Dmitry Kulikov (50% retained) for a 3rd round pick (2024) and Brock McGinn

Jake: The Anaheim Ducks were able to take Dmitry Kulikov, who they got for future considerations aka nothing over the summer, and turn him into future assets. The real question is how much of the value from the 3rd round pick came from Dmitry Kulikov and how much of it came from taking on Brock McGinn and his contract that his 2 years remaining at a $2.75 Million AAV. The answer is probably a bit of both, with the Ducks also valuing McGinn as solid bottom 6 addition to the team that has been good defensively over the course of his career. Ducks GM Pat Verbeek mentioned on the Beeker episode breaking down the trade deadline that Brock is the kind of player that he has been looking to get on the Ducks. He plays a gritty and hardworking style that can produce offense. Another important point to make is over the remaining term on the McGinn contract, the Ducks most likely will not be in cap trouble making the AAV more manageable.

Grade: B

Felix: Pat Verbeek indicated on his podcast following the deadline that McGinn is a player that the team valued. Viewed from that lens, the deal looks better for the Ducks, but they arguably should have gotten superior draft capital for getting Pittsburgh out of McGinn’s contract. That being said, McGinn was in the minors, so he wasn’t counting against their cap anyway. All in all, the Ducks come out of it with a commensurate pick for Kulikov and a player that will help their forward depth, albeit at a slightly onerous cap hit.

Grade: C+

Derek: I don’t think I ever pinned Pittsburgh as a destination for Kulikov, but general manager Ron Hextall surely jumped at the opportunity to dump Brock McGinn’s salary. Anaheim adds another pick to their stockpile and acquires an effective bottom-6 forward whose contract runs through the 2024-25 season and will help them stay above the salary floor for the remainder of this season.

Grade: B

John Klingberg (50% retained) for a 4th round pick (2025), Andrej Sustr, and the rights to Nikita Nesterenko

Jake: It is completely understandable for people to be disappointed with this return for John Klingberg. When he was signed in the offseason, the general expectation was that the Ducks would get a 1st round pick or 2nd round pick for Klingberg at the trade deadline if things went awry during the season.

The important part of that expectation was that either Klingberg would have a strong season in spite of the Ducks’ failures or GMs around the league would value what he did over his tenure in Dallas over a poor season on a poor team in Anaheim.

Neither of those came to fruition and the market for Klingberg never got to that point, but that does not make this an absolute failure. The Ducks were able to turn someone that they signed to get above the cap floor and turn him into future assets. They received a 4th-round pick in 2025 along with a former 2019 6th-round pick in Nikita Nesterenko. Sustr was added to the deal to add an NHL defenseman to the Ducks’ roster for the end of the season. In Nesterenko, they are receiving someone that has developed into nearly a point-per-game player in college that has a slight chance at becoming an NHLer. Scott Wheeler of the Athletic said the following about him in February of 2022:

“Nesterenko was a late birthday in the 2019 draft, so he’s still relatively young despite the fact he didn’t make the college leap as a true freshman. He has impressed his teammates, his coaches, opposing players and coaches, and has been an important piece for the Eagles as both a freshman and now a sophomore. Nesterenko has legitimate talent with slick hands, power-play skill, and a pro frame that has finally begun to fill out, so there’s a sense he’s still in the early stages of his development. Patience will be imperative (he should spend four years in college) but there’s a lot to like and work with if he can continue to put the pieces together.”

Grade: C

Felix: Klingberg was never going to fetch the lofty returns that were envisioned when he signed in Anaheim given how the season went. Insiders such as Frank Seravalli consistently reported throughout the season that Klingberg’s value had taken a hit, and that his comparables were closer to being in the 3rd round range. The Ducks got into that ballpark with this return: a prospect Verbeek seemed excited about in his comments, and a 4th round pick. The bigger question: was the Klingberg deal a failure because of such an underwhelming return? No, but it’s fair to call it a bit of a disappointment. Ideally, Klingberg would have been a mainstay on PP1 and produced at a high rate, eventually fetching a second or a first round pick. In that scenario, though, are the Ducks in the same standings situation they’re currently in, and does Klingberg even get dealt? We’ll never know. The Klingberg signing always had a range of outcomes, this being on the lower end of them, to be sure. Still, Verbeek gets assets for taking on money for a few months. For that, this trade is still a win, although distinctly a minor one. 

Grade: C

Derek: On the surface, this looks like a pretty disappointing deal for Anaheim. They were always going to have to retain a portion of Klingberg’s $7 million cap hit and they weren’t exactly compensated for this one like they were with the Kulikov deal.

Klingberg’s defensive deficiencies—which were further pronounced while playing in the Ducks’ system—likely scared away a few teams who felt the holes on defense outweighed his offensive contributions, thus lowering his value as well. A limited amount of teams to work with (10-team trade list) also likely did not help matters.

Anaheim gets back Andrej Sustr, who returns for his third stint in the Ducks organization. The fourth-round pick will be in limbo for a while as we wait for 2025, so Nesterenko is the true centerpiece of this deal for the time being.

Currently, in his junior season of college hockey with Boston College, Nesterenko is second on the team in points behind 2022 first-round pick Cutter Gauthier. Nesterenko is more of a pass-first player but his scoring has ticked up as he reached double-digits in goals scored for the first time in his collegiate career this season.

The winger depth in the pipeline is relatively weak for Anaheim behind Sasha Pastujov, so potentially adding another offensive wing would be beneficial.

Grade: D

Derek Lee and Felix Sicard also contributed to this story