NHL GM says his “phone has started to ring,” and he has assets to deal.

It's unclear who exactly has been chatting up the Anaheim Ducks about trading away some of their assets but this week general manager Bob Murray admitted that he has been taking trade calls.

“The phone has started to ring, not specifically about the young defensemen but more about teams preparing for the deadline,” said Murray as per the Orange County Register.

The talk around Murray's young defenseman resurfaced when, according to a report from Bleacher Report's Adrian Dater, Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic was spotted scouting the Ducks earlier this month. While Murray initially tried to avoid the topic of trading his young defenseman, he added later in the interview that he would consider such a deal if it was in the best long-term interest of the Ducks.

“Any young player deal would be a hockey deal,” Murray said, “not a rental.”

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Murray has plenty of assets to deal, with a corps of upcoming as well as established NHL defensemen he is one of the few GMs in the league with an abundance of talent on the blue line. However the upcoming expansion draft will almost certainly guarantee Murray pulls the deal on a trade to get some assets in return for a defenseman he know he won't be able to protect.

A return like Matt Duche or Gabriel Landeskog would certainly have to be consider something that would fall under a "hockey deal."