Benoit White and Strand >>>>>>>>>>>> Beaulieu

Minnesota is in no position to move on from players they have locked up cheap for term, so I doubt they would move Merrill for a rental.

Ottawa deal feels a bit light but probably about where it lands in reality.

And on the flip side Anaheim has zero reason to get a 30 yr-old 3rd pairing guy with 3 years of term in a trade. That's about as anti-rebuild as you can get.

Only 1.2M against the cap. Their blueline is already thin enough as is

K, noted

Yeah, the Ducks desperately need top-4 guys that can play 22 minutes and shutdown opponents offensive players. No disrespect intended towards Merrill but he ain't that guy.

The cap hit is irrelevant when you are already 15M under and trading away 7.5M more in these deals. Or 11M depending on how you want to count the Klingberg retention, Give me a guy that makes and deserves to make 4M AAV... that will make the Ducks a better team.

Think John Marino to the Devils. So obviously I don't expect that 4M AAV guy to be directly involved in either trade of Klingberg or Shattenkirk. Those deals will be for futures, picks and/or prospects. Then in the summer GMPV hits the UFA and trade markets looking for the right fit. Tying up a roster spot and 1.2M cap for two seasons for a non-impact 3rd pair defenseman just isn't part of the plan.

I'm sure Verbeek will kick the tires on the likes of Dmitri Orlov, Ryan Graves, Shayne Ghostisbehere, and Brian Dumoulin on the left, and the likes of Damon Severson, Troy Stecher, and Connor Clifton on the right