Murray Reportedly Willing to Hold On to Defensemen Post-Deadline

Elliote Friedman of Sportsnet revealed in his weekly “30 Thoughts” piece that Ducks GM Bob Murray has told teams that “he’s in no rush to move a defenseman and that it’s very possible he waits until after the playoffs.”

Murray has been extremely reluctant to let go of any of his prized 25-and-under defense corps for many years now, so this isn’t the most surprising news in the world.

It may be frustrating for both Ducks fans and other general managers, however, as Murray does not seem to subscribe to the notion that you need to mortgage some of your future in order to make a serious run at a Stanley Cup championship in the salary cap era like the Blackhawks and the Kings have done in recent years.

One can make a strong argument that the Ducks are only one top-6 winger away from being a serious playoff threat based on the team’s recent results.

With young, controllable, puck-moving defensemen in high demand and the Ducks having arguably the greatest riches in this department in the NHL with as many as 3-4 replacements waiting in the wings, it seems as though Murray will need to either get over his own reservations and take the leap, or risk losing both offensive and young defensive talent for essentially peanuts.

Another good nugget of information in the Friedman piece: apparently rival team executives believe that not only is Cam Fowler off the trade market, but that the Ducks are going to make “a huge run” at re-signing the 25-year-old as soon as the window for extension negotiations opens up on July 1st.

Fowler has 1 year left on his current contract at a $4 million cap hit, making him an unrestricted free agent after the 2017-2018 season.