Confirmed with Link: [ANA/TB]Ducks acquire Nate Thompson for 4th and 7th round picks

[Fighter]

This doesn`t mean Rakell goes. He have only 1 AHL season unders his belt. Look at how LA, Tampa etc develop their prospects and how long they play in AHL. We here are a bit too much demanding of when prospect should play in NHL imo.

Rakell was very good in A last year but he can certainly develop more there.

Hope so, even though I think Rakell is ready for the NHL. Besides, can he play wing?

 

[quentez]

Wonder if Rakell will be given a shot at the wing now.

Hope so, even though I think Rakell is ready for the NHL. Besides, can he play wing?

He has played exclusively as a winger for Sweden as far as I know.

 

[Look Up]

Thompson is a great pickup for you guys.

Here's a little background on him:
http://tbo.com/sports/lightning/lightnings-thompson-tackles-all-assignments-b82471960z1

 

[Kalv]

Thompson is a great pickup for you guys.

Here's a little background on him:
http://tbo.com/sports/lightning/lightnings-thompson-tackles-all-assignments-b82471960z1

Great article.

Just made me thought - if Nate plays LW well too. Kesler RW, how about Thompson-Getz-Kesler at the end of games in close situations?

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

I don't buy that MP22 is expandable. Seems like speculation from Stephens who doesn't seem to have any sources for those sorts of things.

I Hope I'm right.

I wouldn't say he doesn't have sources, he just really doesn't report on rumors at all. It seems if he does report on anything, it's pretty much coming from the team itself. I don't know what to make of his offering that Perreault might be expendable, but he doesn't ever even seem to speculate on things like that unless there's something to it.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I can't imagine they'd start dealing centers away, Rakell especially. They lost two, and added two. You don't deal away a promising young first round pick just because Nate Thompson arrives on the scene. Particularly when two of your top three centers are injury prone.

I'd guess that's why Stephens zeroed in on Muffins over Rakell, but I agree with those who've said it's the wingers who ought to be worried right now.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Looks like losing Thompson hurt Tampa Bay fans like losing Bonino hurt us. That makes me feel like we are going to like him a lot. He should be 4th line center mainly but great if he can play in 3rd line from time to time. Also great that he can play wing if needed.

I would build the 4th line around Thompson and Rakell.

 

[NEWFowler]

I really, really like what Bob is doing this offseason. I don't think he's done yet, either.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I really, really like what Bob is doing this offseason. I don't think he's done yet, either.

With the budget at 62M or thereabouts, I don't think he's done either.

 

[91Fedorov]

I really like this pick up. We added someone that is good on the face-off dot and good defensively.

I assume he is here to challenge players like Rakell and Karlsson. Set the standard for defensive responsibility and let them know a spot will not just be handed to them. I think this will up the intensity and compete level of our incoming youngsters. I like it.

 

[TheJoeMan]

I assume he is here to challenge players like Rakell and Karlsson. Set the standard for defensive responsibility and let them know a spot will not just be handed to them. I think this will up the intensity and compete level of our incoming youngsters. I like it.

He's not. At 1.6 mil for the next three years he's an everyday player 100%. No if either of those kids are on the team it means Perreault is not. I guess we'll find out very soon but if you ask me the writing is on the wall that Perreault is being let go.

I really like this pickup. Bolts fans are not happy about him leaving. He's well-liked, kills penalties, takes a lot of face-offs, is a leader and consistent. He also stays out of the box. I think he's going to fit in great.

 

[justheducks]

This caught me a bit off-guard but I like the trade. Grit, experience and faceoffs all become less of an issue in our bottom six.

Some people worry about Rakell now, but I think he makes the team on the wing ( still nice to have 5 natural centers around). I have a feeling Palms is on his way out the door.

I think Rakell has more of a chance than ever. Bonino was his biggest hurdle being a 3rd/4th line center. Now that we have our 1st and 2nd line center for the next 2 years. With MP and Thompson now as the possible 3rd/4th line combo, Rakell has a chance to fill in with MP more than likely only signing a one year deal. It is up to him to force his way in the lineup. Personally, I wish we would have included Rakell in the trade instead of Bonino but I think that would have cost us the 10th as well which I wouldn't have done.
I think the best option would be to trade MP and some picks or prospects for a dman if we don't get someone in the first few days of free agency.

 

[KatellaKid]

Exactly, this team didn't lose to the kings because of a lack of skill, it was a lack of experience and heart.

Lack of legit Defense didn't help either.

 

[190Octane]

Lack of legit Defense didn't help either.

The defense was good enough in games 1-6, the kings just came out and jumped down their throats in game 7 and overwhelmed them. To me that's more of a sign of youth and inexperience than skill.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

The defense was good enough in games 1-6, the kings just came out and jumped down their throats in game 7 and overwhelmed them. To me that's more of a sign of youth and inexperience than skill.

Yep, 14 goals a piece through 6 games. Everything went to **** in that one game - that's not a systemic problem.

 

[Sojourn]

The prevent defense needs to stop. It's why Los Angeles was able to win a Game 1 that Anaheim had in the bag.

 

[mmbt]

The prevent defense needs to stop. It's why Los Angeles was able to win a Game 1 that Anaheim had in the bag.

