The Anaheim Ducks pulled off a whopper on Saturday, trading defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Kodie Curran to Boston for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen, defenseman John Moore, a 2022 first-round draft pick, a 2023 second-round draft pick and a 2024 second-round draft pick. The Ducks also retained 50% of Lindholm’s salary.
That’s a whole lot of return for Lindholm, who is a pending unrestricted free agent. Let’s grade the GMs who made this one happen:
GM Pat Verbeek knew Anaheim wasn’t going to re-sign Lindholm this summer. And the Ducks have been steadily sliding out of the playoff picture, making Lindholm more immediately expendable.
In the past, Lindholm has been a real driver for the Ducks’ defense. The 28-year-old’s impact has lessened lately though on a rebuilding squad that’s dealt with its own ups-and-downs as a group. Anaheim has young defenders like Jamie Drysdale to steer towards for the future. Better to leverage Lindholm now, and that’s exactly what Verbeek did.
Getting a first-round pick and a pair of second-rounders is ideal for a team plotting its next direction. In addition to Drysdale, the Ducks have rising stars already in Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry and Sam Steel; stocking up on more high draft choices to surround them bodes well for Anaheim’s long-term prospects.
And there’s Vaakanainen, who was Boston’s 18th overall pick in 2017. He hasn’t caught on yet in the NHL (appearing in only 31 games to date) but defenders can take longer to get rolling, and the Ducks should be able to give him a good opportunity.
We may not know the full extent of how strong this Lindholm trade is for a few years, until the picks and players develop into contributors (or not!). At this stage though, it looks like Verbeek made the kind of trade that will set his team up for considerable success down the road.
We can get this out of the way now: Yes, Lindholm and the Bruins are discussing a long-term extension. That would make this trade look better from Boston’s point of view.
But let’s not prevent that from our passing judgement now!
While the effects of this trade on Anaheim won’t be felt immediately, Lindholm’s presence in Boston should be.
Unlike with the Ducks, where Lindholm was a focal point of the defense, the Bruins already have a No. 1 guy in Charlie McAvoy, and complementary top-four pieces with Mike Reilly and Matt Grzelcyk. Lindholm will be expected to support what’s already there.
He’s a big body at 6-foot-4 and can play heavy minutes (averaging over 22 minutes per game in his career). Being on a contending team could translate into Lindholm reviving his game to where it was before these streakier campaigns.
Boston did get to unload the final season of Moore’s contract (with one season remaining at $2.75 million) in the deal to generate all-important cap space. And if all goes well, Lindholm should be a top-four fixture on a playoff-bound team.
All that said, Boston gave up a lot for Lindholm. Again, if he signs long-term, it’s a larger win. But there’s plenty of unknown futures going the other way and that could come back to haunt the Bruins if this trade doesn’t pay off the way they hope.
On the other hand, Patrice Bergeron (at 36) and Brad Marchand (at 33) aren’t getting any younger. If GM Don Sweeney didn’t extend himself and push those chips in, would that be the bigger regret? Only time will tell.