Trade Deadline Analysis: Anaheim

This is the start of a team-by-team trade deadline analysis that has no set time in length, although I'm going for a team a day.


*Anaheim-* The Ducks made several trades in February and March before the deadline, although only two of them are likely to have any impact.

Their first two moves sent center David McIntyre, acquired in the Brian Sutherby trade, to New Jersey in exchange for defenseman Sheldon Brookbank, and defender Nathan McIver to Vancouver for winger Mike Brown.

Their next trade was the major impact move, sending star left winger Chris Kunitz and prospect Eric Tangradi to Pittsburgh for star blue-liner Ryan Whitney. The Ducks are trying to break a three-team tie to get into 7th or 8th place, and Whitney will be an cannon from the blue-line to add offense, and will also relieve some of the pressure that Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger inherited when Francois Beauchemin went down with an injury. However, the Ducks, who have struggled on offense at different times this year, are sure to miss Kunitz and the 16 goals and 35 points he scored in 62 games with Anaheim.

Anaheim continued with their defender shift, sending Steve Montador to the Bruins for Petteri Nokelainen. Nokelainen will add a defensive presence to the Ducks 4th line when he plays. He had 3 assists in 33 games with the Bruins.
The next Ducks move was to send prospect Eric O'Dell to Atlanta for center Erik Christensen. Christensen will add depth offense, likely from the 3rd line. He has scored 5 goals and 19 points so far this year with the Thrashers, and will probably take on some of the departed Travis Moen's defensive responsibility.

The Ducks also sent prominent checking center Samuel Pahlsson to Chicago for defensman James Wisneiwski. Wisneiwski is a hard-hitting defender who's also injury prone, but should add good depth on the blueline.

Lastly, in a deal with San Jose, penalty-killing center Travis Moen and up-and-coming defenseman Kent Huskins were sent to the Sharks in exchange for prospects Nick Bonino and Timo Pielmeier, as well as a conditional draft pick.

Overall, the trades the Ducks made seem to be building up for the post-season while simultaneously trying to add some insurance for the team's future. The trade most likely to make an impact is probably the Kunitz-Whitney trade, but we'll have to wait for the playoffs to roll around to see who wins that deal.