ANAHEIM, Calif. — Another trade deadline has come and gone for the Ducks, who got most of their heavy lifting done prior to the actual day of the deadline.
General manager Pat Verbeek kicked things off by sending rugged defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin—whom he had acquired in the summer from the Buffalo Sabres—to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2024 third-round pick. Anaheim retained half of Lyubushkin’s salary, with the Carolina Hurricanes playing third-party broker and retaining half of Lyubushkin’s remaining salary.
Lyubushkin provided a stopgap option on the blue line and was a mentor to fellow countryman and rookie defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, who spent most of the season paired with Lyubushkin.
Deals for centers Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan helped set the market price for Adam Henrique, who was the next player to be dealt by Verbeek. Packaged with Sam Carrick in a deal that sent both forwards to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, the Ducks received the Oilers 2024 first-round pick and a conditional 2024 fifth-round pick. The pick will become a fourth-round pick if the Oilers win the Cup this season.
The Ducks also retained on both Henrique and Carrick, with the Tampa Bay Lightning helping broker the deal and retaining half of Henrique’s remaining salary. By retaining on both, Anaheim has now used all three of their trade retention spots. Those three spots will be available again on July 1 when Lyubushkin, Henrique and Carrick all become unrestricted free agents.
A deal that may appear to be insignificant on the surface graced the social media timeline on Thursday morning, with the Ducks sending former first-round pick Jacob Perreault to the Montreal Canadiéns for Czech forward Jan Myšák.
Things never quite panned out for Perreault with the Ducks, who appeared in one game at the NHL level during his tenure in the organization. His development was hampered by an early introduction in the AHL due to COVID-19 as well as a coaching carousel that saw him play under three different coaches in four seasons with the San Diego Gulls.
Myšák gets a change of scenery and should see more playing time down in San Diego in an elevated role. The former second-round pick was teammates with Mason McTavish when the two played for the Hamilton Bulldogs in the OHL during the 2021-22 season.
The 21-year-old Myšák has all the tools to be an effective forechecker in the future and will likely have a larger role with the Gulls than he did while playing for the Laval Rocket, Montreal’s AHL affiliate.
Anaheim wasn’t done, making another deal on trade deadline day itself. They acquired forward Ben Meyers from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick. Meyers was a highly sought-after undrafted free agent in 2022 following the conclusion of his college hockey career with Minnesota, where he had 95 points in 102 games. Capable of playing both center and wing, Meyers has spent the majority of his pro career in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles. He will report to Anaheim and challenge for a bottom-6 role.
Meyers will also be reunited with college teammate Jackson LaCombe as well as Cronin, who was the Eagles’ head coach for the past five seasons before taking the head coaching gig in Anaheim.
With the Ducks at the bottom end of the standings again this season, Pat Verbeek made all the necessary moves. He shipped out veterans on expiring contracts who could help playoff contenders for assets that will help rebuild the team and took a flier on a player that his head coach is familiar with in Ben Meyers.
