Anaheim Prospects: Trade or Not To Trade?

Photo: USA Today

By Thomas Harrington

For the first time in a long time, the Ducks should be sellers at the trade deadline, and, as a result, they should not trade any of their top prospects. With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, I’d usually go through Anaheim’s prospects and determine who should be dealt for help as the Ducks go for a playoff spot and hopefully more. However, given how this season has played out, the Ducks should not, under any circumstance, trade any of their top prospects.

However, that does not mean that certain prospects couldn’t be moved. Anaheim has a number of older prospects with NHL experience, the kind of young player other teams may want to add to improve their depth for the playoffs. These prospects should only be dealt for one of three things: younger prospects with higher upside, high-end draft picks, or young players with term on their contract. That last one will be hard to get, as many teams would be unlikely to trade someone like that, so the focus should really be on younger prospects and draft picks.

Should Not Trade

As usual, I’ll start with the prospects that Anaheim should not trade, and that’s a pretty lengthy list, as I feel that none of Anaheim’s top prospects should be included in any deal unless that deal is with Colorado to bring back Ottawa’s 2019 first round pick. Given that the Avalanche will not trade that pick, the prospects that Anaheim should not trade are Sam Steel, Troy Terry, Max Jones, Maxime Comtois, Isac Lundestrom, Josh Mahura, Jacob Larsson, and any of Anaheim’s goalie prospects.

Like I said, none of Anaheim’s top prospects should be moved, and really none of their young prospects in the junior and college ranks should be moved either. While not all of them will be a part of Anaheim’s future, a number of them likely will be, and it remains to be seen what kind of players they will all turn out to be. Eventually, some of them will be traded or let go, but now is not the time for that.

Between Steel, Terry, Jones, Comtois, and Lundestrom, Anaheim should get at least a couple of future NHL forwards, and possibly stars. Larsson and Mahura are Anaheim’s top two defensive prospects and should not be traded.

The reason why Anaheim’s goalie prospects are on this list is simply because they are all so young with no NHL experience. Teams won’t be looking for them to upgrade their team this season. Instead, Anaheim should keep them and see which of them develops into John Gibson’s future backup.

Should Consider Trading

Now, on to the prospects who I would be okay with Anaheim moving if it brought back younger prospects or a high draft pick: Andy Welinski, Jaycob Megna, Alex Dostie, Deven Sideroff, Keaton Thompson, Kalle Kossila, and Kiefer Sherwood.

Welinski and Megna are two of Anaheim’s older prospects; Welinski is 25 and Megna is 26. Because of their age, neither will be considered a prospect when this season is over, regardless of NHL experience. Both of them have been two of San Diego’s better defensemen this season and both have gotten time in Anaheim as well. The reason why I think it would be okay to trade either one is because of their age; they are likely not part of Anaheim’s long term future. If the Ducks can get a younger prospect, a teenager or someone in their early 20s, or a high draft pick, I believe Anaheim should take that deal.

Dostie, Sideroff, and Thompson have all spent the entire season in the minors, and all have been passed over on Anaheim’s depth chart by other prospects. None of them will bring back a huge return, but packaged together or with someone else or a pick, Anaheim might be able to find a decent return for one or more of them.

Kossila and Sherwood are the two prospects on this list who I personally hope aren’t traded. Sherwood has spent most of the season in Anaheim, and both will be incredibly important to the Gulls if they want to make a push for the Calder Cup. However, Kossila is 25 and Sherwood is 23. Both are solid prospects, but neither will likely become NHL stars. Similar to Welinski and Megna, if Anaheim can get younger prospects, they could be moved in the right deal. These are the two that I think should not be traded from my list, but they fit the criteria of older prospects with NHL experience that other teams could be interested in.

One thing that all seven players have in common is that none of them are Anaheim’s top prospects. Some of them could have decent NHL futures, but if Anaheim were to lose any of them, it shouldn’t affect Anaheim’s long term future. If the Ducks could get some younger prospects or high draft picks, trading some of these players could end up being a long term benefit. The biggest issue with trading these players, especially one of Megna, Welinski, Kossila, or Sherwood, is that it would make it more difficult for San Diego to go deep in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Bob Murray’s focus is on next season and getting Anaheim ready for it. By trading away older prospects for younger ones and draft picks, he could help position Anaheim in a good spot for next season and beyond.

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