Major trade reportedly in the works in Anaheim

Trade rumours get more serious when a team’s general manager travels himself to scout a player. That’s what’s been happening since Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek watched the game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Predators in Nashville, and then took a close look at his team’s contest in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, before travelling to Montreal.

The rumour, explained by James Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, is that the Ducks are taking a closer look at forward Jesse Puljujarvi.

“The Ducks, if they want to deal with the Oilers, might be thinking of a test drive with Puljujarvi until the end of the season, when his contract is up and if they like what they see, they could re-sign him for less than his $3 million. The Oilers, as we all know, want to clear up some cap space ($3 million) to likely go after a defensive D man at the trade deadline.”

Matheson also points to ideas on a potential return, stating that “Anaheim has five picks in the first two rounds in June” and

“ Boston’s pick (Hampus Lindholm trade) and Colorado’s (Josh Manson trade) in the second round and Minnesota’s third-round (Nicolas Deslauriers trade).”

Some fans have been wondering if the Ducks aren’t taking to have the best shot at the draft lottery and protected first pick Connor Bedard, but a trade with the Oilers could give them a better sense of where to head to next. After all, GM Verbeek did made some significant moves in the summer, including signing coveted free agent defenseman John Klingberg, before shit hit the fan.

The Ducks do play the Oilers in Edmonton on Saturday afternoon, and maybe Verbeek will be convinced to pull the trigger - or not - on Puljujarvi.