potentially fill a 3rd line role done the road for the Ducks. Anaheim also receiving a 2nd rounder would help them build more depth through the draft. For Buffalo, they fill 1 of 2 open spots in their top 2 defensive pairings. Hopefully this proposal would at least get the Sabres and Ducks talking a deal. Both teams match up with each other based on needs, and both teams have to make a deal based on their current situations.
http://www.diebytheblade.com/2017/2/21/14694648/sabres-trade-phone-anaheim-ducks