Making trades is an everyday occurrence in the NHL. Most are run-of-the-mill deals that go under the radar and are forgotten to time. Others are more prolific. Sometimes an organization hits a home run and it defines a generation of hockey, so let’s take a trip around the NHL and find the best trades by every organization. Up first, the Anaheim Ducks!
Number 5- Joel Perrault for Sean O’Donnell
The Anaheim Ducks were hell bent of building a Stanley Cup contending team and they knew they needed help defensively, so at the 2006 trade deadline they traded forward prospect Joel Perrault to the Phoenix Coyotes in return for defenseman Sean O’Donnell. Upon his arrival, he helped the Ducks make it all the way to the Western Conference Final. In the offseason, the Ducks acquired Chris Pronger in a blockbuster deal with the Oilers and the Ducks top four of Scott Niedermayer, Sean O’Donnell, Chris Pronger, and Francois Beauchemin was set. The team would win the Stanley Cup in 2007 after easily dispatching the Ottawa Senators. O’Donnell would play one more season with the Ducks before he was traded to the Kings in the 2008 offseason.
Number 4- Frederik Andersen for 2016 1st round pick (Sam Steel), 2017 2nd round pick (Maxime Comtois)
The Anaheim Ducks were somewhat of a goalie factory in the early 2010’s. Jonas Hiller and Viktor Fasth manned the crease during the 2012-13 season, then John Gibson and Frederik Andersen joined the fold during the 2013-14 season, which lead the Ducks to trade Fasth to Edmonton at the 2014 trade deadline and Hiller signed with the Flames in the summer after the Ducks didn’t offer him a contract. For the next two seasons Gibson and Andersen split time in the net, going neck-and-neck as far as stat lines are concerned. Andersen was the number one goalie for the 2015 and 2016 playoffs and after being eliminated both years, the Ducks made changes. They opted to roll with John Gibson moving forward and dealt Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a pair of draft picks. They used those picks to select forwards Sam Steel and Maxime Comtois. As the Ducks waived to white flag during the 2018-19 season and entered a rebuild, Steel and Comtois highlighted their new crop of young talent to build around. They made the right call in sticking with Gibson, who is one of the brightest goaltenders in the league, and got two worthwhile players in return for shipping out Andersen.
Number 3- 2003 2nd round pick (Vojtech Polak), 2003 2nd round pick (B.J. Crombeen) for 2003 1st round pick (Corey Perry)
The Ducks were one of the teams that feasted during the famed 2003 NHL draft. They selected Ryan Getzlaf with their own pick at number 19, but that wasn’t enough. On the day of the draft, the Ducks packaged two second round picks, their own, as well as a previously acquired pick from San Jose, together for Dallas’ first round pick, which was number 28 and the Ducks selected Corey Perry. The picks they traded away became Vojtech Polak, who played five NHL games with Dallas from 2005 to 2007, and B.J. Crombeen played in 445 NHL games split between Dallas, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay, though only scored 80 points. Corey Perry suited up for 988 games for the Ducks, scoring 776 points and winning a Stanley Cup in 2007 and a Hart Trophy in 2011. Not a bad gamble for the Ducks.
Number 2- 2000 2nd round pick (Matt Pettinger) for J.S. Giguere
By the time the 2000 offseason rolled around, the Ducks had just completed their seventh NHL season and they were outside looking in on the playoff picture. It was the fifth time they missed the playoffs in their seven years of existence. In net, they had Guy Hebert and Dominic Roussel and it just wasn’t cutting it. So before the 2000 draft, the Ducks traded a second round pick the the Calgary Flames for 22-year-old J.S. Giguere, who had just 30 NHL games under his belt at that time. The next season, Giguere stole the backup gig from Roussel, and by 2002 was their starting goalie. Giguere played with the Ducks until January 31, 2010 when he was dealt to the Maple Leafs. All in all, he played 447 games with the Ducks registering an all-time .914 save percentage and 2.47 goals against average, and still holds the franchise records for games played for a goalie, wins, and shutouts.
Number 1- 1996 4th round pick (Kim Staal), Teemu Selanne, Marc Chouinard for Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky, 1996 3rd round pick (Per-Anton Lundstrom)
Teemu Selanne made an immediate impact when he debuted in the NHL for the Winnipeg Jets by posting 76 goals and 132 points in his rookie season. He wasn’t able replicate that success over the following three seasons and was subsequently traded to the Mighty Ducks on February 6, 1996 alongside prospect Marc Chouinard and a fourth round pick in exchange for top prospects Chad Kilger and Oleg Tverdovsky, who were selected fourth and second overall respectively, and a third round pick. Kilger had a long but relatively unsuccessful NHL career and Tverdovsky followed the franchise to Phoenix and had a fine career until he was dealt back to the Ducks in 1999. Lundstrom never made the trek to the NHL. The Ducks got six seasons and 482 points out of Selanne during his first tenure with the organization after the trade. He left for a few seasons in San Jose and Colorado before returning to Anaheim for an eight-year stint before finally calling it a career in 2014.
honorable mention
Bobby Ryan for Jakub Silfverberg, Stefan Noesen, 2014 1st round pick (Nick Ritchie)
Bobby Ryan found early success with the Ducks when he was playing alongside stars Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry where he put up four straight 50+ point seasons. In the summer of 2013 he was dealt to the Ottawa Senators for forward prospects Jakob Silfverberg, Stefan Noesen, and a first round pick used to select Nick Ritchie. Silfverberg has gone on to four 20-goal seasons, and Ritchie was a solid depth forward until he was dealt to the Bruins in early 2020. Ryan’s career was derailed by injuries as well as personal problems and he only potted 20 goals twice during his seven seasons with the Sens.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: NHL.com
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