The Anaheim Ducks have woken up this season from multiple years of sleep walking in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The positioning of Joel Quenneville behind the bench is a move that got the it attention of every player who puts on one of the Ducks' orange sweaters. He ranks second to Scotty Bowman in NHL regular-season wins, he led the Chicago Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups and he is a man to be taken seriously.
However, it is the players who made the difference and Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson and rookie Bennett Sennecke are at the top of the scoring list and make this team a serious contender for the Pacific Division title.
They may have suffered a 5-1 home defeat to the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche Tuesday night, but the Ducks are in second place in the division. They are just a single point behind the Vegas Golden Knights and they have recorded a 12-3-0 record in their last 15 games. The Ducks may be days away from moving into first place in the Pacific — which is widely considered to be the worst division in the NHL.
Therein lies the rub for Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek. It's clear that the Ducks are on the rise and they could be the team to beat in the Pacific Division for several seasons. They appear to have the young talent to fight the up-and-coming San Jose Sharks in future seasons for the top position in the division.
Ducks may still be better off as sellers
But the current trade deadline represents the short-term scenario for the Ducks. While they are on track to make the playoffs — and quite possibly as the top team in the division — the Ducks may not be a serious contender at this point. They may be able to beat out the Golden Knights and lay claim to the title as the Pacific champions, but could they beat the Avalanche, Dallas Stars or Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference Finals if they got that far?
If emotion is taken out of the equation, the answer is an unequivocal “no.” But even if that is the case, Verbeek should do everything he can to help his team play its best hockey down the stretch and into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The general manager is likely to gain additional support from Quenneville and the players in the Ducks lockerroom by trading a top prospect and getting a solid depth forwards in return.
The key to making that happen is trading talented and young defenseman Pavel Mintyukov for the kind of physical forward who can go into the corners, win the battle for the puck and set up his teammates for scoring opportunities.
Mintyukov has hit a wall in third season
Mintyukov has size and skating ability at 6-1 and 208 pounds and the 22-year-old is in his third season with the Ducks. After making a positive impression with 4 goals and 24 assists in his rookie season, his development has stalled since then.
That is not unusual for young players, because progress is not linear at the highest level. Young players often hit a plateau and stop improving before finding an answer surging ahead. That makes Mintyukov an attractive trade target as the improvement may be far more likely when he puts on another uniform and starts playing for a new coach.
It is not easy playing for a leader like Quenneville. Mintyukov has struggled quite a bit this season — 7 goals, 10 assists in 55 games — moving to a new team and a new environment would be best for him.
Quenneville and Ducks can use a veteran leader
If Verbeek is going to attempt to hit the home run by trading Mintyukov, he needs to bring in a veteran forward who can make a difference on the bottom six.
Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames has been mentioned in trade rumors since the early part of the season. The Flames may compete hard most nights, but they don't win enough and they are not going to the playoffs. Kadri is a former Stanley Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche and he has been a consistent postseason contributor throughout his career.
The 35-year-old Kadri is in his 17th year in the NHL. He played 10 years with the Maple Leafs, three years with the Avalanche and four years for the Flames. Kadri has scored 12 goals and 29 assists in 60 games this season, but he scored a career-high 35 goals last year.
He has also played in 52 postseason games and he has delivered 19 playoff goals and 25 assists. He is also very competitive in the faceoff circle and the Ducks will be able to look to Kadri for leadership.
Even if the Ducks can win the division and first two rounds of the playoffs, they will be decisive underdogs against the Avs, Stars or Wild. The addition of Kadri would not be enough to get them past one of those top-level opponents, but it would show Quenneville and his players that the team is doing everything it can to move ahead.
However, doing nothing would be nightmarish for Verbeek and the Ducks.
