[Ed. Note: All weekend, the AC staff will be trading the same five core players for another team(s) core player(s) of equal value. Thanks for forcing us to write this, Bob Murray.]
There are times when I’m convinced Jen makes up these group blog assignments just to torture me. [Ed. Note: True statement.] Now I’m supposed to imagine some kind of trade for Bobby Ryan. And you know the worst thing? I have to trade Bobby for just one player. One player?! That’s like taking the island of Manhattan for a pile of beads. It’s just not equitable value going both ways. And the one player in the world that could save the Ducks this season doesn’t even play hockey. He’s got some playoff game against Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Sigh.
As you’ll see while I’m going through, my biggest priority is defense. I’m not so great at paying attention to what assets are available from other teams or how they value them, but this is my best shot at even swaps.
Toronto has a well-documented center problem and Brian Burke would probably love to get Getzlaf back under the fold. Phaneuf might be a bit of a stretch for Getzlaf, but I think subbing Getz is a solid upgrade over Tim Connoly, Tyler Bozak, or Mikhail Grabovski. I’m also hoping the sudden emergence of Jake Gardiner makes this move a little more palatable for the Leafs. At any rate, this move fills a legitimate need for both clubs.
If I’m giving up one of the best players in the league, then I’m getting one of them back. Giroux would take over the number-one center role and could be an absolute monster for this team moving forward. I have a feeling Perry’s gritty style would be incredibly popular in Philly and Giroux has broken out as a defensive wunderkind this year.
Bobby Ryan for Kevin Shattenkirk
This may be a bit of an overpayment by the Ducks, but I’m trying to think out of the box here. Shattenkirk is a young, offensively minded defenseman that is also a career +8 despite playing for a horrible Avalanche team last season. Bobby, TJ Oshie, and David Backes could make one hell of a line for the Blues, who currently rank 21st overall in goals per game.
Cam Fowler for Marc-Andre Fleury
This could be a bit of a stretch. Fleury is a good, but not elite goaltender in his later 20s while Cam has a lot of potential and is considerably younger. After losing Alex Goligoski last year in the trade to Dallas, and Kris Letang’s perpetual concussion (my fantasy team has a sad), the Penguins could use a young puck-moving defenseman. Since I’m going to be forced to trade Jonas Hiller in a few lines, the Ducks will need a solid goaltender to man the pipes until John Gibson is ready. Fleury seems like a reasonable get. It’s not like I’m trying to trade Fowler for Pekka Rinne or something here.
Jonas Hiller for Jordan Eberle
I’ve only gotten one forward back so far, so it’s time for another. Eberle is a good young player, but he doesn’t seem to have the hype of a Hall of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers don’t have the goaltending options in the league and acquiring a goalie like Hiller could be a solid move for them. I don’t pretend to know how highly coveted Eberle is, but this seems like a reasonable get from a team that could use a solid goalie.
As I said at the start, I’m really terrible at trying to measure player value. I realize that it probably seems crazy that I’m asking for relatively little in return for Bobby, but I’m very high on Shattenkirk and that seems like a reasonable trade to me.