One week before the NHL trade deadline, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek took in a couple of games when his Ducks weren't playing

The Anaheim Ducks have had three days off between Sunday night’s 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators and Thursday night’s matchup against the Sharks in San Jose. With just over a week until the NHL Trade Deadline, Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek took that time to check on some potential trade suitors and view their games in person.

On Tuesday night, Verbeek set out to Minnesota to view the Carolina Hurricanes’ 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild. The next night, he was in New York watching the Rangers defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 4-1.

The Shifting Market Price for Adam Henrique

The Ducks are in the midst of their sixth consecutive losing season and find themselves in the “seller” category again this trade deadline season. They have a few players that could be on the move in the next week, so it’s understandable to speculate on the reasons for Pat Verbeek’s desire to take in those two games firsthand.

Let’s do a little speculating.

Why did Pat Verbeek attend those games?

It’s entirely possible Verbeek simply traveled to meet face-to-face with some of the GMs he may be negotiating with this week. However, the more scintillating scenario is that he wanted to get a look at some of the roster players on the teams he saw and evaluate their fits with the Ducks.

Who was he scouting?

Given where the Wild and Blue Jackets are in the NHL standings, it could be safe to presume those teams wouldn’t be in the position to buy what the Ducks will be selling this week. That presumption narrows the field to players on the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers rosters.

Carolina Hurricanes

Currently, the Hurricanes are sitting comfortably in second place in the Metropolitan Division. Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is having a quietly good rookie season and they’ll be expecting Frederick Andersen to return to the crease in Carolina soon. They also deploy one of the deeper bluelines in the NHL. They could likely seek to improve their depth scoring at this year’s trade deadline.

The Ducks likely aren’t interested in acquiring pending UFAs and the Hurricanes aren’t likely to part with young members of their forward core. That leaves only one or two logical options up for evaluation by Pat Verbeek.

Jack Drury (24) is the option that stands out most. The 24-year-old center is in his first full NHL season and has scored 8 goals and 18 assists in 59 games this season.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi (23) is the more unlikely scenario. He’s struggled to find his footing in the NHL after being selected third overall in the 2018 draft and his contract has six more years with an AAV of $4.82 million.

New York Rangers

Though 60 games in 2023-24, the Rangers sit atop the Eastern Conference and are tied with the Vancouver Canucks for the top spot in the NHL with 83 points. They have one of the most talented goaltenders in the world, Igor Shesterkin, and one of the better (if not the best) backups in the league this season, Jonathan Quick. On the blueline, they have one of the more stable top 4s in the NHL. They are likely in the market to improve their forward group at this deadline after losing Filip Chytl and Blake Wheeler for the remainder of the season.

With the Ducks likely uninterested in pending UFAs, there are still a handful of options on the Rangers roster that could be intriguing to Pat Verbeek and the Ducks.

Reports indicate the Rangers aren’t too keen on moving from Kaapo Kakko (23) at this deadline. They’re listening to offers, but aren’t actively shopping the young winger.

Will Cuylle (22) has a goal-scoring pedigree and has tallied ten goals and eight assists in 60 games thus far in his rookie season.

Jimmy Vesey (30) has a year left on his contract after this season. His NHL career hasn’t quite lived up to the hype of his Collegiate one that saw him win the Hobey Baker Award in 2016. He can still chip in a goal now and then from a depth role on a roster.

Adam Edstrom (23) is nine games into his NHL career and is making an impact as a prototypical modern-day fourth-line player.

Braden Schneider (22) is a developing defensive-minded RHD who possibly could thrive with a larger role that he’s unlikely to get in New York behind Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba on the right side.

Going the other way

Adam Henrique (34) would be an excellent fit with either the New York Rangers or Carolina Hurricanes. His contract is set to expire at the end of the 2023-24 season and is one of the biggest names on the trade market this year. He can fit into any system and provide depth scoring and a sound defensive game.

Frank Vatrano (29) is in the midst of the best season of his career. The All-Star winger has 26 goals and 45 points in 58 games this season and has another year left on his contract after this season. The energetic sharpshooter could fit seamlessly onto his former team in New York or in the Hurricanes’ system, which is very similar to Anaheim’s.

While Henrique and Vatrano are the Ducks’ most likely targets of teams like the Hurricanes and Rangers, Sam Carrick and Ilya Lyubushkin are also pending UFAs whose services could be sought after.

Cold Water on the Zegras Trade Chatter

Czech Connection: Lukas Dostal and Radko Gudas talk The Offspring, Teammates, and More