The problem is, playing "regular" I'm not sure this team has had the D/goaltending to securely hold leads either. We don't have the ace shutdown line like when we had Pahlsson, we don't have a stud shutdown dman, and our goalies aren't like Giggy who could slam the door with a late lead.

Bottom line we need upgrades defensively, both up front and on the blueline. Kesler/Thompson are a good start, but I don't know what we're gonna do on the back end. And even with that, we still need one of our young goalies to step up bigtime.

 

[Sojourn]

The problem is, playing "regular" I'm not sure this team has had the D/goaltending to securely hold leads either. We don't have the ace shutdown line like when we had Pahlsson, we don't have a stud shutdown dman, and our goalies aren't like Giggy who could slam the door with a late lead.

Bottom line we need upgrades defensively, both up front and on the blueline. Kesler/Thompson are a good start, but I don't know what we're gonna do on the back end. And even with that, we still need one of our young goalies to step up bigtime.

When Anaheim pushes the pace, they carry the play. Sometimes the best way to play defense is to spend time in the opposing team's end. Everything you pointed to is exactly why they need to stop playing prevent defense, because they don't have an ace shutdown line, a stud shutdown defenseman, or an elite goaltender. Those are the guys you'd lean on to make prevent defense work. Without them, the risk of a late goal increases.

It's one thing to do it when you're nursing injuries, and are missing a key player. We saw that in 2007 on occasion. But as a consistent strategy, when you're a top offensive team? It's playing with fire.

 

[gratefulyours]

don't know about this guy. what i read sounds like a good mentor though.

 

[Duck Off]

don't know about this guy. what i read sounds like a good mentor though.

I think he'll be an improvement on Koivu. The problem is that now that Perrault is all but gone as well, our center depth is somewhat in question again. I like Rakell/Karrlson, but I would have rather added Legwand, and let one of the youngsters compete for 4th line spot.

 

[snarktacular]

Thompson is another 2003 draftee. Getzlaf, Perry, Kesler, Thompson.

It seems to fill a hole. Trade price is fairly cheap. Salary is a touch high. Overall it seems good.

I will say, though, that this type of player often has a shorter shelf life than normal. So even though he's only 29 he might only have a year or two more of effectiveness. Some Tampa fans seem to think he has already started declining.

 

[Flyboy34]

This may also be a sign that contract negotiations with Perreault aren't going as well as they'd like?

Bob MacKenzie posted on his twitter that we've given MP 22 a substantial offer and if he doesn't accept it, he's going to be UFA.

 

[mmbt]

When Anaheim pushes the pace, they carry the play. Sometimes the best way to play defense is to spend time in the opposing team's end. Everything you pointed to is exactly why they need to stop playing prevent defense, because they don't have an ace shutdown line, a stud shutdown defenseman, or an elite goaltender. Those are the guys you'd lean on to make prevent defense work. Without them, the risk of a late goal increases.

It's one thing to do it when you're nursing injuries, and are missing a key player. We saw that in 2007 on occasion. But as a consistent strategy, when you're a top offensive team? It's playing with fire.

Oh, I totally get that thought process, but the problem I think is that even if they did that, it's not a Cup-winning strategy. At some point, you have to be able to clamp down on teams to some degree. Not necessarily totally shut them down, but just trading chances and goals doesn't cut it. NHL history is rife with good offensive teams who were a little iffy on the back end who flamed out in the playoffs.

Our team isn't so offensively dominant that we can expect to simply score our way to the Cup ... even the Lemieux Pens and Gretzky Oilers needed to play some defense and get some huge goaltending performances to win. Our team was more like the Gretzky era Kings ... offensively deep and skilled but a little vulnerable on the blueline and unspectacular in goal.

When you have fundamental problems with either keeping the puck out of your own net, or putting the puck into the other net ... you need to fix those roster problems, scheming is only going to take you so far.

 

[Sojourn]

I'm all for being able to clamp down, and I agree. Having that ability is a big asset. Anaheim did it pretty successfully at times last season, but it always made me nervous for the reasons we discussed. Kesler is a bigtime addition for many reasons, but that's one of them. Fowler was our top dog last season, but he wasn't the one Boudreau wanted on the ice in a lot of those situations(and I'm not criticizing, because he had his reasons). It was Allen and Beauchemin he wanted on the ice. I'd really like us to have someone better than Allen, at a minimum. And of course, there's the goaltending. I actually agree with what Viper was saying when comparing Andersen and Gibson... I thought Andersen was good, but he wasn't asked to be great very much. He was just a solid presence in net, who made the saves he should have, which is fine, but when you clamp down sometimes you need those big saves. Gibson is the guy I have more faith in to make those saves right now, but he might not be ready yet for the big job.

Bottom line, I think, is that if we are going to use that tactic, I think we need another good defenseman, at the very minimum. I'd certainly prefer a guy like Robidas on the ice to Allen.

 

[Paul4587]

I agree in regards to the Andersen - Gibson point. I thought Gibson while shaky looking was the more likely of the two to come up with a big stop. Andersen I didn't think was particularly good down the stretch and in the first round - he wasn't awful but he wasn't an ideal #1 either.