Anaheim Ducks trade Hampus Lindholm to Boston Bruins
The Anaheim Ducks dealt another defenseman, this time trading Hampus Lindholm to the Boston Bruins for a first-round pick, two second-round picks, Urho Vaakanainen and John Moore.
The defender was seen as one of the top trade targets at this year’s deadline, especially at the blue line. It was ranked number two on Frank Seravalli’s Trade Target list on Friday.
Lindholm joins Josh Manson as the second Ducks defenseman dealt at the deadline, after the team couldn’t agree on a contract extension with either player. After a strong start to the season, the Ducks faltered a bit, putting them in a better position to sell at the deadline. Lindholm is in the final year of a six-year contract with a cap of $5,205,556, 50% of which will be kept by the Ducks in trade.
Lindholm currently has five goals and 22 points in 61 games this season, although he’s not as well known for his offensive play as he is for being a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. He has a 48.55% CF% and 46.42% xGF% this season at even strength, and while the Ducks don’t have strong underlying numbers as a team, that’s not the reason. for which Lindholm is underperforming there, as he is -0.32% and -3.62% behind his teammates in those stats, respectively.
Vaakanainen is a 23-year-old defenseman drafted first overall by the Bruins in 2017. He has played 31 games in four NHL seasons, with his 15 this year being the most. He has six assists in his NHL career so far.
John Moore is primarily in the deal for salary cap purposes, as he has one year left after this season on a five-year contract with a $2.75 million cap. He’s only played 12 NHL games over the past two seasons.
Lindholm joins a Bruins team that has comfortably held the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference for most of the season with a 38-19-5 record. However, they are tough for a higher seeding as they are only two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs with just one more game played.
The three draft picks will all come in different years, as the first-round pick will be for the next draft of 2022, and the second two will be in the drafts of 2023 and 2024.
