This is an interesting trade to look back upon. This trade was supposed to fix the Toronto Maple Leafs goalie situation for good. They traded for a 26 year old who had three very good seasons under his belt already. But this trade also shows just how little goalies are worth. This was a player who had three seasons and none of them were under a .914 save percentage.
The Devils hope to get a player with the profile of Andersen on the trade market this season. Everyone else has incredible flaws, which Andersen didn’t seem to have. Still, the Ducks were able to get a first and second-round pick for Andersen.
Now, the picks were not big risks at all. The Ducks got the 30th-overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, which they used to take Sam Steel. They also got a 2017 second-round pick (which based on conditions was almost guaranteed to be in the middle of the round). This was a huge deal at the time.
Is there a player of this caliber that’s available right now? This feels like the type of deal that would get Linus Ullmark to the Devils. He had a slightly better career before the impending trade, but he’s a little older and needs a contract. If the Devils had a late-first-round pick, this deal might be done already. We’ll see how the Devils can make the values work.