Bieksa to the Ducks

The Canucks were publicly trying to move defenseman Kevin Bieksa, trying to acquire a 2nd round pick during last Saturday's draft, but the San Jose Sharks were balking at the action.  Also, very publicly, the deal went South and there was no deal to be had.

A few days later, enter the Anaheim Ducks, showing up with a 2nd round pick to next year's draft, looking for some help on their blueline, as it appears that Francois Beauchemin is headed to unrestricted free agency.

			2015		2016
To Anaheim	POS	Age	G/W	P	Cap
Kevin Bieksa	D	34	4	14	$4.6 mil
--------------
To Vancouver	POS	Age	G/W	P	Cap
2016 2nd Round Draft Pick

Bieksa's numbers in the 2015 season were definitely sub-par, given the role that he had on the team and the cap hit he was taking up, so a change was instituted and completed on Tuesday.  The Ducks get a grinding defender, with a nasty mean streak and a physical presence to back it up, while the Canucks get a decent draft pick and some cap flexibility.

It is somewhat surprising that the Ducks were able to take on a contract like Bieksa's, without giving up a player or a contract in return.  The Ducks, however, are rocking all kinds of space, under the ceiling, as my count is showing 17 regulars on, leaving six open spaces on the roster, with $21.6 million left to go in cap space.

The Ducks will need all of that, when you have an RFA group, which includes Carl Hagelin and Jakob Silfverberg and you need more top six depth on your team.

The Canucks, on the other hand, are in need of some more quality defense, as they now have two or three spots to fill, plus another depth forward and they only have $8.2 million to spend.  It's not going to be easy.