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

[Ducks in a row]

I like that he has size and plays physical as well as his faceoff ability.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

I think it is pretty obvious from BM's comments and BB's handling of the goalies this past year, Andersen and Gibson are going to be traded off quite frequently next year. BB will play the hot hand for a while, then he will go with the better home/road record, then he will go with the better performance vs same opponent last time, etc, etc. Barring injury I would expect each to get close to 50% of the starts. Nobody will officially win the job next year but trends may develop and it may become apparent who is leading the horse race.

 

[mmbt]

I'm all for being able to clamp down, and I agree. Having that ability is a big asset.

Not just an asset, I think it's essential for almost every Cup-winning team. Whether it's a great D, or a great goalie, or ideally both, you have to be able to shut the door on teams.

Anaheim did it pretty successfully at times last season, but it always made me nervous for the reasons we discussed.

The playoffs have a way of exposing things you can only do "at times." Because suddenly you're asked to do it for 2 months straight or you're done.

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.

Truth is while I like some of our dmen, if any of them were on the other side and we had to face them, I'm not thinking, "ah crap, how we gonna get through those dudes?" Hell, if we're facing Allen and Beauch on another team, I'm pretty confident that we can still get enough quality chances to score. Not that I think they're sieves, but they're nothing that scares anyone.

And of course, there's the goaltending.

Yeah, the D would probably be good enough if we had the kind of elite goaltending that makes leads stick. I mean, when Roy was in his prime, it didn't matter if his teams gave up some great chances ... if it was a big game and you were down by a couple against him, and he makes a couple tough saves, you start thinking it's all over. Against us, no one thinks it's over. They know they'll get chances, and they don't believe that our goalies will stop everything.

 

[Kalv]

Interesting fact about Thompson - in the last 4 seasons with the Bolts he had scored 7 goals once, 9 goals twice and 10 goals once.

The 7 goals came in the shortened season

 

[91Fedorov]

Interesting fact about Thompson - in the last 4 seasons with the Bolts he had scored 7 goals once, 9 goals twice and 10 goals once.

The 7 goals came in the shortened season

Yeah, everyone seems to have him written off as nothing more than a defensive forward. In our system, I think he'll be more than that.

 

[Kalv]

Yeah, everyone seems to have him written off as nothing more than a defensive forward. In our system, I think he'll be more than that.

I don`t expect him to suddenly be a 20 goal scorer, no. But will be interesting to see with which wingers he`ll be put together. If that`s Etem and Devo, that line could do well. Maroon could do well with him too.

 

[Exit Dose]

I can't think of another player that we've traded for, recently, that was as universally praised as Thompson. I think people should wait and see on this player before writing him off as just another spare part.

 

[AngelDuck]

No one really expected Winnik to be as good as he was for us. I think Thompson can have a similar impact for us.

I agree, wait and see approach is necessary here

 

[Kalv]

i think he has a solid shot when he`s shooting a one timer in the breakaway or in front of the net. With his speed he could be an interesting pair with Etem or Cogs on the PK. And with his play in front of the net (or near it), i`d like to see him with Patty Maroon in the offensive zone on even strenght. Not to mention his leadership (wore an ''A'' last season) and faceoffs.

Apparently his passing game is not as good, though.

 

[Elvs]

No one really expected Winnik to be as good as he was for us. I think Thompson can have a similar impact for us.

I agree, wait and see approach is necessary here

I remember early in 11/12 the Ducks had George Parros, Maxime Maceanuer, Andrew Gordon, and a rookie Devente Smith-Pelly in the bottom six. Brandon McMillan too (although he was expected to play better. Later Rod Pelley was also acquired. JF Jacques and Ben Maxwell also saw icetime.

I remember some being ok with this, as if they couldn't tell the difference between a solid 3rd liner and an emergency call up. Getting Cogliano and Winnik made a huge difference. While they are defensive first, both can actually keep a cycle going in the offensive zone from time to time and provide a little bit of depth scoring.

Nate Thompson will do fine in this role as well. He's not just a plug like those players I mentioned earlier. He's a defensive center with limited offensive ability, but the guy can play. I'm sure we'll like him the Ducks uniform.

 

[Jacko95]

Hey guys, sorry for pushing up such an old thread, but as a Tampa fan I wanted to relook what you guys are thinking about him. So first off I would be really happy if anybody could give some info how he is doing in the first few days with you. Most Tampa fans loved him and are not happy about the trade, however if we look at the big picture, we upgraded on him in FA signing Boyle, so after all Yzerman did the right thing trading him away.
For the people who belief he can put up better points in Anaheim, because you can offer him fast wingers. Don't expect that. He played most of the year with JT Brown and Nikita Kucherov. Two of the fastest skaters the Lightning can offer. Brown is an undersized energy player that never quits and is so fast it's not even funny. Well most of you will know Kucherov and his talent with the puck. Thompson was a great mentor for those two, but he definitly held both back in terms of offensive production (compared to a more offensive center).

All I want to say is don't expect much more than he did for the Lightning, but trust me you will be happy regardless of his point totals.

 

[Ducks Nation*]

Hey guys, sorry for pushing up such an old thread, but as a Tampa fan I wanted to relook what you guys are thinking about him. So first off I would be really happy if anybody could give some info how he is doing in the first few days with you. Most Tampa fans loved him and are not happy about the trade, however if we look at the big picture, we upgraded on him in FA signing Boyle, so after all Yzerman did the right thing trading him away.
For the people who belief he can put up better points in Anaheim, because you can offer him fast wingers. Don't expect that. He played most of the year with JT Brown and Nikita Kucherov. Two of the fastest skaters the Lightning can offer. Brown is an undersized energy player that never quits and is so fast it's not even funny. Well most of you will know Kucherov and his talent with the puck. Thompson was a great mentor for those two, but he definitly held both back in terms of offensive production (compared to a more offensive center).

All I want to say is don't expect much more than he did for the Lightning, but trust me you will be happy regardless of his point totals.

I expect him to kill penalties and not let the other team score.

 

[bumperkisser]

As long as Thompson is good defensively and a physical presence then I'll be happy with him