The Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils completed the second trade of the NHL season, making a deal that sends centerman Adam Henrique, left winger Joseph Balndisi and a 2018 3rd round pick to the Ducks for defender Sami Vatanen and a conditional draft pick.
The Ducks needed to find offense, with injuries to its top two centerman, Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler. Henrique will give the Ducks an offensive boost, as he has four goals and 14 assists in 24 games this season after scoring 20 and collecting 40 points last season. Blandisi will also give the Ducks some added depth.
For the Devils, they felt they had enough center depth with rookie Nico Hischier taking over the top center role and Brian Boyle returning from the scare he had earlier in the season. The thing that the Devils will miss most about Henrique is his faceoff ability, as he led the team with 162 FOW. Sami Vatanen gives the Devils some added depth at defense to go along with rookie Will Butcher and third year defenseman Damon Severson.
The interesting part of the trade is the conditional draft pick that the Ducks sent to the Devils. If the Devils sign Adam Henrique to a new contract before the draft, the Devils will receive the Ducks’ third round draft pick this year. If the Ducks sign Henrique after the draft, the Ducks will send their 2020 third round draft pick to the Devils. If the Ducks decide not to resign Henrique, then a draft pick will not be sent to the Devils. Henrique has one more year left on his contract after this season, while Sami Vatanen has two more years left to play on his contract.
