With the All-Star break approaching, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month and a half away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We start our look around the league with the Anaheim Ducks.
The 2024-25 season has returned the Anaheim Ducks to a very familiar spot. They’re once again fending off last place in the Pacific Division and being propped up by a dismal San Jose Sharks lineup. Another middling year has meant another year of trying to rebuild the Ducks lineup into a team that’s both capable of making a late-season push and fits the vision of head coach Greg Cronin and general manager Pat Verbeek. They’ve already acquired rough-and-tumble veteran Jacob Trouba and burly depth forward Justin Bailey via trade – pushing a clear message of size and grit that’s sure to carry through their Trade Deadline.
Record
21-24-6, 7th in the Pacific
Deadline Status
Sellers
Deadline Cap Space
$78.49MM on deadline day, 1/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2025: ANA 1st, ANA 3rd, TOR 3rd, DET 4th, EDM 5th, ANA 5th, ANA 6th, ANA 7th
2026: ANA 1st, ANA 2nd, ANA 3rd, ANA 5th, ANA 6th, ANA 7th
Trade Chips
Another year of trade conversation inevitably leads to another year of conversation around now-backup goaltender John Gibson. The 31-year-old netminder has been the talk of trade discussions dating back to, at least, 2020 – but Anaheim hasn’t yet found a suitor. That’s in large part thanks to his daunting $6.4MM cap hit – making him the seventh-most expensive goaltender in the league. Gibson has struggled to vindicate the lofty cap hit since signing the deal in 2019. He’s set an 82-138-35 record and .901 save percentage over the course of the deal, which is set to expire after next season. Those are middling numbers but Gibson has finally found relief from them this season, largely thanks to emerging star Lukas Dostal shouldering the starting responsibilities.
Finally relieved from playing at a 50-game pace, Gibson has posted an admirable .913
Sv% through 22 games this season – actually leading the team in the stat, compared to Dostal’s .908 in 30 games. It has been a resurgence for the struggling veteran, but a move out of Anaheim still seems like his only option. Dostal has gained control of the starter’s crease at the young age of 24, and backed his rise with an impressive, Gold Medal performance at the 2024 World Championship. While two strong netminders are a great asset for a playoff team, Anaheim seems far removed from that acclaim – and stands to benefit most from giving Dostal a clear runway. That means Anaheim will continue on in the difficult spot of trying to move Gibson’s hefty deal. They’ll likely be forced to retain at least part of his salary, and may need to ask for a new backup in return – with Calle Clang and Oscar Dansk each posting save percentages below .900 in the minor leagues.
Top forward Trevor Zegras could stand as the more rationale trade chip. He has also been oft mentioned in trade rumors, backed by talks of a stylistic divide between the nimble and skilled Zegras and the hard-nosed coaching of Cronin. Zegras wasn’t helped along by persistent injuries last season. He missed more games than he played – appearing in just 31 of Anaheim’s 82 games. That made it incredibly difficult for the young forward to find a scoring groove. He ended the year with just six goals and 15 points – far below the 60-point pace he managed in his first two seasons. Zegras hasn’t been free from injuries this year – suffering a torn meniscus in December that limited him for five weeks. But he’s been healthier than last year, and mounted 13 points in 29 games as a result. That’s an 82-game pace of just 36 points – still far from his scoring ceiling – but the improved performance could be enough to market Zegras as a scorer with upside to teams in need of a boost to their top-end. The former top-10 draft pick will turn 24 two weeks after the Trade Deadline, and carries a cost-controlled $5.75MM cap hit through the end of next season. While certainly a riskier bet than some on the market, Zegras brings tantalizing goal-scoring upside and youth to a league-wide trade board lacking in both categories.
Other potential trade chips: F Isac Lundestrom, F Mason McTavish, D Tristan Luneau
Team Needs
Rough and Tumble Forwards: The Ducks are paving their path with recent trade
buzz. Talks of Zegras’ departure, coupled with the arrival of multiple bruting skaters, points towards the team clearly wanting a roster capable of winning games by force. They’ll need more size and grit in the lineup if they want to pull that off, putting the Ducks firmly in the market for some of the market’s heaviest options. Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic seems like the most compelling bet – offering the flexibility to play center or wing, and bringing plenty of grit to either role. Frederic has just seven goals and 14 points in 48 games this season, but his heft down the lineup has proved helpful for a Bruins team in need of a star-protector. Frederic has four fighting majors this season, and was voted as the clear winner in all of them by fans on HockeyFights.com. He could be a low-cost acquisition as the Ducks look for a physical spark in their bottom-six. Anaheim could also turn towards Montreal’s Jake Evans, or Seattle forwards Brandon Tanev or Yanni Gourde, for a physical presence with more scoring upside – but each of the three are likely older than the team would prefer.
Young Scoring Forwards: Anaheim will need to be careful to not fall too far down the well of bruising forwards as the Deadline approaches. Their bottom-six is averaging just 11.5 points, and that number is helped along quite significantly by rookie Cutter Gauthier’s 21 points. With this season already looking lost, the Ducks can afford to be patient with the impact of whoever they acquire. Main trade rumors haven’t revealed a lot of options for that role – though Buffalo’s Dylan Cozens could be a speedy, high-cost option with the heft to stick in Anaheim’s forward group. But more realistic options could be Toronto’s Nicholas Robertson, or Nashville’s Thomas Novak. Both players bring admirable physicality – particularly Novak – and likely wouldn’t cost Anaheim much to acquire mid-season.