2015 Season in Review: Simon Després

In the final hour before the trade deadline Bob Murray acquired Simon Despres from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a straight up exchange for Ben Lovejoy . The Ducks essentially got Després, a 2009 first round draft pick (No. 30 overall) by the Penguins, in exchange for a 5th round pick in 2014 – a draft pick that the Ducks traded to the Penguins to get Lovejoy in 2013.

This was the biggest steal of the trade deadline and worked out perfectly for the Ducks. Lovejoy had been struggling alongside Fowler in the 2014-15 season after breaking his hand in a fight with the Sharks Joe Pavelski:

Season Recap

Prior to the trade, Simon Després had 2 goals and 15 assists for 17 points in 59 games with Pittsburgh. He was a plus-9 player with the Penguins but played sheltered minutes. Després played in 16 regular season games with the Ducks and was a plus-2, primarily playing with Cam Fowler. In those 16 games he had 1 goal and 5 assists for 6 points.

Després played in all 16 playoff games for the Ducks. He played on the 'second pairing' (time-wise) with Fowler and put up 1 goal (below) and 6 assists for 7 points while retaining his positive rating as a plus-4.

Ducks Impact

Després played well in the regular season and playoffs. His addition to the lineup helped solidify a reliable partner for Fowler. Després is on a $900,000 contract through 2016, when he will become a restricted free agent (RFA). At 24 years old, Després is still young and can continue to develop as a defenseman with the Ducks. He figures to continue playing with Fowler next season with the slight possibility of facing competition from Josh Manson and Shea Theodore for a roster spot. With Lindholm and Sami Vatanen also going RFA in 2016 it will be interesting to see if and/or when Després will be re-signed.