I Trust Bob Murray with the Anaheim Ducks Rebuild, and No, This Is Not Satire

Twas a few weeks before the return of hockey, and not a creature was stirring, not even Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams dealing with a disgruntled superstar.

The hockey world has been very quiet over the past couple weeks (some might even say too quiet), particularly in the camp of the Anaheim Ducks, much to the dismay of many fans. The Ducks finished 30th out of 31 teams last season, and so far, not much of anything has been done to improve the roster. Most of you already know this and may be wondering why it’s being brought up again, if not to just ruin your day. I’m here to explain why Bob Murray might be choosing to not make any big moves in the final year of his contract after an abysmal season for the Ducks and why, in my opinion, it’s the right move.

First, let’s immediately remove the idea that Bob Murray is content with the roster and thinks they can win, or that he’ll ever call this current roster a “playoff roster” again. He has made some decisions in the past few years that have greatly frustrated the fanbase, but he has never been that unaware of how the team is performing and he is not delusional. He knows the team is not a playoff contender and his continuous conversations with the Sabres regarding Jack Eichel are proof that he’s ready to give the roster a boost, but only for the right price. As a GM entering the final year of his contract, it has to be tempting to just make the move and trade a piece like Jamie Drysdale to the Buffalo Sabres along with a king’s ransom of other players, prospects and picks for a player of Jack Eichel’s caliber, if only to make that “splash”. However, as most fans and analysts are aware, just bringing in Jack Eichel alone does not launch the Ducks into a competitive window as playoff contenders, and considering the price Kevyn Adams is asking, could do much more harm than good.

My theory is this: Bob Murray is selling Henry and Susan Samuel on the 2022-23 Anaheim Ducks, and here is why I believe this. First, there are two possible outcomes from this season. First option, the kids take a significant step forward and the Ducks miss the playoffs, but are in the mix, play meaningful games late in the season, and things look encouraging for the Ducklings with a bright future. In this instance, the veterans like Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, Hampus Lindholm, or Josh Manson are probably enjoying some kind of resurgent season and will fetch a much higher price at the trade deadline than they would today for a team looking to add that one extra piece to get them over the top. The other outcome is that the team is once again awful, finishes in the bottom 3-4 in the league, and gets a top pick in an upcoming draft absolutely loaded with superstar talent. In this instance, the veterans didn’t rebound the way fans and Bob Murray were hoping, and they are sold at the deadline for likely the same value they would be worth today anyway, since Rakell, Lindholm, and Manson are going to be free agents at the end of the 2022 season.

Either way, the Ducks will be in a better spot come next season than they are today. It can be enticing to try to make the moves to get some kind of run in a fairly weak division this season, but with Vegas guaranteed a playoff spot, followed by Edmonton, Calgary, Los Angeles, and perhaps even Seattle making a run for the other playoff spots in the division, it just doesn’t feel like the right time in the rebuild to make that push. However, give Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale a full season of NHL experience and growth, get hopefully better value from Rakell, Silfverberg, and company at the deadline, and end up with Shane Wright? The rebuild just got launched to the moon and the Ducks are immediately a fun, competitive team for the 2022-23 season.

There are a lot of variables in this, of course, and that risk will naturally scare fans, but with the current position of the Ducks, this is likely the best road to take and it’s hard to argue that there is a risk-free path forward at this stage. I would rather Bob Murray gamble on his own guys to have better seasons than completely dump everyone at a value that could be less than what they will be worth come the deadline in a season that won’t really matter much anyway, just for the sake of change. If I’m being fully honest, it’s difficult to imagine the Ducks veterans having that unproductive of a season twice in a row, and if we can enter next year’s draft season with a couple first round picks, a couple second round picks, and one of the top rated prospect systems in the league, this season was a success.

It’s important to remember that hockey players are people and that the business side of the game is only one perspective. Just take a look at the Vegas Golden Knights with how they’ve treated former players. Marc-Andre Fleury was only the latest of a few players that have been dismissed by the Knights in their quest to have zero emotion for fan favorites and players that they don’t feel will bring them a Cup, despite any impact they’ve had on the community or fans. They’re competitive and have been contenders since day one, but that will come to a screeching halt sooner rather than later if players no longer want to play there and are choosing different locations in free agency or requesting trades out because of how management is treating their teammates and close friends. How long would you want to work for a company where it feels every day like you’re disposable and your friends are getting let go left and right? Sports is a different industry, sure, but people are still people, and everyone has friends and feelings. Bob Murray choosing to believe in his current roster to prove that they are still more than capable of being solid hockey players that can help a franchise to win is exactly what I want to see from him, and I am fully on board with him giving that chance to his team. 

Bob Murray has never been one to lay his cards on the table for all to see, and his offseason quote that annoyed a ton of fans continued that trend. He was asked by The Athletic about the roster and responded by saying, “Our plan is to continue our focus on the development of our young players, while also exploring strategic hockey deals that add to our current group. The goal is to build a consistent playoff team that can compete for the Stanley Cup over an extended time.”

Should he have said this earlier and avoided the rhetoric that he expected the team to make the playoffs the last couple of years? There’s an argument for that, sure. But what he’s saying now is that this season won’t be great; everyone knows that, but it’s a stepping stone to a competitive window. If a trade materializes that makes the Ducks better now and doesn’t harm the future, he’ll pull the trigger. Those deals are once in a blue moon and are much more frequent at the deadline than they are in the offseason, and I’d rather see nothing happen than something forced. The Ducks have cap space to play with and if they can take on another bad contract at the deadline to pick up a high prospect or pick, that’s the best way to utilize that space when compared to the alternative of signing a free agent in a high priced market to make the team marginally better this season.

Maybe this ends up being the worst take in my history of really bad takes, but I still trust Bob Murray with the direction of this team and I think while he may be doing the rebuild a touch slower than we’d like to see, he’s committed to making sure it’s done right, and his hesitation to make a blockbuster move for Jack Eichel at a price that could stunt the rebuild is proving that. As I’ve said before, if Bob Murray was willing to include a piece like Zegras or Drysdale to get Eichel, then Eichel would already be a Duck. Let’s all just buckle in for a season rooting for progress and rebound seasons for the veterans. I can’t imagine there’s a Ducks fan out there that doesn’t want to see the team scoring goals, having fun, and being more competitive, even if you are #TeamTank before the first game this season. Just don’t be surprised if Bob Murray gets a one or two year contract extension after this season to see out the vision he has built for this rebuild, because there’s no denying that there are some high quality pieces in place to push the team forward. The future has plenty of bright spots.